The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has announced a call for proposals for biodiversity projects in the Pacific.
IUCN says it will provide a total of US$9 million to non-governmental organizations to work on projects in 20 biodiverse areas in Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, covering a total of 1.5 million hectares.
2 July 2014: The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has announced a call for proposals for biodiversity projects in the Pacific. IUCN says it will provide a total of US$9 million to non-governmental organizations to work on projects in 20 biodiverse areas in Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, covering a total of 1.5 million hectares.
According to IUCN’s Luisa Tagicakibau, “increasing population, lack of awareness, [and] unsustainable economic development” threaten the high biodiversity of these islands. Noting the importance of traditional knowledge and practices in biodiversity conservation in the Pacific, Tagicakibau underscored that “these people are the real stewards of biodiversity.”
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International (CI), the European Union (EU), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank, is providing the financing. Proposals are due on 26 August 2014. [CEPF Website] [IUCN Oceania Website] [IISD RS Sources]