Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund (CEPF), Phase 2

This proposal is a request for additional GEF resources to roll out a second phase of the global CEPF program. This is critical to consolidate the program in existing hotspots, further strengthen local civil society capacity to conserve and manage biodiversity, and extend CEPF support to civil society in newly defined areas of critical biodiversity importance. CEPF will significantly expand the conservation efforts of its partners and national governments as a streamlined, agile fund designed specifically for civil society, including many NGOs and community groups often outside the reach of traditional funding mechanisms. Its approach emphasizes partnerships to avoid duplication of effort and maximize outcomes per dollar spent. Aug 8 2007 The CEPF is a long term global partnership program with multiple donors, including the GEF, Conservation International, the World Bank, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AfD). The CEPF-2 project would support a specific time slice of that program over five years from 2007-2012. The GEF grant of $20 million will be combined with at least $80 million in cofinance from other donors over the same period. The global environment objective of this project is to achieve sustainable conservation and integrated ecosystem management in areas of globally important biodiversity, through consolidating conservation outcomes in existing CEPF regions and expanding funding to new critical ecosystems. The development objective of the project is to strengthen the involvement and effectiveness of civil society in contributing to the conservation and management of globally important biodiversity.