wwf and cepf for conservation in caucasus...

WWF and CEPF for conservation in Caucasus Newsletter January 2005

WWF Caucasus PO 11 Aleksidze St. Tbilisi 0193 Georgia Tel.: 995 32 330155/54 Fax: 995 32 330190

www.panda.org/caucasus [email protected]

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Strengthening Conservation Alliances through CEPF Coordination in the Caucasus project

Content of the issue.

• Strengthening of Conservation Alliances through Coordination of CEPF in Caucasus. Project overview.

• Active phase starting. First Call of Proposals and Regional Working Team first meeting.

• First grantees. • Web-page launching. • Brief highlights. • Memorandum of Understanding. • How to contact us.

WWF and CEPF for conservation in Caucasus Newsletter February 2005


www.panda.org/caucasus/cepf [email protected]

Project Overview

Keeping nature around you untouched and pristine – that simple and extra-important idea stands behind the scientific phrase “Biodiversity conservation”. Disappearance even of one species of smallest insect can turn life of future generations in different direction. Our project is a unique opportunity for civil society different groups to develop their activity in biodiversity conservation in Caucasus.

Our project is a mutual effort of WWF Caucasus Program office and Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund towards development of biodiversity conservation activities in Caucasus hotspot through encouraging and support of civil society and facilitation of establishment of trans-boundary cooperation.

The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund is designed to safeguard the world’s biodiversity hotspots in developing countries. The CEPF is a joint initiative of Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the Mac Arthur Foundation and The World Bank.

In 2003, WWF Caucasus Programme Office coordinated preparation of the CEPF Ecosystem Profile for the Caucasus Biodiversity Hotspot. The profile defines the universal conservation outcomes for the region that identifies the conservation targets on species, sites and landscape corridors’ levels. It formulates the CEPF’s niche and recommends a five-year investment strategy that will contribute to the conservation of biodiversity in this globally significant eco-region in coming years.

Unique opportunity for civil society to engage in biodiversity conservation

process in Caucasus. CEPF investment strategy addresses the problem of conservation of globally threatened species, priority sites and corridors of the Caucasus hotspot. Caucasus hotspot covers territories of Georgian, Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus of Russia, Turkey and Iran and is focused on conserving the hotspots’ 50 globally threatened species, the majority of which are found in specific sites in five target conservation corridors: Greater Caucasus, Caspian, West Lesser Caucasus, East Lesser Caucasus and Hyrcan.

The project emphasizes importance of regional and trans-boundary approach for eco-region bio-conservation success. This means that we also welcome projects which not just address particular species of sites conservation, but build a transboundary international cooperation in this filed.

CEPF program is an effective tool for conservation of globally threatened species through involvement of local communities and NGOs. Differently from other initiatives CEPF directly supports and engages the civil society and scientific community in the conservation process. Key activity of the project is financial support for local non-governmental, governmental or scientific institutions through grant-making.

The list of threatened species, sites and corridors has been studied and identified by 130 international and regional experts during two-years process to create the Ecosystem Profile for the Caucasus. The strategy was launched at a regional workshop in Tbilisi in May 2004.

During 4 years of the project duration several call for proposals will be announced and 8,5 million of US$ invested.




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Active phase starting. First call for proposals and Regional

Working Team meeting The project has been launched in May, 2004.

Photo by I. Natradze

It’s active phase started with grant for Center for Russian Nature Conservation. Raise awareness about the importance of the Caucasus hotspot and the efforts underway to protect it through a series of articles in Russian Conservation News, an English-language quarterly that promotes biodiversity in Russia and throughout northern Eurasia. Activities also include building local capacity in communications through work with local writers contributing to the publication. In July 2004 the first call for proposals has been announced. Every of 260 project proposals received by September 30, 2004 have been discussed at CEPF Caucasus Regional Working Team meeting. National Coordinators from Hotspot’s all six countries, Regional Coordinator and Grant

Manager from CEPF headquarters participated in the event. Applications that appeared promising have now been sent to expert reviewers. According to the Strategic Directions stated in the Ecosystem profile the proposals must address conservation of at least one of the 50 threatened species, creation of site and corridors. After the first stage of revision 70 projects moved to the second round.

The strategic directions have been addressed in the following proportion in the proposals selected for expert review:

1. Support civil society efforts to promote trans-boundary cooperation and improve protected area systems in five target corridors — 23%

2. Strengthen mechanisms to conserve biodiversity of the Caucasus Hotspot with emphasis on species, site and corridors outcomes — 42%

3. Implement models demonstrating sustainable resource use in five target corridors — 20%

4. Increase the awareness and commitment of decision-makers to biodiversity conservation in five target corridors — 15%

Each of these strategic directions includes several investment priorities, which provide more detailed guidance on the types of activities the strategy is intended to accomplish. (see www.cepf.net).




