December 2005

Urban Conservation Leads to Hope in the Cape

Urban nature sites that are home to unique flora near Cape Town, South Africa, in the Cape Floristic Region Hotspot are under huge pressure as communities struggle for housing and employment. Solutions may lie in a network of partners and stakeholders piloting new models for biodiversity conservation in deprived urban areas.

November 2005

Community Conservation in Qinghai Helps Patch Holes in Roof of World

A critical watershed in the Mountains of Southwest China Hotspot that serves more than 500 million people downstream is facing numerous threats. But a “Green Community Network” around the headwaters of the Mekong River is drawing on ancient sources of Buddhist tradition to provide old answers to new problems.

October 2005

In Close: Coordinated Grantmaking in the Eastern Arc Mountains

CEPF funding opportunities prompt lots of proposals, but making sure that projects complement each other and fit in with our strategy is a complex process. The CEPF coordination team in the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Tanzania and Kenya has created a partnership approach in planning, research, and sharing results.

September 2005

The Elusive Manatee Makes New Friends in Costa Rica and Nicaragua

Despite the presence of several world-renowned manatee experts, recent attempts to capture a manatee for tagging in Costa Rica failed. Yet the effort has brought together a strong team now charting new ground for greater biodiversity conservation in the region.

August 2005

After the Flood – Big Business Helps Cast Watersheds In New Light

Millions of pesos in damage and even hundreds of lives lost in the most recent spate of disasters in the Philippines may not be in vain. The toll helped persuade Philippine big businesses that sustainable development and conservation are critical to the bottom line.

July 2005

Back to School: Change Takes Root in Rural Bolivia

Successful conservation of protected areas and reserves has long depended on engaging neighboring communities. High in the Bolivian Andes, an innovative educational program has been working to get schoolchildren and their parents to take the initiative on conservation projects and think for themselves.

June 2005

Wines, Mines, and Sustainable Development

Conventional conservation is often just not enough in the Cape Floristic Region and Succulent Karoo hotspots. In two quintessential South African industries, however, innovative approaches are showing promise as part of our strategic approach to promote private sector involvement in conservation.

May 2005

A Missahoe Metamorphosis

Nyanu Prosper has been passionate about the butterflies of Togo from an early age. He caught thousands of them and made a living selling them in display cases. But after photos of some of his specimens were shown in France, he learned just what he was doing to his beloved butterflies and the forest that sustains them. He now devotes his time to restoring the forest of Missahoe.

April 2005

Strengthening Livelihoods Secures Future for Forest

Integrating modern and traditional conservation in Kenya’s Kaya Kinondo forest is a challenge, one that can even involve community consultation with oracles or foretellers. So when more than 250 people gathered to celebrate a new visitor center and community bank in the village of Kinondo, it was clear that years of community engagement and hard work had finally paid off.

March 2005

Making Conservation Work with the Private Sector

Innovative partnerships are key to preserving the Atlantic Forest Hotspot, where urban areas and private land dominate the landscape. In Brazil, the Atlantic Forest region is also the most heavily populated part of the country and the source of 80 percent of its Gross Domestic Product. Instituto BioAtlântica is making a difference by bringing conservation groups and private companies together.

February 2005

Aceh: Community Spirit Enables First Steps

The citizens of Sumatra have set about rebuilding their lives and helping their neighbors with emergency supplies and in tackling the complex tasks of damage assessment and reconstruction. Many went first to Yayasan Rumpun Bambu Indonesia, a community-based forest management group now home to the only community-based emergency relief center outside the provincial capital.

January 2005

Buddhist Leaders Protect Woodlands

At the foot of Kawagebo, one of the most sacred Tibetan mountains, successful sustainable land use and religious practice have gone hand-in-hand for the last 700 years or more. Now the Kawagebo Culture Society has united government officials, schools, and religious leaders to counter some of the new threats posed by tourists and pilgrims to this remote area.