Conclusion 

In recent years, Brazil has entered into a new period of environmental revitalization, particularly in the search for effective means of protecting biodiversity. This revitalization is the result of many new initiatives provided in the form of small- but regionally significant - funds as well as nationwide strategies that address large-scale conservation needs. However, the available resources remain insufficient to assure biodiversity conservation, particularly in the Atlantic Forest, given intense socioeconomic pressure on forest resources and the region's exceptional biodiversity. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that CEPF investment in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest focus on two geographic corridors and builds on the results of regional workshops that identified priority areas for conservation.

These regional workshops, "Project for Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Brazilian Biodiversity" (part of the National Program for Biodiversity conducted for the Atlantic Forest), identified gaps in the available knowledge of biodiversity; targeted priority areas for conservation; and outlined strategies and recommendations. Implementing the results from this workshop will greatly contribute to environmental policy and protection for this region. Such initiatives have also been useful in promoting partnerships between organized civil society (through NGOs), government agencies, and major research centers in the country - a circumstance that should be maintained and stimulated during the implementation of CEPF projects.

The Atlantic Forest is already targeted by many conservation strategies, but these strategies still leave critical gaps - opportunities for additional investment by CEPF. Most importantly, however, CEPF offers the region a responsive and flexible funding mechanism, and the Action Fund for small initiatives outside the selected corridors reflects this. Bureaucratic and time-consuming funding mechanisms have undermined conservation efforts and impeded new initiatives, mainly because many organizations lack the capacity to accommodate the administrative burdens imposed by most donor agencies' procedures. In this context, CEPF will not stand alone, but will significantly enhance other ongoing mechanisms and strategies, raising expectations of successful conservation of the two most important biodiversity corridors of the Atlantic Forest and ensuring continued protection of the biodiversity in this hotspot.

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