A Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) awareness-raising reception was held in Brussels with the support of donor partner Conservation International’s (CI) Europe office, attracting donors, representatives of NGOs and governments and some European royalty to learn about CEPF and its conservation strategy for the Mediterranean Basin.
His Royal Highness Prince Constantijn and Her Royal Highness Princess Laurentien van Oranje of the Netherlands were guests of honor. Princess Laurentien, who is very involved in conservation and development issues and is also a successful author of children’s books, addressed the audience and presented a video featuring our future global leaders. In this video, children from all over the world share their refreshing views on the importance of nature and made a convincing and often moving plea to protect nature.
Other speakers included Gilles Kleitz of l’Agence Française de Développement, one of CEPF’s donor partners; CI Executive Vice President Olivier Langrand; CEPF Executive Director Patricia Zurita; CEPF grantee Tommy Garnett, regional director, Environmental Foundation for Africa; and Güven Eken, president of Doğa Derneği, the Turkish Nature Association, which led the development of CEPF’s ecosystem profile for the Mediterranean Basin Hotspot.
The reception was preceded by a technical meeting with representatives of the European Commission, which was a follow-up to a high-level meeting in May in New York with the European Commission Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik. The technical meeting focused on opportunities for collaboration and partnership, with an aim of encouraging the European Commission to become a partner to CEPF.