By Julie Shaw
The Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot in tropical South America, which supports 20,000 plant species and more than two dozen Critically Endangered vertebrate species, will receive an additional $2.4 million in grant funding from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF).
The new grants are part of a new CEPF program designed to sustain and build on conservation advances made as the result of previous CEPF investments in many of the most biologically rich areas on Earth.
Four conservation projects in the hotspot will be awarded CEPF consolidation grants based on an analysis of the impact of the initial five-year, $8 million investment in the region. These will have a geographic focus on the Central and Serro do Mar biodiversity conservation corridors.
The results of the first phase of CEPF investment in the Atlantic Forest, which was completed in December 2006, include the conservation of 100,370 hectares of land; improvement of land management on 104,400 hectares; and conservation support for 65 species listed on either the IUCN’s or Brazil’s Red List. About 88 percent of the CEPF funds were directed to local institutions.
CEPF awarded the new grant funds to initiatives based on their alignment with the CEPF investment priorities developed for the consolidation portfolio. Four projects will receive support during the three-year investment cycle. Those approved for funding are listed according to investment priority met:
Investment priority 1: Capacity building for local institutions in the biodiversity corridors.
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Associação Mico-Leão-Dourado: $550,000 to build local capacity and strengthen institutions in the Serra do Mar Corridor as a means to consolidate the mosaics (sub-corridors) of protected areas, promote landscape restoration and management, and stimulate the institutional and biological connectivity essential for the sustainability of the corridor.
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Instituto de Estudos SocioAmbientais do Sul da Bahia: $250,000 to link institutional and individual capacity-building with conservation activities to enable conservation action in 18 forest areas in the Central Corridor of the Atlantic Forest.
Investment priority 2: Improve the management effectiveness of protected areas.
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Fundação SOS Pró-Mata Atlântica: $934,457 to organize the physical and logistical structure for the Atlantic Forest Protected Areas Initiative (AFPAI) and its funding mechanism. The group will maintain contact with government agencies to optimize AFPAI efforts, and design and initiate a capacity-building program for private reserve associations.
Investment priorities 1 and 2:
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Conservação Internacional do Brasil: $665,543 to build upon successful partnerships and programs; expand to secure additional alliances and conservation results; support private reserves and public protected areas management; stimulate involvement of local institutions; and address capacity needs for protected area and buffer zone management.