afrol News, 27 May - Madagascar will be one of the ten beneficiaries of the new fund aimed at assisting professional and organisational development of selected national conservation NGOs within the BirdLife network in key biodiversity countries around the world.

The grant from Arcadia, formerly the Lisbet Rausing Charitable Trust, a new fund has been established to strengthen NGOs in key countries around the world, with a US$1.5 million that will help organisations achieve objectives such as preventing extinctions, securing land for conservation, and tackling climate change through strengthening local capacity.

The goal of the fund is to create a dynamic network of high-impact, self-sufficient conservation NGOs, able to work effectively with local people, governments and the international community, and empowered to protect key species, sites and habitats in their own countries.

Through the fund the ten countries: Turkey, Ukraine, Latvia, Romania, Brazil, Ecuador, Madagascar, Vietnam, Indonesia and Fiji with be provided financial support over five years, at the end of which it is anticipated that the organisations and their activities will be self-sustaining.

"Many NGOs in financially poor but biodiversity rich countries are facing serious challenges to resource their vital conservation activities, particularly now in a climate of global downturn," said Dr Marco Lambertini, BirdLife's Chief Executive.

He said through the programme, an 'NGO Health Check' at the start of the programme - a self assessment, against an ideal scenario for a thriving, successful NGO - will provide a base line to work from, and highlight the priority areas in which the selected NGOs need the most support.

A development plan, listing training and support activities, will then be agreed between each Partner NGO and the BirdLife Secretariat. Each development plan will have clearly agreed targets, measuring conservation impact, NGO sustainability, and NGO stability.

"The Arcadia/BirdLife fund will provide targeted core support to develop long term sustainable plans, retaining key staff and enabling our partners to grow in confidence and effectiveness," he added.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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