US$20M more for world conservation activities
Stabroek News, Saturday, January 19th 2008
Conservation International (CI) was recently the beneficiary of US$20
million in new funds from the World Bank through the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) to protect some of the world's unique and threatened
areas, including island ecosystems and temperate forests, a release
said.
And while it is not clear in what way CI Guyana would benefit from the
fund, Ajay Baksh of the local organisation said that it would benefit
directly or indirectly. He pointed out that the Guyana arm and the
world body work in tandem and as such benefits would more than likely
trickle down. He also said that in the past CI Guyana has benefited
directly from monies provided by the GEF.
According to the release, the funds would be made available as grants
for projects undertaken by the non-governmental community, and private
sector organisations though the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
(CEPF), which is administered by CI.
The release said that the new funding brings the total GEF commitment
to the CEPF to US$45 million. The money, the release said, is pooled
with contributions from CI and other global leaders in the partnership
to create a biodiversity fund that unites expertise and resources to
safeguard the hotspots. The biodiversity hotspots are home to more than
half of all terrestrial plants and animals, as well as more than 1.8
billion people who are highly dependent on healthy lands for their
livelihoods and well-being.
At least 10 hotpots will receive CEPF funding for the first time, and
grants will also help consolidate gains made in other hotspots that
received previous CEPF investments. Other partners in the area are the
French Development Agency, the Government of Japan, the John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank.
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