On May 24th at 10am EDT, CFA will be hosting a webinar with Robert Weary of TNC’s NatureVest to discuss an ambitious $40 million initiative to promote ocean conservation as recently announced by The Nature Conservancy. The initiative is based on delivering debt conversions to up to 20 countries over the next five years. The plan, which was selected from more than 1,500 Audacious Project applicants, has already secured more than $23 million in funding from various donors out of the $40 million TNC ultimately requires to unlock $1.6 billion toward marine conservation.
Please join the CFA and Robert Weary on May 24th at 10am EDT to discuss this exciting initiative. Robert will present the overall plan and its aims, and will answer questions regarding this project. Please circulate this announcement to relevant colleagues in your networks.
Please Register for the Webinar on the CFA Website.
Upcoming ICRI Webinar, June 5th- Finance Tools for Coral Reef Conservation: An Overview
Presented by: David Meyers of the Conservation Finance Alliance and Venkat Iyer of UN Environment
This webinar will be offered at two different times:
· Viewing 1: Wednesday, June 5, Noon US EDT/9 am US PDT/4 pm UTC
· Viewing 2: Wednesday, June 5, 9 pm US EDT/6 pm US PDT (Thursday June 6, 9 am Australian WST/11 am Australian EST/1 am UTC)
Description: The Wildlife Conservation Society, in collaboration with the Conservation Finance Alliance and in support of the 50 Reefs initiative, recently released "Finance Tools for Coral Reef Conservation: A Guide" as a resource for protected area managers and others charged with managing and financing reef conservation. The report describes 13 types of finance tools which have either been proven successful at or have great potential to support reef conservation and sustainable management. Some of the finance tools to be covered in this overview webinar include various tourism-based fees, biodiversity offsets, bonds, debt swaps, and conservation trust funds. This webinar will share key findings and recommendations from the report and invite discussion from participants. This webinar is sponsored by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), an informal partnership which strives to preserve coral reefs and related ecosystems around the world, as part of its collaboration with the Conservation Finance Alliance for promoting innovative financing for coral reef conservation.
Co-sponsors: OCTO (OpenChannels, The Skimmer, MPA News), the EBM Tools Network (co-coordinated by OCTO and NatureServe), and the Reef Resilience Network
Register:
· Viewing 1: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BoVvSwLgQ-GqO7osvPc4YQ
· Viewing 2: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RhZKT0S4SQW3DPJ3K0XNXg
Photo Credit: Jayne Jenkins
Conservation International Establishes Ecuador Azul Endowment Fund to Strengthen Ecuador’s Marine Protected Areas
Story from Conservation International
Arlington, Va. (March 29, 2019) – Conservation International today announced the Ecuador Azul fund, a $6 million endowment fund supporting the conservation, management, and long-term sustainability of Ecuador's marine protected areas (MPAs).
Ecuador Azul will initially fund five MPAs spanning nearly 200,000 hectares (494,211 acres) of diverse marine, coastal, and estuarine ecosystems that comprise Ecuador's Marine and Coastal Protected Areas Network. The five MPAS include: Galera-San Francisco Marine Reserve, Pacoche Marine Coastal Wildlife Refuge, Machalilla National Park, Puntilla Santa Elena Marine Coastal Fauna Production Reserve, and Manglares El Morro Wildlife Refuge. These areas contain a range of biodiversity, from the world's largest cluster of manta rays to one of the most extensive mangrove areas along the Pacific coast.
For further details on the Ecuador Azul Fund please see the full story on the Conservation International Website.
Photo credit: The Coral Reef Image Bank / The Ocean Agency
BIOFIN - #KeepThemWild: Corporate Social Responsibility Program fundraiser held in the Philippines
Story from BIOFIN:
Quezon City, Philippines (13 April 2019) – To raise funds for the refurbishment of homes for confiscated illegally-traded and surrendered wildlife, BIOFIN Philippines together with the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Faber-Castell, Wildlife Rescue Center (WRC) of Biodiversity Management Bureau, Haribon Foundation and the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center organized a fund-raising event called #KeepThemWild. It served as an eye-opener and a learning activity that provided artistic inspiration to participants in painting their own canvas tote bags to shed light on the state of wildlife at the WRC and raise funds for their maintenance.
For more information on this innovative fundraising effort please see the full story on the BIOFIN website.
Photo sources from story on BIOFIN site.
Final Opportunity to Apply for the Pacific Ocean Finance Fellowship Program
The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) and the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner (OPOC) - in partnership with Conservation Strategy Fund, the Conservation Finance Alliance and the Wildlife Conservation Society - are pleased to expand the number of countries eligible to apply for the Pacific Ocean Finance Fellowship. The goal of the fellowship program is to strengthen Pacific regional capacity in financing for improved ocean governance and health.
Citizens or permanent residents of Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Tokelau, Papua New Guinea, and Niue, and Vanuatu are eligible. The fellowship program will select up to 15 fellows for this first cohort.
