| Project Detail |
This project aims to ensure the health of ecosystems such as mangroves, forests or wetlands is at the heart of the resilience of the islands and their inhabitants. In the Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands (MADIO) hotspot, CEPF is implementing, with the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and its local partners, a program in favor of civil society organizations (CSOs) committed to nature conservation through nature-based solutions.
CONTEXT
CEPF is an initiative launched in 2001 and supported by AFD, the NGO Conservation International, the European Union (EU), the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM), the Government of Japan and the World Bank. Its mission is to strengthen the capacity of civil society to ensure the preservation of biodiversity in 36 global biodiversity hotspots. This program focuses on four countries in the Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands hotspot, as well as the Zanzibar archipelago in Tanzania. These islands are extremely vulnerable to climate change. Their populations, agricultural land and infrastructure are concentrated in coastal areas where sea level rise and the increased frequency and severity of extreme climate hazards are most damaging. The populations and economies of these islands depend on ecosystem services (fisheries, drinking water, protection, etc.), which are seriously threatened by human activities. Thus, the resilience and capacity of these ecosystems to provide essential services to the population is diminishing, while their rich and often unique biodiversity is in decline.
DESCRIPTION
Since 2023, CEPF and IUCN have been deploying an unprecedented program targeting the MADIO hotspot. Selected through calls for projects offering a range of small and large grants, civil society projects aim to support the sustainable development of target countries by supporting the rational use and management of marine and coastal resources. Over the next five years for the EU (delegated fund of €10 million) and the next ten years for the Green Climate Fund delegated to AFD (in 2020 for an amount of USD 38 million), CEPF grants will support actions carried out by CSOs, research organizations or the private sector for the conservation of biodiversity and the strengthening of its resilience to climate change in several sites in the Indian Ocean, particularly contributing to the provision of important services for the most vulnerable populations.
CEPF works through civil society organizations, providing them with grants to carry out their conservation activities and providing them with technical assistance and training to strengthen their operational and institutional capacities.
IMPACTS
To ensure success, these efforts will be aligned with the policy priorities for biodiversity and climate change established by national governments in the target countries. The action will enable local communities and CSOs to sustainably protect, manage and restore critical ecosystems, and support them in integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services into public policies (at national and subnational levels) and the business practices of private sector companies. |
