Strengthening West African Civil Society Organisations for improved biodiversity and ecosystem service management
| Project title | Strengthening West African Civil Society Organisations for improved biodiversity and ecosystem service management |
| Implementing Institutions | • Fondation des amis de la Nature- Naturama: Burkina Faso • Cameroon Biodiversity Conservation Society: Cameroon • SOS Forest: Cote D'Ivoire • Ghana WildLife Society: Ghana • Guinea Ecologie- Guinea • Society for the Conservation of Nature: Liberia • Nature Mauritanie: Mauritania • Nigeria Conservation Foundation: Nigeria • Association Nature-Communautes-Developpement-Senegal • Conservation Society of Sierra Leone |
| Country(ies) | Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Cote D'Ivoire;; Ghana; Guinea; Liberia; Nigeria; Mauritania; Senegal and Sierra Leone |
| Abstract | This project will develop capacity of 10 Environmental Civil Society Organisations (CSO) in West Africa to a) locate and mobilize financial and technical resources, b) communicate capacity-building needs to potential providers of financial and technical support, contributing to category 3 of IPBES priorities, (specific needs 3.1 and 3.2) |
| Project Description | The greatest barrier to increasing their impact at a national level is the ability to secure and manage financial resources to fund their conservation programmes and core activities. The CSOs need to improve are their ability to develop robust project proposals to submit to donors, and marketing skills to communicate the objectives, values and conservation achievements of their programmes to a range of audiences. They also wish to improve their ability to communicate the importance of Ecosystem-based approaches to Adaptation (EbA) to decision makers, using evidence and examples of EbA’s environmental and social benefits and cost effectiveness. All 10 CSOs are part of the BirdLife African Partnership, itself part of a global federation of organisations working locally and nationally with communities and government to achieve biodiversity conservation solutions for people and wildlife. West African Partners are supported by regional (Nairobi and Accra) Secretariats, the Global Secretariat in Cambridge UK and in many cases by European BirdLife Partners who support capacity building and conservation programmes. The BirdLife Partnership network and its links from global support to national and local levels and communities provides a strong basis for sustainable capacity building and long-term impact. The objectives of the project contribute to the following IPBES specific needs identified by Governments and other stakeholders: Under category 3: 3.1 and 3.2 , under category 5 , 5.1 and 5.2. |
| Project Objectives and expected Achievables | Objective 1: Develop the capacity to locate and mobilize financial and technical resources Expected Achievables: 1a) At least one senior staff from each of the 10 implementing institutions receives training and experience exchange in project design and donor fundraising through joint (anglophone and francophone) regional training workshops 1b) All 10 implementing institutions (Birdlife Partners) develop a tailored membership and sponsorship strategy to increase sustainable levels of support for ‘core’ institutional operating costs. Indicators: 1a) Number and success of new funding proposals submitted to donors by all 10 Partners 1b) Ten BirdLife Partner fundraising strategies/ action plans produced and implemented. Timelines 3 regional workshop and follow up exchanges in the first half year of the project Donor proposals submitted (at least one per Partner) by end of year 1. Fundraising strategies drafted and finalized by finalized by first half year 2 and being reviewed/ implemented by end Year 2 Objective 2: Develop strategies for clearly communicating Partners’ capacity-building needs to potential providers of financial and technical support Expected Achievables: 2a) Ten Partners’ national and local communication strategies/ plans developed promoting their conservation objectives, achievements and needs for financial and technical support 2b) Ten up-to-date Partner web sites functioning to promote each Partner and its institutional/ capacity building needs Indicators: 2a) Communication strategies published and used effectively to elicit needed financial and technical support (successful donor applications/ responses) 2b) Web sites maintained and used dynamically to inform and promote the Partner and its institutional development needs; numbers of hits and responses to appeals etc. Timelines: From the 2nd half of year 2. Different people (communications/ web site managers etc. from those involved in direct donor fundraising) .Separate training workshops/ then individual development of Partner communications, web sites etc. This will be linked to the Capacity for Conservation web site in Cambridge but using that as a resource to develop whatever is more useful and relevant sub-regionally – again need French and English |
| Timeframe | 2 years |
| Geographic Scale | Multinational |
| Seeking Resources for: | Project development |
| Type of Resources/Support needed: | Financial, Technical |