The Katoomba Group's Ecosystem Marketplace

Vol. 2, No. 9: December 18, 2007

The Ecosystem Marketplace's Community Forum
Connecting people to ecosystem markets

Welcome to the Community Forum, a newsletter dedicated to providing information on community-based payment for ecosystem services from around the world!

At the United Nations sponsored Climate Change Conference in Indonesia the first two weeks of December, there were many debates, but the one that stood out for all of us involved in PES at the community level was whether carbon offset credits should be granted for avoided deforestation. If this measure is incorporated into climate change agreements, rural communities could potentially see great benefit. At the same time, as the world begins to clamor ever louder for climate change mitigation solutions, the stakes have been raised. It is a crucial moment for safeguarding rural communities involved in PES so that in the rush to develop carbon offset programs, their rights are not trampled.

In honor of the Climate Change Conference, we have included a case study in our Around the World section of a program in Indonesia that is attempting to market certified carbon credits produced through avoided deforestation. Also in this section are articles on a sea turtle conservation program from El Salvador, a new PES initiative in East and West Africa, and, from Central America, an innovative system of paying for multiple ecosystem services from agricultural lands. Our Viewpoint section is dedicated entirely to opinion pieces having to do with the role of PES in climate change mitigation. In the Resources and Tools section, we have listed a number of web-based guides and newsletters, as well as publications that we hope will be of use. Don't forget to see the new Opportunities section at the end for up-to-date listings of workshops, conferences, educational opportunities and funding sources relevant to community-based PES.

We hope you enjoy this edition of the Community Forum! If you do, please forward it on to friends and colleagues. We want to be able to share this forum with the many people around the globe who are involved in community-based payment for ecosystem services.

– Elizabeth Shapiro, Community Forum

For comments or questions, please email: communityforum@ecosystemmarketplace.com

Sign up to receive the Community Forum on a regular basis

To sign up to receive the Katoomba Group newsletter on payment for ecosystem services in Tropical America please e-mail Rachel Miller.

To sign up to receive the Katoomba Group newsletter on payment for ecosystem services in East & Southern Africa, please e-mail Alice Ruhweza.

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
The Community Forum newsletter is hiring a new editor to research and write this publication. The job can be done remotely, so location is not important, but we are looking for someone with excellent writing skills, bilingual English and Spanish, and with considerable experience in community-based conservation and payment for ecosystem services. For more information, contact Rachel Miller.

Indonesia – The Ulu Masen Project Tests the Waters for Selling Carbon Offsets from Avoided Deforestation

One of the most contentious topics at this year’s United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meetings in Bali this December was over whether mechanisms that Reduce the Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) should be included in international agreements as valid means of mitigating climate change. The recently developed Ulu Masen Ecosystem Project brings this policy debate down to the ground with a proposal to market carbon offset credits generated primarily through activities that will reduce deforestation rates. The proposal includes land use planning and reclassification, increased monitoring and law enforcement, reforestation, restoration, and sustainable community logging on 750,000 ha of forest in the Ulu Masen Ecosystem located in the Indonesian Province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. The project estimates proposed activities will reduce deforestation in the area by 85% and that 3,369,848 tons of CO2 emissions can be avoided each year. The Ulu Masen proposal is also innovative in that it is seeking certification from the relatively new Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards program. The project is supported by a partnership of non-governmental and civil-society organizations led by Fauna and Flora International, but will be implemented by the Government of Aceh Province, with expected endorsement and support of the national government. Carbon Conservation Ltd, PTY is the lead private company assisting with project design, development, start-up and carbon finance.

  – View the Ulu Masen project proposal (pdf)
  – Read an article on the issue of allowing REDD mechanisms as part of climate change treaties
  – Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards website

