:: FUNDRAISING
Conservation International Completes $3 Million Payment to Micronesia Challenge
by Emmeline Johansen
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| Photo by Emmeline Johansen |
Koror, Palau/Arlington, Va. USA – At the Pacific Oceanscape Leaders Reception, the day before the 45th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) begins, Conservation International (CI), the leading global organization that focuses on the links between development and the environment to benefit human well-being, provided the final investment toward its endowment to sustainably finance the Micronesia Challenge.
Greg Stone, CI Chief Scientist and Executive Vice President of The Betty and Gordon Moore Center for Science and Oceans, presented the President of the Republic of Palau, His Excellency Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr., and President of the Federated States of Micronesia, H.E. Emanuel Mori each with a cheque of US$1 million. This follows CI’s completion of its US$1 million contribution to the Republic of the Marshall Islands last year.
The Micronesia Challenge funding was made possible via CI’s Global Conservation Fund (GCF). CI-New Zealand and Pacific Islands Executive Director Sue Taei reaffirmed the importance of sustainable financing for such initiatives. “This investment provides important financing for protected area networks that have significant running costs to ensure that they are effectively safeguarded, that local communities benefit from them and that their inherent value is maintained in perpetuity.”
Taei further highlighted the link of the Pacific Oceanscape an initiative by the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum to foster ocean stewardship and integrated management, and CI’s investment in the Micronesia Challenge. “The Micronesia Challenge is a significant part of the Pacific Oceanscape framework. The Challenge has inspired other bold ocean management initiatives including the Caribbean Challenge, the Coral Triangle Initiative, and the newly launched Western Indian Ocean Coastal Challenge. Such commitments represent a sea change in ocean conservation — one that will help provide food and livelihoods for people in the region and around the world.”
Contact: Emmeline Johansen, ejohansen.conservation@gmail.com.