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First grantees known – CEPF Biodiversity conservation in

Caucasus started.

As a result of two month work of more than 100 specialists involved in project proposals evaluation the first winners have been identified.

After the first round of proposals revision, 70 selected have been sent for consideration to 91 experts of botany, zoology, forestry, sustainable development and other relevant fields throughout the whole Caucasus Eco-region.

24 applications for small-scale (under $20 000) projects have been evaluated as promising on this stage. It means that after those application are invited to finalize their proposals and go through next formal procedures.

As for large-scale proposals (over $20 000) CEPF policy has special approval mechanism – Part II. Finalist projects which

are invited to the Part II will undergo financial risk assessment and projects’ adjustment.

Proposals presented to the competition have been evaluated according to special criteria.

a) Compliance with one of the strategic directions, focus of one of the species or targeted corridors;

b) Project overall quality; c) Compliance between budget-

objectives-outputs; d) Avoiding of overlapping with other

donor agencies activity; e) Applicant’s organizational capacity for

presented project implementation. Nugzar Zazanashvili, Regional Coordinator of the project, says that: “Results of the First Call will guide us for the successful implementation of the whole Caucasus Program in terms of maintains balance between countries, corridors and investment priorities, as well as soliciting appropriate proposals”.

Photo by I. Natradze




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Web-page: purpose, content, availability

In second week of January, 2005 the web-page of the Strengthening Conservation Alliances through CEPF Coordination in the Caucasus will be launched. The project’s Communication Strategy anticipates creation and maintenance of project web-page available from www.panda.org/caucasus and cepf.net as well. The main purpose of the web-page is to make available project relevant information for wide range of potential stakeholders. Made in two languages – English and Russian it facilitates

necessary information obtaining in all six countries of the Caucasus hotspot. The web-page www.panda.org/caucasus/cepf will contain following folders (links): project overview, FAQ, news and events, grantees, calls for proposals. There you can also find the links to Application guidelines and Application Templates on cepf.net. News and events option will be updated on weekly basis. Successful stories will cover grantees activities and their achievements.

Brief highlights Communications strategy approved. – After discussion among Regional Working Team members the Communications Strategy of the Strengthening Conservation Alliances through CEPF Coordination in the Caucasus developed by the project Communication Officer has been adopted. This strategy will organize communications under the project for the next four years. In nearest future projects concerning communications and public awareness activities will be revised by the regional working team and group of experts. Those are applications submitted for the first call for proposals and postponed by the evaluators until Communications Strategy of the project

adopted. The strategy has been adopted by the Regional Team in December, 2004. It was decided to hold three special workshops dedicated to amphibian and reptiles, sturgeon species and capra species. At these workshops regional strategy will be elaborated for conservation of those species. It means proposals addressing these topics have been postponed and not rejected. Our newsletter will be issued on monthly basis and distributed through web-page, electronic subscription and direct mailing as well. Second call for proposals is planed to be announced later this year.

Memorandum of Understanding

October 13, 2004, Baku Azerbaijan. The memorandum of Understanding has been sighed between Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Protection of Azerbaijan Mr. Gusain Bagirov and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) Europe and Middle East Program Director Mr. Magnus Sylven.

The key objectives of the Memorandum is to elaborate mutual initiatives in environment protection and natural resources sustainable use at Azerbaijan territory, development of cooperation between the Ministry and international environmental organizations. The Memorandum of Understanding addresses the following directions:




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biodiversity conservation, establishing and expansion of protected territories, natural resources sustainable use, legislative, social and economic sides of environmental activity, protection of flora and fauna, combating

against deforestation and desertification, climate change, forest policy, restoration of forest areas, programs for international environmental education and experience exchange.

How to contact us. WWF Caucasus PO 11, M. Aleksidze Str. Tbilisi 0193 Georgia Tel.: + 995 32 330154/55 Fax: + 995 32 330190 www.panda.org/caucasus Lana Ghvinjilia Communications Officer [email protected] Mob.: 995 32 77450739 Nugzar Zazanashvili Conservation Director, Regional Coordinator [email protected] Maka Bitsadze National Coordinator for Georgia [email protected]

Karen Manvelyan National Coordinator for Armenia [email protected] Tel.: + 3741 587079 Elshad Askerov National Coordinator for Azerbaijan [email protected] Tel.: + 994 12 974973 James Everett National Coordinator for Iran [email protected] Tel.: + 98 21 2934958 Yildiray Lise National Coordinator for Turkey [email protected] Tel.: + 90 312 3106642 Vladimir Krever National Coordinator for Russia [email protected] Tel.: + 7 095 7270938

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