El Salvador - Saving Sea Turtles, One Egg at a Time

Of the seven species of sea turtle in our oceans, six are classified as endangered on the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species. Four of these turtle species come to the beaches of El Salvador to nest. Until now, there has been very little information available as to how human activity, such as hunting for eggs and meat and tourist development of the beaches where they nest, are impacting populations. The Salvadoran non-profit organization, the Zoological Foundation of El Salvador (FUNZEL), has devised an innovative way of both monitoring and rescuing sea turtles and their nests. Since the people in coastal communities who collect eggs to sell have a vested interest in and deep knowledge of sea turtle nesting behavior, FUNZEL has enlisted their aid in nest and adult turtle monitoring by creating networks of local field technicians. Though Salvadoran law requires that sea turtle egg collectors must donate one dozen eggs of every nest to local hatcheries, there is little enforcement. In response, FUNZEL has also created a program to buy sea turtle eggs at US$0.50 to $1.00 over market price. These eggs are then reburied in a guarded section of beach. Though buying the eggs is only a short-term solution, FUNZEL hopes that the information they gather from local field technicians will inform the design of a conservation program that can save sea turtles with a minimal impact to coastal communities.

Contact: Mike Liles, Project Coordinator

– FUNZEL website
– Download an information sheet on the sea turtle project (pdf)

El Salvador – Salvando las Tortugas Marinas Una a la Vez

De las siete especias de tortugas marinas en nuestros mares, seis son clasificadas en peligro de extinción por la Lista Roja de Especies Amanezadas del IUCN. Cuatro de las especies de Tortugas amanezadas llegan a las playas de El Salvador para construyeren sus nidos. Hasta ahorra no había mucha información dispuesta sobre como las actividades humanas, como la caza para huevos o carne y el desarrollo de turismo en las playas donde colocan sus nidos, impactan las tortugas. La Fundación Zoológico de El Salvador (FUNZEL), una organización sin fines de lucrativo, ha creado un mecanismo innovador para monitorear y rescatar las tortugas y sus nidos. La gente de las comunidades costeras quién recogen los huevos de tortuga para vender tienen un fuerte interés y conocimiento profundo del comportamiento de las tortugas y como construyen sus nidos, y por eso FUNZEL ha reclutado ayuda para monitorear los nidos y el desarrollo de las tortugas adultas por una red de técnicos locales. Aunque la ley nacional de El Salvador requiere que los que recogen los huevos de tortugas marinas tienen que donar una docena de cada nido a un criadero local, no hay mucho cumplimiento. Por eso, FUNZEL también ha desarrollado un programa para comprar huevos de tortuga al precio de US$1.00 a 0.50 más alto del Mercado. Los huevos comprados son enterrados en la arena otra vez, pero dentro de un criadero protegido. Aunque la compra de huevos no ofrece una solución de largo plazo, el FUNZEl espera que integrando la información recogida por los técnicos locales, puedan desarrollar un programa de conservación de tortugas sin mucho impactos negativos a las comunidades costeras.

Contacto: Mike Liles, Coordinador del Proyecto

– Link al sitio de internet de FUNZEL
– Link a un folleto sobre el proyecto de conservación de Tortugas marinas (pdf)

East and West Africa – PRESA Initiative to Replicate Successful PES Programs from Asia

The Pro-Poor Rewards for Environmental Services in Africa (PRESA) program was recently initiated in four core sites in East and West Africa. The Rewarding Upland Poor for Environmental Services (RUPES) program has been operating in seven countries in Asia since 2002 and has built a stock of experience in implementing ecosystem service programs with poor communities in these regions. The PRESA program is funded by the International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD) but is led by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the same organization that coordinates RUPES. The PRESA program is part of ICRAF's goal of expanding RUPES approaches and methodologies to Africa and Latin America. The primary goal of PRESA is to facilitate fair and effective agreements between the stewards and beneficiaries of ecosystem services with the end goal of benefiting smallholder farmers and residents in East and West Africa. The program also promotes the involvement of private companies in a range of initiatives for ecosystem management, including policy dialogue with public agencies and fair contracts for ecosystem management. The implementation phase of the PRESA program began in the middle of 2007, so it is too soon to know what impact it will have, but it is exciting to see what has been a fairly successful model for community-based ecosystem services programs in Asia begin to be replicated in other parts of the world.

