December 2010: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) published a book titled “Defying Extinction: Partnerships to Safeguard Global Biodiversity,” which includes a sample of 23 case studies of projects funded by the GEF, implemented by the UN Development Bank (UNDP), the World Bank and the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), and executed by local partners in Africa, Eastern Europe, Central and Southeast Asia and Latin America.

The book, edited by Lisa Fitzpatrick and with a foreword by Monique Barbut, GEF CEO, shows how targeted action at multiple levels has helped to improve the conservation status of over 30 species, including several that are critically endangered or endangered in the wild, such as black rhino, snow leopards, siberian cranes and southern right whales. It also includes a chapter highlighting the loss of less conspicuous species, such as those found in cave habitats; and also touches on projects that are maintaining populations of species that are not currently threatened. [The book]