About CTFs
About Conservation/Biodiversity Funds
Biodiversity Funds are private, legally independent mission-driven institutions that provide sustainable financing for nature conservation. They are grant-making institutions funding protected area management, research, capacity building, sustainable development, and conservation programs.
There are over 100 Biodiversity Funds in operation or development around the world, in over 70 countries. They are predominantly in Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America/Caribbean. Since the early 1990s, Biodiversity Funds have been serving as critical institutions for moving global funding streams to conservation programs, through grants, capacity building initiatives, and other conservation finance initiatives. These Funds manage endowments, sinking funds, grant programs, and other revenue streams. There is significant global experience to inform the PNG experience .
The introductory presentation on the Home page outlines some of the key features of successful CTFs.
Source: Conservation Trust Funds 2020: Global Vision, Local Action. Conservation Finance Alliance.
Example: Micronesia Conservation Trust
The Micronesia Conservation Trust was established in 2002. They manage several endowments, as well as donor funds from a variety of funders. Willy Kostka, Executive Director, and Lisa Ranahan Andon, Deputy Executive Director, have generously agreed to talk us through a slide presentation which they initially prepared for new board members =>
MCT has also produced and shared on YouTube a four minute (4') documentary celebrating their history, below:
Example: Forever Costa Rica
Forever Costa Rica (in fact Asociación Costa Rica por Siempre) is celebrating their 10th Anniversary and have prepared a video summarizing their accomplishments.
The also produced a slide show describing their origin and work in more detail (below).
Example: FMCN
Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza, (Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature or FMCN) was in founded in 1994 after a two-year consultancy process in which more than 400 representatives of 250 organizations as well as national and international institutions participated form all over the country. In 24 years, FMCN has financed 2,069 conservation projects, invested more than 165 million dollars and protected more than 65 species.
Note that the video narration is in Spanish. Please use the "Closed Captions" (CC) option to select English subtitles.
Example: Other CTFs in the region
The Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE) was launched in 1992 and was initially funded by a debt-for-nature swap between the United States and Philippine governments. Its total assets are around US$14 million. It is one of at least three independent CTFs in the Philippines (including the Forest Foundation Philippines and the Mt. Mantalingahan Protected Area Landscape fund; the Philippines government has also established a government fund which also has a government run fund, the INtegrated Protected Areas Fund which is meant to retain a portion of the funds generated by the national protect areas system.
Kehadiran Yayasan Keanekaragaman Hayati Indonesia (KEHATI), the Indonesia Biodiversity Foundation, was established in 1994 as a consequence of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Declaration of 1993 at which the Indonesian, Japanese and American governments agreed to work together to help sustainable biodiversity conservation in Indonesia. It was initially funded with US$19 million from USAID. Kehati now also administers the Blue Abadi Fund of some US$38 million, focused on marine conservation off of West Papua and the Bird's Head Seascape. The fund is designed to generate at least US$1.4M annually towards the funding gap for this critically important marine environment.
The Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation was established in 1992 and calls itself "...the world's first environmental trust fund...". It was set up as a collaboration between the government of Bhutan, UNDP and the World Wildlife Fund, who jointly provided US$20 million for an endowment. It operates under a Royal Charter. It has many donors, including GEF and a number of European governments. Today its endowment is worth around US$ XX million. The fund is accredited by the Green Climate Fund.
The Conservation Finance Alliance is the leading global professional alliance of conservation finance experts, practitioners, and organizations. Its mission is to promote awareness, expertise, and innovation in conservation finance globally. The CFA website contains a wealth of resources, including white papers, guides, webinars and surveys. It recently published Conservation Trust Funds 2020: Global Vision, Local Action, reviewing progress in the field over the last 10 years. It also conducts the Conservation Trust Investment Survey and maintains and updates the Practice Standards, below.
"These voluntary Practice Standards for Conservation Trust Funds are intended to serve as a tool for improving the design, management, and monitoring and evaluation of CTFs. CTFs and their donors can decide to use, aspire to, or adapt the Practice Standards to fit their particular needs. It is hoped that they will also serve as a basis for greater harmonization of international donor rules, standards, and policies for CTFs, resulting in lower transaction costs and greater conservation impact" (from Bath, P., Luján-Gallegos, V. and Guzmán-Valladares A. (2020), Practice Standards for Conservation Trust Funds Funds - 2020 edition, Conservation Finance Alliance, New York. Photo credits below from publication © Pareet Shaw, Paquita Bath, David Meyers, Lorenzo Rosenzweig, Paquita Bath, Paquita Bath, Lorenzo Rosenzweig).
The Practice Standards are organized into seven (7) Core Area, summarized =>
The Standards also incorporate four (4) cross-cutting themes:
Communications
Human Resources
Monitoring & Evaluation
Technology
The Conservation Finance Alliance website has links to a number of helpful videos.
Governance addresses the composition, functions and responsibilities of a CTF governing body or bodies and the content and role of governing documents.
Institutional Effectiveness addresses strategic planning, interactions with government, partnerships with other organizations, and effective communications
Programs covers how CTFs achieve their missions through grant-making and other expenditures, set goals and targets, manage the grant cycle, and monitor and evaluate both grants and projects.
Administration takes up the themes of human resource policies, staff roles and responsibilities, operations manuals, use of financial resources, audits, and the use of technology.
Asset Management discusses the components of investment strategies, fiduciary responsibilities, and relationships with various types of investment professionals.
Resource Mobilization covers fundraising and managing relationships and funding sources to enhance the overall financial sustainability of biodiversity conservation, particularly protected area systems, but also including funding for sustainability goals and climate action programs
Risk Management and Safeguards addresses the policies and procedures needed to identify and address risks and adopt national and internationally used environmental and social safeguards.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Following are questions we have received, and responses. If you have a question that is not covered here, please email Ray Victurine (rvicturine@wcs.org) or Katy Mathias (kmathias@wcs.org).
