BirdLife and CEPF expand funding opportunities for biodiversity conservation in Indochina

Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) opportunities in Indochina were expanded today, with an invitation for applications from Lao P.D.R. and Thailand for the first time, and a repeat call for applications from Cambodia and Vietnam. This call for Letters of Inquiry (LoIs) has a deadline of 11th September 2009. Full details can be found at www.birdlifeindochina.org/cepf or www.cepf.net

Full call for LoIs can be downloaded here in English, Khmer, Lao and Vietnamese.

This is the second call for LoIs issued by BirdLife and CEPF in Indochina, after a first call in August 2008. This call is open for Lao P.D.R and Thailand but limited for Cambodia and Vietnam to CEPF investment priorities not sufficiently addressed to date. So far, eight civil society organisations (i.e. non-governmental organisations, community groups, academic institutions, etc) have been funded in Cambodia and Vietnam, and another ten asked to develop full proposals.

“After rapidly distributing CEPF funding to a number of exciting conservation projects in Cambodia and Vietnam, we are very happy to be able to extend CEPF funding opportunities to Lao P.D.R and Thailand,” said Jonathan C. Eames, Programme Manager of BirdLife International in Indochina, “This is an outstanding opportunity to fund civil society organisations to conserve biodiversity which is restricted to those countries, or is already depleted elsewhere.”

The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund is a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the World Bank. A fundamental goal is to ensure civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation.

CEPF began a $9.5 million, five year investment plan in Indochina in June 2008 with BirdLife International acting as its Regional Implementation Team. Guided by an ecosystem profile developed with stakeholders, the CEPF investment strategy in the region focuses on the Northern Highlands Limestone (in Vietnam and parts of southern China), and Mekong River and Major Tributaries (in Cambodia, Lao P.D.R., and Thailand) biodiversity conservation corridors. Projects approved for funding so far include local community advocacy for sustainable development of riverine resources in both Cambodia and Vietnam, vulture conservation, surveys for the poorly-known Wroughton's Free-tailed Bat, and cutting-edge research on wetland birds.

CEPF investments in this region will be guided by four strategic directions and related investment priorities, a full description of which can be found in the ecosystem profile at www.cepf.net. Further information and summaries in English, Vietnamese, Khmer, Lao and (soon) Thai, can be found at www.birdlifeindochina.org/cepf. Each project must be linked to one of the strategic directions to be approved for funding. Further information can be requested from cepf-rit@birdlife.org.vn

Media contact

Ms. Tran Thanh Huong, BirdLife International in Indochina, N6/2+3, Lane 25, Lang Ha Street, Hanoi, Vietnam
office phone: +84 (0) 4 3514 8904 ext. 28; mobile phone: ;
email: huong@birdlife.org.vn; Website: www.birdlifeindochina.org/cepf