Antsiranana June 19, 2023 -The 21st Meeting of Contributors to Madagascar Protected Areas and Biodiversity Fund took place on June 19th in Antsiranana, under the leadership of Mr. Bruno Rajaspera. It brought together members of the Board of Directors of the FAPBM, as well as historical contributors to FAPBM, such as the Government of Madagascar represented by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Conservation International and WWF (founders of FAPBM), KfW, AFD, and the World Bank. FAPBM organizes a meeting every year to discuss the necessary strategic and tactical directions to advance FAPBM’s mission, with a retrospective of Year 2022.
Indeed, as a trust fund, FAPBM collects donations and invests them in financial markets instead of directly transferring them to beneficiary organizations. Only the generated income is used to finance protected areas. Thus FAPBM constitutes a robust and reliable financial mechanism capable of sustainably guaranteeing the operating costs of protected areas and the implementation of activities. Beyond financial monitoring, FAPBM aims to monitor the impacts of funded activities.
A comprehensive review of FAPBM revealed that the funding in 2022 contributed to preserving essential ecosystem services, to limited deforestation within the 48 supported protected areas, totaling nearly 4,181,000 hectares. FAPBM provided support to over 35,000 beneficiaries in terms of community development. The populations around the supported protected areas were able to make the local and regional economy thrive by benefiting from healthy ecosystems. In addition to the meeting, the Board of Directors and contributors also visited the 7 Bays Corridor and Oronjia protected area. They interacted with communities, experts, and local authorities in these protected areas. The contributors particularly witnessed the excellent conservation of mangroves.
The contributors encouraged FAPBM to intensify its scaling up efforts with the objective of mobilizing additional funds for the preservation of the strategic ecosystems of Madagascar’s 125 protected areas. They also commended FAPBM’s advocacy for a favorable political and legal context for these investments through the Coalition for Protected Areas of Madagascar. During the closing cocktail, the President of the Board of Directors expressed gratitude to the historical contributors and emphasized the importance he attaches to their support and requirements for implementing positive reforms. Regional and local authorities were present at this event.
About FAPBM
Created in 2005, FAPBM is a private Malagasy trust fund dedicated to the conservation of Madagascar’s biodiversity. Its mission is to support biodiversity conservation through the promotion and funding of the expansion, creation, protection, and improvement of Madagascar’s Protected Areas System (SAPM). Each investment in the Foundation’s capital generates perpetual annual income, primarily dedicated to conservation, administrative management, and community development activities in protected areas.
The Foundation is internationally recognized for its expertise in funding protected areas, transparency, good fund governance, as well as the relevance of its interventions and lasting impacts. Conservation International, WWF, the World Bank, the French Government through AFD, the French Fund for the Environment, and the German Government through KfW trust the Foundation by contributing to its capital.
To support the Fondation : www.fapbm.org
