A Lifeline for Biodiversity The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF)
A Sakalava rail (Zapornia olivieri), listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Madagascar. © O. Langrand
Biodiversity, the life-support system of the planet, needs urgent attention to prevent its rapid and irreversible erosion. And people need biodiversity to survive.
Negative trends in biodiversity and “UP TO 1 MILLION ecosystems undermine our efforts SPECIES ARE THREATENED WITH to achieve 80 percent of the targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals related to © David Rabehevitra EXTINCTION, poverty, hunger, health, water, MANY WITHIN DECADES. cities, climate, oceans and land.”
- Summary, global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), May 2019
CEPF and its civil society partners around the globe are ready with proven approaches to protect biodiversity and ecosystems that are essential for human existence and good quality of life.
A LIFELINE FOR BIODIVERSITY 1 Deforestation, Prey Lang, Cambodia. © Jeremy Holden The future of the planet 75% of Earth’s land surface has been hangs in the balance. significantly altered, causing major declines in species.
IPBES Report: More findings about the biodiversity crisis • Current coverage of protected areas is still not • 75% of global food crop types rely on animal sufficient to protect our biodiversity. pollination, yet at least US$235 billion in global crop output is at risk because of pollinator loss. • 35% of protected areas managed by indigenous peoples are under increasing • 5% of species are at risk of extinction from 2°C pressure from extractive industries. of warming, rising to 16% at 4.3°C of warming. • Loss of coastal habitats and coral reefs has reduced coastal protection, and 100 to 300 million people are vulnerable to floods and hurricanes.
2 A LIFELINE FOR BIODIVERSITY Through financial support and organizational strengthening, CEPF empowers civil society organizations in the world’s biodiversity hotspots to deliver innovative, enduring solutions that conserve these highest- priority areas and help communities thrive. • Two decades of experience. • More than 2,300 grantees—primarily grassroots actors—in 93 countries and territories. • US$237 million granted and an added US$371 million leveraged. • Successful conservation models ready to be scaled up worldwide.
Mysterious narrow-mouthed frog (Mysticellus franki), Western Ghats, India. © SD Biju CEPF: Protecting biodiversity by empowering people 2000-2019 3,100 250 1,250 27 communities directly benefited policies or laws enacted species on the IUCN Red List of sustainable finance or amended Threatened Species supported mechanisms supported 15 44.6 7.8 288 million hectares of million hectares of Key million hectares of production multistakeholder partnerships protected areas created Biodiversity Areas with landscape managed to support created and/or supported improved management biodiversity CEPF-funded projects contribute to: 7 OF THE 20 10 OF THE 17 U.N. CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL U.N. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS) DIVERSITY (CBD) AICHI TARGETS
A LIFELINE FOR BIODIVERSITY 3 4 16 14 26 10 17
3 11 BIODIVERSITY 29 15 8 18 9 24 28 19 HOTSPOTS= 23 21 25 EARTH’S MOST BIOLOGICALLY RICH 7 — YET THREATENED — 5 12 22 TERRESTRIAL REGIONS. 6 1 20 27 2 13 To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, an area must meet two strict criteria: BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS WHERE CEPF HAS INVESTED
1. Atlantic Forest CONTAINS 2. Cape Floristic Region 3. Caribbean Islands AT LEAST 4. Caucasus 5. Cerrado, current investment: US$8 million 2016-2021 1,500 6. Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa species of vascular plants found nowhere else on Earth 7. East Melanesian Islands, current investment: (known as “endemic” species). US$9 million, 2013-2021 8. Eastern Afromontane, current investment: US$12 million, 2012-2019
There are 36 hotspots around the globe. Some are contained in a single HAS LOST country, such as Japan. Others include AT LEAST parts of several countries, such as the Mediterranean Basin Hotspot, which encompasses portions of 34 countries and territories.
70% In total the intact habitats of the OF ITS PRIMARY hotspots cover only 2.3 percent of the NATIVE VEGETATION. planet’s surface, but they harbor 77 percent of terrestrial vertebrate species.
4 A LIFELINE FOR BIODIVERSITY