Contact: Thomas Yatich

– Read an article on the PRESA program

Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Colombia – Innovative System Pays for Multiple Ecosystem Services from Agricultural Lands

A number of studies analyzing the impacts and effectiveness of PES programs have found that payments based on the value of single ecosystem services seldom provide sufficient financial incentive to stop ecosystem degradation or improve rural livelihoods. Funded primarily through a grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and begun in 2002 at sites in Nicaragua, Colombia and Costa Rica, the Regional Integrated Silvopastoral Ecosystem Management Project (RISEMP) program has developed an innovative system of valuing and paying for multiple ecosystem services produced by silvopastoral (pasture with trees integrated) systems. A point system was developed based on types of land use and their relative value for biodiversity conservation or carbon sequestration for climate change mitigation. This type of “Ecosystem Services Index” is similar to the system used by the Conservation Reserve Program in the United States. The amount to pay per point was decided based on both the estimated value of the conserved biodiversity or carbon and on the cost incurred to land managers for each land use type. Using this process, payments were set at US$75 per point per year, with a maximum annual payment per household set at US$4,500. A recently published study of the impacts of the RISEMP program in Nicaragua found that in the first two years 24% of the total area showed some form of land use change, with a two-thirds decrease in degraded pasture and a substantial increase in pastures with high tree densities, fodder banks and live fences. As with many PES programs that are begun with grants from external sources, questions remain about how these payments will be sustained in the longer term.

– Read description of the RISEMP valuation process
– Read an abstract of article on RISEMP program in Nicaragua (pdf)

Carbon and Avoided Deforestation: The Road to Bali
by Steve Zwick

Indonesia has the dubious distinction of being both a world-champion deforester and one of the countries most likely to suffer from climate change – all-in-all, a perfect location for December's Climate Change Conference in Bali, where a central question will be whether to grant emission reduction credits for saving existing forests. In this first of three stories, the Ecosystem Marketplace talks to advocates and opponents of using 'avoided deforestation' for offsetting carbon emissions.

  – Read the Ecosystem Marketplace article
  – Read the second Ecosystem Marketplace article
  – Read the third Ecosystem Marketplace article

Sir Michael Somare, Prime Minister of New Guinea, on Why Industrialized Nations Should Support Rainforest Conservation

In this speech given at a roundtable on global climate change in 2005, the Prime Minister of New Guinea introduces the idea of payments for avoided deforestation – the topic that was the subject of so much debate at the recent UNFCC Conference in Bali, Indonesia. He points out that 20-25% of all green house gas emissions are caused by land use change, primarily deforestation. He calls on the industrialized countries to pay developing countries for the costs they must bear if they are to protect remaining forests. This speech led directly to the formation of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations, a group of thirty-nine forested tropical countries who are offering voluntary carbon emission reductions by conserving forests in exchange for access to international markets for emissions trading.

– Read the full text of speech
– Coalition for Rainforest Nations

No Air, Don’t Sell Yourself – An NGO from Spain Critiques the Concept of PES

Can payment for ecosystem services (PES) programs benefit poor, rural communities? Though this newsletter generally promotes the idea that PES can benefit the rural communities who participate as sellers, in the name of fair and open debate we also include opposing viewpoints. In this critique, GRAIN, a non-profit organization based in Spain, claims that payment for ecosystem services is simply another attempt to privatize natural resources and, as such, will in the end only serve to divest the poor and indigenous groups of their livelihoods and of rights to their land. They explain that PES relies on the process of assigning economic value to ecosystems functions that were previously “free” and argue that when something that was free becomes valuable, it is not the poor who will benefit, but those who have the economic power to exploit it. Though communities may at first benefit from involvement in PES programs, eventually more powerful actors will buy the ownership rights away from the poor. This then will lead to, “three immediate impacts on the communities involved in such conservation projects: loss of control over at least part of their territory; indebtedness, which can lead to the loss of land; and punitive financial and legal measures if they do not fulfill what is stipulated by the management plans.” The article goes on to describe in some depth the political and economic origins and context of the concept of PES.

– Read the full article

Interview with Marie-Louise Felix of WWF in the Guianas on Why Conservationists Need to Work with the Rural Poor

Until fairly recently, large, international conservation organizations tended to view the rural poor in the tropics as the destroyers of the environment rather than its champions. Marie-Louise Felix of the World Wildlife Fund in the Guianas region of South America is part of a new breed of conservationists who view the rural poor as necessary collaborators. In Felix’s opinion, there will never be enough funding to pay people to conserve. The key to long-term conservation, she says, is to give local people who have a vested interest in protecting the environment the tools and resources that they need to do so. She says that she found, “That when you give people the chance to manage their own resources, some very ingenious results occur - if we do it right!” She also encourages communities to embrace development options, such as ecotourism, that have minimal environmental impacts.

