The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), funded by the World Bank and Global Environment Facility (GEF), has implemented projects supporting both the livelihoods of the poor, and critical ecosystems.
August 2011: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) and World Bank have highlighted the results of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), a multi-donor initiative for investment in biodiversity conservation that helps local communities and civil society organizations conserve natural resources that bring economic and social benefits to the poor.
In Lomati, Fiji, the CEPF, together with Fijian Forests organization and BirdLife International, helped almost 200 villagers learn to manage tree nurseries, plant pineapples and maintain beehives in exchange for a community agreement not to clear forest on a nearby mountain, which, in turn, helped to conserve four endangered bird species endemic to the area.
In Viet Nam, a local non-profit organization took journalists to sites where important land had been degraded, allowing them to publish articles from first-hand experience, and eventually leading to the adoption of measures by the government to address degradation.
The CEPF has been funded by the Global Environment Facility, World Bank, Governments of Japan and France, MacArthur Foundation and Conservation International. [GEF Press Release]