MarAdentro is a scientific foundation, established in 2021 in Bahía Solano, focused on marine conservation with a mission to promote scientific advancement to enhance marine protection, through science, education, and outreach. A key component of its mission is “Shark Camp”, a project initiated in collaboration with the local tourism agency, Bahía Solano me llama. During whale shark season in Colombia, tourists and visitors can participate in a week-long excursion with the Foundation’s scientific team, allowing them to gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental principles, objectives, and methodologies of shark research.

This initiative is twofold. First, it seeks to provide financial support for the scientific research carried out by the MarAdentro Foundation, it also aims to raise awareness and reduce the stigmatization of sharks as a dangerous species, thereby fostering the establishment of additional alliances for the conservation of shark species.

En el año 2012, se actualiza la Política Nacional de Ambiente en El Salvador y se crea el Programa de Restauración de Ecosistemas y Paisajes -PREP-, el cual tiene como objetivo promover y facilitar la restauración de ecosistemas y paisajes rurales para asegurar la provisión de servicios ecosistémicos claves, así como, la conservación de la biodiversidad para reducir el riesgo y adaptarse a los impactos del cambio climático en 5 paisajes priorizados.

Para el año 2014, las inversiones en restauración de ecosistemas y paisajes eran escasas, por lo que el Ministerio de Ambiente y Recursos Naturales de El Salvador -MARN- , a través del Acuerdo Ministerial No.31 definió la suscripción de convenios de cooperación con fondos ambientales, con el objeto de establecer mecanismos para darle cumplimiento a las medidas de compensación ambiental; y que los recursos identificados fueran invertidos en la restauración de ecosistemas y paisajes.

Los cantones de Puriscal y Turrubares son paisajes degradados por el avance de la frontera agrícola. El cultivo de tabaco y la ganadería extensiva causaron la pérdida del 60% de la cobertura forestal en el área entre las décadas de 1,950 a 1,980; actualmente, la ganadería doble propósito (carne y leche); y la agricultura (cultivos del café, hortalizas, caña de azúcar y plantas ornamentales) son los ejes principales de la economía de la zona.

Con esta solución se propuso un esquema para aumentar la oferta de bienes y servicios ambientales en sistemas silvopastoriles, incorporando: a) practicas sostenibles (introducción de pasto mejorado, inocuidad y ordeño limpio, sistemas de riego e incorporación del componente arboreo en las unidades productivas), y b) la combinación de financiamiento publico (PSA) y privado (Creditos).

Mexico’s progress towards meeting the Aichi Targets includes the expansion of the protected area system. Unfortunately, the budget of the National Commission for Protected Areas (CONANP) is not keeping pace, resulting in chronically underfunded protected areas. Thus, supplementary funding from private, bilateral and multilateral donors is crucial for their effective operation. In order to address lacking financial resources and to ensure long-term sustained funding, the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature (FMCN) and CONANP created the Fund for Protected Areas to support the management of 29 federal protected areas. Based on this experience, FMCN created the Gulf of California Marine Endowment (GCME) in 2007 with the goal of contributing long-term conservation of the marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Gulf of California. The GCME currently has a capital of US$9.5 million and a fundraising target of US$30 million.

Fifteen percent of the Western Cape is formally protected. Unfortunately, this network is unrepresentative of the biodiversity contained within the province and does not adequately buffer the province against the impacts of climate change. In an endeavor to supplement the existing network, priority areas, which have been identified through systematic biodiversity plans, are being safeguarded through elaborate public private partnership agreements and mainstreaming avenues.

The Upper Tana River in Nairobi Kenya supplies 95 percent of the water for Nairobi’s 4 million residents, and for another 5 million people living in the watershed. It also provides half of the country’s hydropower output. Upstream, intensive farming practices of more than 300,000 small-scale farmers cause the soil to wash into the river downstream. Not only does this affect farm productivity and ecosystem health, but also causes costly damage to hydropower infrastructure and Nairobi’s water supply.

To tackle the problem, the Nature Conservancy and its partners developed the Upper-Tana Nairobi Water Fund, four years ago. This financial and collaboration mechanism gathers public, private, and civil actors to fund, implement and monitor improvements for a sustainable watershed management. Upstream, TNC works with farmers to apply soil and water conservation techniques to prevent runoff and save water; the benefits are felt at the upstream and the downstream level.