– Read the full interview

Web-Based Tools

The Katoomba Group Launches Newly Redesigned, Interactive Website

The Katoomba Group is launching a new website to provide an interactive space where members can connect with others working on PES around the world. It is our hope that the site will enable people working on PES to share and build ideas together, seek help from others, offer their expertise, and contribute information and tools to continue to build the state of knowledge and work on payments for ecosystem services. In addition, the new website will provide specific information on the background, vision and current initiatives of the regional Katoomba groups in Africa, Latin America, and China, as well as the work of the International Katoomba Group. The website will provide access to vast resources related to ecosystem services through the “PES Learning Tools Page”. Finally, the new website provides an opportunity for partners to join the network by filling in a form that highlights areas of expertise, needs and interests. This also gives partners the opportunity to make their expertise available to help other Katoomba Group partner’s projects via the "Rapid Response Mechanism."

Contact: Rachel Miller

– Visit the new website
– Sign-up to become a Katoomba Group Partner

E-News from the RUPES Project in Asia

The Rewarding Upland Poor for Environmental Services (RUPES) program is one of the largest PES programs in the world, with projects in seven countries in Asia (see the article on PRESA in the Around the World section). The RUPES E-News monthly listserv provides short informational pieces on activities at various project sites, but also include links to a variety of tools and resources that anyone working on community-based PES programs will find useful. To sign-up for the listserv, email rupes@cgiar.org.

– Access back issues of RUPES E-News

Publications

The FORMA Project from CATIE Provides a Host of New Tools for Carbon Offset Projects

Meeting the standards set by the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change is notoriously difficult and costly. The FORMA project, hosted by the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in Costa Rica, has developed a number of resources and guides for implementing CDM projects. Though their focus is on Latin America, non-Spanish speakers and practitioners from other regions will find much useful information, including the recently published "Update on Markets for Forestry Offsets" (in English and Spanish).

– FORMA Project website
– Download Update on Markets for Forestry Offsets (pdf)

El Proyecto FORMA de CATIE Ofrece Muchas Nuevas Herramientas para Proyectos de Captura de Carbono

Es conocido que para satisfacer los estándares del Mecanismo del Desarrollo Limpio (MDL) del Protocolo de Kyoto sobre el Cambio Climático es muy difícil y costoso. El Proyecto FORMA, basado en el Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñaza (CATIE) en Costa Rica ha desarrollado algunos guías y manuales sobre como implementar los proyectos MDL. Su enfoque geográfico es América Latina y la mayoría de las publicaciones están escritas en Español.

– Link al sitio de web del Proyecto FORMA

Agroenterprise Guidebooks from CIAT an Aid for Developing Markets for Ecosystem Services

One of the most difficult aspects of implementing a community-based PES program is developing the internal infrastructure and organization to sell ecosystem services, AND at the same time, finding a market for those services. The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Colombia has produced a number of manuals, workbooks, and case study examples of successful development of small-scale agroenterprises. There are innumerable resources for download at the Rural Agroenterprise Development website that will be useful for practitioners both in educating themselves and the communities they work with.

– CIAT's Rural Agroenterprise Development webpage

Las Guías de CIAT Apoyan el Desarrollo de Mercados para Servicios Ambientales

Uno de los aspectos más difíciles de implementar programas de pago por servicios ambientales es el desarrollo de la infraestructura y organización interna para vender servicios ambientales y, a la vez, buscar un mercado por aquellos servicios. El Centro Internacional por Agricultura Tropical en Colombia ha producido algunos manuales, cuadernos, estudios de caso de desarrollo exitoso de agroempresas de pequeña escala. Hay recursos innumerables que se puede bajar desde el sitio web de Desarrollo de Agroempresas Rurales que son útiles para los que trabajan con comunidades y sus colaboradores.

