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New fund to strengthen conservation in key countries

27-05-2009

Thanks to a grant from Arcadia, formerly the Lisbet Rausing Charitable Trust, a new fund has been established to strengthen Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in key countries around the world

This $1.5 million Arcadia/BirdLife Conservation Partnership Fund will finance the professional and organisational development of selected national conservation NGOs within the BirdLife network in key biodiversity countries around the world. This will help them achieve objectives shared by both BirdLife and Arcadia, such as preventing extinctions, securing land for conservation, and tackling climate change through strengthening local capacity.

The goal of the fund is to create a dynamic network of high-impact, self-sufficient conservation NGOs, able to work effectively with local people, governments and the international community, and empowered to protect key species, sites and habitats in their own countries.

The fund will benefit the work of the BirdLife Partners in ten countries: Turkey, Ukraine, Latvia, Romania, Brazil, Ecuador, Madagascar, Vietnam, Indonesia and Fiji. Financial support will be provided over five years, at the end of which it is anticipated that the organisations and their activities will be self-sustaining.

"Many NGOs in financially poor but biodiversity rich countries are facing serious challenges to resource their vital conservation activities" —Dr Marco Lambertini, BirdLife's Chief Executive

A 'NGO Health Check' at the start of the programme -a self assessment, against an ideal scenario for a thriving, successful NGO- will provide a base line to work from, and highlight the priority areas in which the selected NGOs need the most support. A development plan, listing training and support activities, will then be agreed between each Partner NGO and the BirdLife Secretariat. Each development plan will have clearly agreed targets, measuring conservation impact, NGO sustainability, and NGO stability.

Dr Marco Lambertini, BirdLife's Chief Executive, explained: "Since it was founded, BirdLife International has grown to over 110 national Partner organisations in respective countries/territories. It is the world’s largest alliance of conservation NGOs. Over that time, we have repeatedly proved that a targeted and sustained package of integrated financial and technical assistance builds sustainable local capacity and achieves large scale and long term conservation impact."

He added: "Many NGOs in financially poor but biodiversity rich countries are facing serious challenges to resource their vital conservation activities, particularly now in a climate of global downturn. The Arcadia/BirdLife fund will provide targeted core support to develop long term sustainable plans, retaining key staff and enabling our Partners to grow in confidence and effectiveness."

BirdLife comprises more than 100 conservation organisations working together to promote sustainable living as a means to conserve biodiversity

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