A shea value chain created around a protected areas landscape in Ghana led to greater finance flowing into community and conservation. Mole National Park is a biodiverse ecosystem, and Ghana’s largest protected area. Communities surrounding the Park benefit from its natural resources, but were using them unsustainably. In 2008, A Rocha Ghana and IUCN Netherlands Committee implemented a Community Resource Management Area (CREMA), a governance and management framework created by the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, to empower local communities for natural resource management. Inhabitants designed a shared plan for the landscape that simultaneously addresses conservation and socio-economic wellbeing, including building a shea value chain.  Implementing organisations engaged with the Savannah Food Company to become a business partner with the CREMAs, particularly women’s groups who collect shea nuts, and help create a fund to support conservation action in the community.

Tamaraws (Bubalus mindorensis) are endemic to the island of Mindoro in the Philippines with an estimated population of 10,000 in the 1900s. However, in the year 2000, Tamaraws have been classified as critically endangered species by IUCN https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/3127/50737640  . Although its population has been increasing based on the latest counts, it is still at a low at 523 which is only about 5% of the population count in the 1900s.

To mitigate this increasing decline in the tamaraw population, UNDP’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) partnered with Tamaraw Conservation Program (TCP) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to organize the 2018 Biodiversity Camp (BioCamp). BIOFIN gathered journalist and social media influencers to immerse them in the natural habitat of tamaraws. The goal is to raise awareness on the tamaraw endangerment and the need to mobilize resources and funds for the protection and conservation of biodiversity.

The Community Conservation Social Enterprise Development (CoCoSED) Initiative is an Initiative which seeks to provide sustainable financing to Conservation activities while providing long term economic and financial resilience to communities adjacent to Protected Areas, Biodiversity Hot-Spots and fragile landscape.

Before the implementation of this Initiative in 2016,  Gorillas recorded were between 25 to 35 individuals but now there are about 45 Gorillas and about 180 to 200 Chimpanzee. Also, over 1000 members of communities adjacent to the protected area have been trained on biodiversity conservation and alternative sources of livelihoods provided to raise more income to the communities as well as to the conservation of biodiversity.

Guinness Ghana has been involved in conservation efforts in the Densu River Basin, because of NGO A Rocha Ghana proactively engaging & motivating them to do so. At the Densu River Basin Stakeholder Mapping Engagement event organised by PricewaterCoopers and commissioned by A Rocha, Guinness Ghana had shown awareness of the importance of water resources, but couldn’t go further because they were facing a water pollution crisis. To inspire the company, the NGO & the Ghanaian Forestry Commission organised a work visit for the company to Ecuador to witness other organizations’ work on water-related ecosystem services, and A Rocha connected with dedicated individuals within the company. Since then, the business has financially supported riverine vegetation restoration activities in the Densu River Basin and Atewa Range Forest Reserve. A Rocha Ghana also invites Guinness Ghana to share their sustainability efforts at public events &outreach activities, to strengthen their relationship.

Over the last three decades Viet Nam has lost most of its mangroves, primarily due to the expansion of shrimp farming, a major contributor to its economy.

To help the Vietnamese government address the issue, IUCN and Dutch NGO SNV Netherlands Development Organisation implemented the Mangroves and Markets project (funded by the International Climate Initiative) in Cà Mau, to help shrimp farmers get organic certification under the Naturland, EU Organic, and other organic labels. 

The certifications require at least 50% mangrove cover per farm. Farmers can then sell certified shrimp to the Minh Phu Seafood Corporation at a premium price. The project also supported Cà Mau in piloting a Payment for Ecosystem Services system and policy, requiring seafood companies to pay farmers an incentive of VND 500,000 (£17.77) for mangrove conservation and restoration per hectare for providing ecosystem services.

The success of the project has led to its replication in Ben Tre and Tra Vinh provinces.

The African Development Bank’s Department of Gender, Women and Civil Society (AHGC) designed, in partnership with the Climate Change and Green Growth Department (PECG), the AfDB/CIF’s Inclusive Climate Action Initiative.  This initiative was  implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2019. The purpose of the Initiative was to support the concrete integration of gender into future Climate Invest Fund (CIF) initiatives implemented under the supervision and support of the Bank by conducting context-specific research, developing two case studies on good practices and producing a set of knowledge resources to support the work of the African Development Bank and its staff.