– Link al sitio web del Desarrollo de Agroempresas Rurales

1) CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

Seventh Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

The Seventh Session will take place at United Nations Headquarters, in New York, from 21 April to 2 May 2008. The special theme will be "Climate change, bio-cultural diversity and livelihoods: the stewardship role of indigenous peoples and new challenges." Pre-registration is open to indigenous peoples' organizations, academic institutions and NGOs with ECOSOC consultative status. Please visit the Seventh Session webpage, where you will find all online registration forms:

Contact: indigenouspermanentforum@un.org

– Visit the website

El Séptimo Foro Permanente para las Cuestiones Indígenas de las Naciones Unidas

El Séptimo período de sesiones se llevará a cabo del 21 de abril al 2 de mayo de 2008 en la sede de las Naciones Unidas, en Nueva York y el tema especial será "El cambio climático, la diversidad biocultural y los medios de vida: el rol de manejo de los pueblos indígenas y nuevos retos". La pré-inscripción está abierta para las organizaciones de pueblos indígenas, las instituciones académicas y las ONGs con estatus consultivo ante el ECOSOC.

Contacto: indigenouspermanentforum@un.org

– Link a la página web en donde podrá acceder a los formularios de pre-inscripción en línea

2) EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

BEARHS Environmental Leadership Program
Deadline: Feb. 1, 2008

The Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) at the University of California, Berkeley, offers a unique learning opportunity for mid-career environmental professionals and decision-makers to gain expertise, enhance skills and broaden perspectives on environmental and natural resource management and leadership. The ELP offers an annual 3-week summer certificate course in Sustainable Environmental Management at UC Berkeley, and coordinates an active and growing Alumni Network. The ELP also supports post-training collaborative projects with alumni through its Small Grants Initiative. The 2008 ELP program will be held June 27 – July 19.

Contact: Leslie Correll

– Link to BEARHS Program website and application form

Programa de Liderazgo en Medio Ambiente, Curso de Certificado: Manejo Sostenible del Medio Ambiente
Fecha límite: 1 de febrero, 2008

El Programa de Liderazgo en Medio Ambiente (ELP), Universidad de California en Berkeley, solicita aplicaciones de profesionales y activistas en el campo de protección del medioambiente y fortalecimiento de medios de subsistencia sostenibles. El curso combina capacitación en protección del medio ambiente rural y urbano, conservación de recursos naturales, combate de la pobreza con estrategias integradas y liderazgo en procesos colaborativos y cambio social. El curso es internacional y será en inglés. El próximo curso ocurrirá del 27 de junio al 19 de julio de 2008.

Contacto: Leslie Correll

– Link a más información y para bajar la aplicación

Kinship Conservation Fellows Program
Deadline: January 31, 2008

The Kinship Conservation Fellows program is designed to equip select career conservationists with effective tools for solving environmental problems through market-based principles. The month-long course combines presentations, discussions, case studies and field trips. The 2008 program will take place from June 25-July 25 in Bellingham, Washington. Eighteen Fellows will be selected to participate. Participants must have a minimum of five years of experience in the conservation field to be accepted. Applications should be submitted online.

Contact: info@kinshipfellows.org

– Kinship Conservation Fellows website
– View application

Dos Cursos Sobre el Desarrollo de Proyectos de Captura de Carbono Basado en Forestaría
Diseño de Proyectos de Reducción de Emisiones por Deforestación Evitada
28 - 30 enero, 2008
Formulación de Proyecto MDL Forestales
31 enero - 1 feb., 2008

Cada año, desde el 2000, el CATIE ha ofrecido un curso sobre el diseño de proyectos de Mecanismo para un Desarrollo Limpio en los sectores forestal y bioenergía. Hasta la fecha, personas de diversas disciplinas y organizaciones, procedentes de 30 países de América, África, Asia y Europa, se han capacitado en este curso. Nos sentimos orgullosos de encontrar egresos de nuestro curso desarrollando proyectos MDL, introduciendo el tema en sus respectivas organizaciones y empresas, representando activamente a sus regiones o países en las negociaciones internacionales, contribuyendo a mejorar el estado del conocimiento a través de investigaciones y multiplicando el conocimiento desde sus cátedras universitarias.