This fellowship is partially funded through the Pacific Ocean Finance Program, which is Component 3 of the Pacific Regional Oceanscape Program (PROP) - funded by World Bank and Global Environment Facility - and implemented through FFA and OPOC. The aim of the Pacific Ocean Finance Program is to improve the amount and efficacy of finance for Pacific Ocean governance.
FFA and OPOC will provide funding for successful applicants from non-World Bank member countries (Cook Islands, Tokelau, Papua New Guinea, and Niue.)
The deadline to apply is May 10th, 2019. Click here for more information.
Questions? Contact pacificfinancefellows@conservation-strategy.org.
What We're Reading: Biodiversity: Finance and the Economic and Business Case for Action
The Convention on Biological Diversity’s 15th Conference of the Parties (CBD COP15) in 2020 marks a critical juncture for one of the defining global challenges of our time: the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem service.
This new OECD report sets the economic and business case for urgent and ambitious action on biodiversity. It presents an assessment of biodiversity-related finance flows, and discusses the key data and indicator gaps that need to be addressed to underpin monitoring of both the pressures on biodiversity and the actions being implemented.
Internship Opportunity with CFA
The CFA is seeking an intern for a Technical Assistant position beginning June 1st, 2019. The CFA Technical Assistant is responsible for supporting the CFA Executive Director and Secretariat with technical writing and analysis, logistics and communications that foster the advancement of the CFA’s mission. This role will allow the CFA Secretariat to enhance its ability to produce material for its website, technical reports, and the conservation finance guide. The Technical Assistant will report to the Executive Director, CFA, and will be based in Washington DC.
Qualifications: A master’s degree in Environment, Business, or Public Policy or a current master’s candidate. Interest in conservation finance. Strong writing skills. A second language beneficial but not required.
For a full description of the position please view the position description here.
How to Apply: For consideration, please email your cover letter, resume/CV to: secretariat@conservationfinancealliance.org. Please specify Technical Assistant Internship in the subject of your email. Please include your weekly availability in your cover letter.
World Bank Group review of Nature-based tourism tools and resources Open until Tuesday 30 April 2019
The World Bank is committed to tackling the world’s toughest development challenges – especially poverty and inequality. All of our resources – our global development knowledge, investment capital, financial expertise and country presence – are devoted to making the world a more just and prosperous place. Tourism can play an integral role in helping us fulfill this mission. In many developing countries, tourism promotes inclusive economic growth, creating jobs and attracting foreign investors.
Nature-based tourism is a growing sector and the World Bank is interested to understand what tools and resources are already available to support developing countries plan for and implement sustainable nature-based tourism offerings.
The Nature-Based Tourism (NBT) Community of Practice (CoP), part of the Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice, has commissioned a review of relevant tools and resources to help WB staff and clients enhance preparation and implementation of projects that have a NBT component.
We would like to invite to you to contribute to this process, through a short survey, to help ensure that all applicable tools and resources are captured.
The survey should take just 5-10 minutes to complete, and it will be open until 30 April 2019.
To access the survey, click here, or paste this link into your web browser https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WB_NBT_Survey
Please circulate this invitation to others in your networks that may be interested.
Photo taken from survey site.
New Countries Eligible for Pacific Ocean Finance Fellowship
Due to overwhelming interest in the fellowship, the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA)and the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner (OPOC) - in partnership with Conservation Strategy Fund, the Conservation Finance Alliance and the Wildlife Conservation Society - are pleased to expand the number of countries eligible to apply for the Pacific Ocean Finance Fellowship. The goal of the fellowship program is to strengthen Pacific regional capacity in financing for improved ocean governance and health.
Citizens or permanent residents of Cook Islands, Tokelau, Papua New Guinea, and Niue are now eligible to apply.
Citizens or permanent residents of Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu remain eligible. The fellowship program will now select up to 15 fellows for this first cohort.
This fellowship is part of the Pacific Ocean Finance Program, which is Component 3 of the Pacific Regional Oceanscape Program (PROP) - funded by World Bank and Global Environment Facility - and implemented through FFA and OPOC. The aim of the Pacific Ocean Finance Program is to improve the amount and efficacy of finance for Pacific Ocean governance.
The deadline to apply has been extended to May 10th, 2019.
Click here for more information.
Questions? Contact pacificfinancefellows@conservation-strategy.org.
M2PA Request For Proposals for CTF Design
The Association for the Sustainable Financing of Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (M2PA), is issuing a re-bidding regarding its Request for Proposals (RFP) to design a Mediterranean Conservation Trust Fund and to develop operational guidelines. The goal of their organization is to establish a regional conservation trust fund (CTF) dedicated to Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MPA) to sustain their day to day management.
The attached RFP and Terms of reference contain all the necessary information for interested candidates.
Photo from M2PA website