Funding Initiative for Threatened Natural World Heritage Sites

Natural World Heritage Sites (NWHS) represent the world's pre-eminent areas of biodiversity, and their identification and protection are key parts of the global community's responsibility for conservation. When emergencies occur, critical time is often lost organizing and fundraising for a response, during which time precious natural world heritage may be irreparably damaged.

To effectively deal with situations like this, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Fauna & Flora International, and the United Nations Foundation have created the Rapid Response Facility (RRF). The Facility aims to mobilise small grants of US$5,000 - US$30,000 in just three weeks to deal with emergencies and threats affecting Natural World Heritage Sites and their surrounding areas of influence. The RRF will be tested over the next two years, delivering five or six small grants each year, and should ensure that some of the world's most important reserves of biodiversity receive the protection they need.

Sites eligible to apply include all sites inscribed onto the List of World Heritage under criterion N(iv) (before 2005) or criterion (x) (from 2005) as well as nominated sites whose inscription to the List was deferred due to immediate threats to their ecological integrity and, in exceptional circumstances, NWHS sites on the national World HeritageTentative lists.

The RRF is now open for applications. Applications are accepted at any time and decisions are made on a rolling basis. Go to: http://www.fauna-flora.org/rrf or email rrf@fauna-flora.org for more information.

Source: Cambridge Conservation Forum newsletter

I hope this is of your interest. Regards,

Jorge Brenner