Contacto: capacitacion@catie.ac.cr

– Link al sitio de CATIE

3) FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Forestry Funding News

Forestry Funding News is an electronic newsletter is compiled by the FAO Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) team. It is a compilation of news related to funding sources for international forestry-based programs. All back issues of the newsletter may be found on CPF Sourcebook’s Web site, though some links may no longer be available on the internet after a period of time.

– Forestry Funding E-News

Wildlife without Borders Grants from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Deadline: varies with type of grant

These grants support training and capacity building in relation to international biodiversity conservation. As part of their Regional Program, grants are given to projects in Africa, China, India, Latin America, the Caribbean, Mexico and Russia. Their Species Program funds projects related to the conservation of particular endangered species, including marine turtles, great apes, rhinoceroses, African elephants, Asian elephants, and tigers.

– Wildlife without Borders

Programa de Vida Silvestre sin Fronteras del Fish and Wildlife Service de los Estados Unidos
Fecha limite: depende de la clase de beca

Estas becas apoyan el desarrollo de proyectos internacionales de capacitación sobre conservación de biodiversidad. Como parte de sus programas regionales, becas están asignadas a proyectos de África, China, India, América Latina, Caribe, México y Rusia. El Programa de Especies apoyan proyectos relacionados a la conservación de especies en peligro de extinción particulares, incluyendo tortugas marinas, grandes simios, rinocerantes, elefantes Africanos, elefantes Asiaticos y tigres.

– Link en Español para el programa de México
– Link en Español para el programa de América Latina y el Caribe

British Petroleum's Conservation Leadership Programme
Deadline: November 2008

The Conservation Leadership Programme is offering Future Conservationist Awards of up to $12,500 to high potential teams who aim to develop their skills through practical conservation projects. These awards are highly competitive and winners are selected from amongst the highest quality applications. There will be $250,000 worth of funding available for the Future Conservationist Award winning projects in 2008. Successful applicants will: 1) Develop the knowledge, skills and abilities of team members; 2) Implement a focused, high-priority conservation project combining research and action; 3) Contribute to the long-term success of local conservation efforts; and 4) Contribute to the education and awareness of local stakeholders. Projects must take place in one of the following countries: Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Egypt, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Russia, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey or Venezuela. They must be led by a national of the country where the project takes place; co-leadership with non-national team members is acceptable.

– Conservation Leadership Programme

The A.J. Muste Memorial Institute's NOVA Travel Fund
Deadline: Dec. 2008

Launched in 2007, the NOVA Travel Fund (Fondo NOVA-Viajes) makes grants of up to $1,500 to help base-level activists from Latin America and the Caribbean attend regional conferences and meetings. Grant recommendations are made by a committee of advisors representing different regions of Latin America.

– A.J. Muste Memorial Institute

Fondo NOVA-Viajes del Instituto Conmemorativo A.J. Muste
Fecha límite: diciembre, 2008

Lanzado en 2007, el Fondo NOVA-Viajes ofrece aportes de hasta US$1.500 para apoyar a que activistas de América Latina y el Caribe puedan asistir a conferencias y reuniones regionales. Los aportes son recomendados por un comité de asesores representando a diferentes regiones de América Latina.

– Instituto Conmemorativo A.J. Muste

The United Nations Development Program's Equator Ventures
Deadline: This program is still in pilot phase but may be accepting applications soon.

Equator Ventures' clients are drawn from conservation enterprises that deliver demonstrable conservation and socio-economic benefits in priority areas. These enterprises may be found in traditional sectors such as agroforestry, ecotourism, ecosystem services or non-timber forest products. However, Equator Ventures' client pool will also welcome enterprises from other areas of endeavor, provided they can demonstrate positive impacts on biodiversity and communities. Equator Venture's mission is to provide a "blended" offer of debt finance and enterprise development support to viable small and medium sized biodiversity businesses. Equator Ventures will invest in ventures at all stages of development. Loans between US$30,000 and US$500,000 will be provided for the sustainable growth needs of projects. Complementary grants will support a comprehensive business development and capacity building program, tailor-made to meet the needs of successful entrepreneurs from the developing world.

