A major new $9.5 million, five year investment in Indochina will be launched this month, aiming to conserve biodiversity by engaging and building the capacity of non-governmental organisations.

On 22nd August 2008, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) will be formally launched for the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot, one of the most threatened of Earth’s 34 biodiversity hotspots. A call for Letters of Inquiry will be issued during a visit of CEPF staff to the BirdLife International in Indochina office in Hanoi. The CEPF investment covers the Indochina region of this hotspot, which includes Cambodia, Lao P.D.R., Thailand, and Vietnam, and parts of southern China. The important new initiative is a collaboration between BirdLife International and CEPF.

The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund is a joint initiative of Conservation International, l’Agence Française de Développement, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. A fundamental goal is to ensure civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation. CEPF will provide grants enabling non-governmental organizations, community groups, and other private sector entities to help conserve the hotspot. BirdLife International in Indochina will act as the Regional Implementation Team for CEPF.

In Indochina, the combination of economic development and an increasing human population is creating unprecedented pressures on the region's natural resources. Overexploitation has reached critical levels in many areas, compounded by a lack of effective planning and management to control these pressures. Conservation activities supported by CEPF will target funding gaps, including for efforts to safeguard globally threatened species, for development of innovative, locally led approaches to site-based conservation, and for engaging key stakeholders in reconciling biodiversity conservation and development objectives.

Conservation will focus on two large landscapes—the Northern Highlands Limestone, and Mekong River and Major Tributaries—and 28 key biodiversity areas within them. Sixty-seven animal species and all 248 globally threatened plant species will also be priorities for investment. The Northern Highlands Limestone Corridor bordering China¹ and Vietnam² is particularly important for the conservation of primates. It is also of global importance for plant conservation, supporting many unique species and the region’s richest assemblages of conifer species. The Mekong River and Major Tributaries Corridor stretches across Cambodia³, Lao P.D.R.⁴, and Thailand⁵ and represents the best examples of Indochina’s remaining riverine ecosystems.

More information
As the regional implementation team in Indochina, BirdLife International will raise awareness of CEPF; solicit grant applications and assist organisations to make applications; review applications; give small grants and jointly make decisions with CEPF on large grants; and monitor and evaluate progress with the investment strategy.

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 on www.cepf.net. Further information and summaries in English, Vietnamese, Khmer, and Lao, 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 Thi Thanh Huong, BirdLife International in Indochina, N6/2+3, Lane 25, Lang Ha Street, Hanoi, Vietnam
office phone: +84 (0) 43 514 8904 ext. 28; mobile phone: 84 989 532 642;
email: huong@birdlife.org.vn; website: www.birdlifeindochina.org/cepf

1. Guangxi Province;

2. Bac Kan, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Lang Son, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang provinces;

3. Kampong Chhnang, Kandal, Kratie, Ratanakiri, and Stung Treng provinces;

4. all provinces except Xaisomboun;

5. Amnatcharoen, Chiengrai, Loey, Mukdahan, Nakhonphanom, Nongkhai, and Ubonratchathani provinces;