– Equator Ventures

Rufford Small Grants for Nature Conservation
Deadline: No specific deadline

Rufford Small Grants for Nature Conservation (RSGs) provides grants of up to £5,000 aimed at small conservation programs and pilot projects. Individuals or small groups in the developing world are eligible. The impact of the project must be pragmatic, measurable and long lasting. The grant must make up the majority of the total budget and funds must be used predominantly in the field. The project should generally be approximately 12-18 months duration. The Rufford Foundation also offers Innovations Awards that are given to new, substantial projects that could have ground-breaking effects in nature conservation in the developing world. Projects receive a one-off grant of up to £50,000.

– Rufford Small Grants for Nature Conservation

Allachy Awards for Conservation of Medicinal Plants
Deadline: No specific deadline

The purpose of the Allachy awards has been to build capacity for the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants. Selected projects have taken community-based approaches to medicinal plant conservation. Special attention will be given in the future to applications that contribute systematically to building new regional programs on community-based conservation in the Himalayas and East Africa, but the program is open to all applicants from the developing world. Applicants should be organizations that can demonstrate a long-term commitment to plant conservation. The maximum size of grant is normally £10,000. Applicants should be from developing countries. Applications are welcome from all regions, but synergy between applications will be considered in deciding which projects to support, as well as the potential to use the awards to build more substantial proposals. Projects designed to increase the sustainability of commercial harvesting are welcome. Awards can be for periods of up to 3 years.

– Allachy Awards for Conservation of Medicinal Plants

African Conservation Fund's Partner in Conservation Grants
Deadline: No specific deadline

Researchers, scientists, conservation entities such as local or regional NGOs, and communities groups that are pursuing community-based conservation activities in eastern Africa and meet specific criteria may apply to the African Conservation Fund (ACF) to become a Partner in Conservation. The primary benefits of becoming a Partner in Conservation are for non-US conservation practitioners to solicit and receive donations and grants through ACF's non-profit status under the IRS code article 501(c)3 (ie – donors' contributions are tax deductible); and to benefit from ACF's global communications efforts in support of community conservation.

– Partner in Conservation Grants

Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
Deadline: No specific deadline

The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is a global program with funds from a number for sources but administered by Conservation International. The program provides grants to nongovernmental organizations and other private sector partners to protect critical ecosystems and influence decisions that affect lives, livelihoods, and, ultimately, the global environment. There is no specific limit to the level of funding an applicant can request and project funding may be provided for a maximum duration of five years. The program funds conservation groups in the following areas: Caucasus, Eastern Arc & Coastal Forests, Eastern Himalayas, Northern Mesoamerica, and Succulent Karoo. Applications are available in English, Spanish and Russian.

– Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund

El Fondo de Alianzas para los Ecosistemas Críticos (CEPF)
Fecha límite: No hay fecha límite.

El Fondo de Alianzas para los Ecosistemas Críticos (CEPF) es una iniciativa que provee becas a organizaciones no-gubernamentales y otros socios del sector privado para proteger ecosistemas críticos e influir en las decisiones que impactan las vidas, y el medio ambiente global. No hay un límite especifico de financiamiento que un solicitante pueda pedir y los fondos estarán proveídos por un máximo de 5 años. El programa patrocina grupos en las siguientes regiones del mundo: Caucasus, Eastern Arc & Coastal Forests, Eastern Himalayas, Northern Mesoamerica, and Succulent Karoo. Las solicitudes están disponibles en Español, Inglés, y Ruso.

– Fondo de Alianzas para los Ecosistemas Críticos (MS Word)

DOEN Foundation Grants for Sustainable Development Enterprises
Deadline: At least four months before the activity starts.

DOEN Foundation works towards the achievement of a livable world in which everyone has a place. Acting within its four fields of operation of Sustainable Development, Culture, Welfare and Social Cohesion, it provides subsidies where necessary, and arranges loans and equity investments where possible. DOEN's primary focus in the area of Sustainable Development consists of social-cultural aspects ('people'), economic aspects ('profit') and ecological aspects ('planet'). Microfinance is still the most important instrument in this program. Nevertheless, in 2006, DOEN shifted its microfinance focus towards the development of the financial sector in the wider sense. It began to invest in organizations that help SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) get off the ground in developing countries, so as to be able to serve those businesses that have outgrown the microfinance stage. This has resulted in support being given to organizations that work directly with these enterprises.

– DOEN Foundation Grants for Sustainable Development Enterprises

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