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Project K

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From June 2015 to December 2018, the Consortium of African Funds for the Environment (CAFÉ) implemented a three-year joint project with the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds (RedLAC).

The name of the project was Project K—Knowledge for Action. It was supported by three donors namely the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM), Mava Foundation, and the Global Environmental Fund (GEF). The project was managed by Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (FUNBIO).

Project K was a CAFÉ-RedLAC joint project aimed at enhancing global conservation through peer-to-peer exchanges and knowledge management among members of the two networks.

Particularly, the project was aimed to enhance Environmental Funds’ portfolio of innovation, diversify sources of funding to address conservation challenges, and promote knowledge and best practices transfer through peer-to-peer learning and online tools.

 

Components

These four components were prioritised under the project:

  1. Component 1: Innovation Seed Fund to support new EFs’ financing mechanisms
  2. Component 2: Capacity-building, peer-to-peer mentoring and exchange knowledge mechanism
  3. Component 3: Communication and databases
  4. Component 4: Institutional capacity-building for RedLAC and CAFÉ networks and their enhanced sustainability
Component 1: Innovation Seed Fund To Support New EF Financing Mechanisms
  1. This fund was specially designed to support new ways of increasing and diversifying conservation programme finance streams (park bonds, PES, REDD+, taxes, etc.) for the two networks. The Seed Fund supported ten pre-viability studies of innovative financing mechanisms and five of them were selected for implementation.
  2. Three CAFÉ members benefitted from this component. These were Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust (MMCT—Malawi), BIOFUND (Mozambique), and Fondation Tri-national de la Sangha (FTNS—Cameroun).
  3. MMCT and FTNS each benefitted a total of 200,000 USD. MMCT focused on Payments for Environmental Services (PES) funds-flow scheme while FTNS focused on Carbon Fund to Reduce Deforestation and Improve Living Conditions of populations in the Sangha Tri-National forest complex. BIOFUND benefitted a total of 100,000 USD and focused on Biodiversity Offset Services.
Component 2: Capacity-Building, Peer-To-Peer Mentoring And Exchange Knowledge Mechanism
  1. This was an interactive peer-to-peer learning programme for EFs which was developed based on their individual needs and best practices. There were thematic training workshops and e-learning activities in the overall capacity building strategy.

1. Mentorships

From CAFÉ, four member funds benefitted from the mentorship programme. The table below summarises specific details of the initiative.

#

Mentee Fund

Mentor Fund

Mentorship Objectives

1

Malawi Environmental Endowment Trust (Malawi)

Profonanpe (Peru)

Climate financing

2

Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust (Malawi)

Fondo Accion (Colombia)

Promotion of renewable energy initiatives

3

The West African Savannah Foundation (Benin)

Fondation Tri-National de la Sangha (Cameroun)

Promotion of the regionalisation of FSOA

4

BioGuine Foundation (Guine Bissau)

FUNBIO (Brazil)

Development and implementation of financial strategies of in BioGuine

2. Monitoring and Evaluation Working Group and Strategy

The M&E Group for the two networks had its membership from five CAFÉ members and six RedLAC members who were all relevant personnel responsible for M&E in their respective organisations. The aim of the group was to answer how EFs, as financial inter-mediators, can ensure that conservation results have been achieved as a consequence of their investments.

Primarily, the group was there to support impact measurement of the Environmental Funds (EFs) in biodiversity work at institutional level.

The exercise was led by a consultant (Angela Cordielo, from Brazil) whose particular aim was to develop a Monitoring and Evaluation Strategic Plan with focus on biodiversity impact of the environmental funds – institutional level. The M&E Plan provides the EFs with tools and models to measure impact of their initiatives on biodiversity.

Briefly, this initiative yielded the following deliverables:

  • Deliverable 1: Diagnostic – Expected impact on biodiversity and in-use tools
  • Deliverable 2: Development of an M&E Strategic Plan for the environmental funds – focusing on biodiversity impact
  • Deliverable 3: Application of the M&E plans in two pilots – focusing measurement of impact on biodiversity

Component 3: Communication And Databases

This was aimed at strengthening the networks and transfer of best practices between them and among their member funds.

Under this component, Project K website was developed. The website was simply an Environmental Funds (EFs) knowledge platform for the two networks.

Its hosting was linked to the website of RedLAC. Key documents on the website were restricted to CAFÉ and RedLAC members only.

Component 4: Institutional Capacity-Building For The RedLAC And CAFÉ Networks And Their Enhanced Sustainability

At least 10 EFs from each network (RedLAC and CAFÉ) have been receiving financial support to attend the General Assemblies of the other network and exchange knowledge. CAFÉ network received operational support and both networks drew up new long-term strategies including their strategic plans.

a) Networks Study Updating

This was a consultancy aimed at updating the baseline study (new round for indicators application) for the two networks, as part of the developed monitoring plan. Activities included in the exercise were in form of six products as follows:

  • Product 1: preparing a work plan with its methodology
  • Product 2: updating the list of indicators and methods
  • Product 3: data collection
  • Product 4: consolidation and analysis
  • Product 5: review of the monitoring plan and the legacy of the study
  • Product 6: final report

The consultancy was successfully done by Organisation Development Support (ODS) from Brussels, Belgium.

b) Strategic Plan

Out of this component, CAFÉ Strategic Plan was developed in 2018. It’s a five-year plan covering 2019-2023 period. It was developed by a consultant, Phillipe Taieb.

The Plan has the following three broad strategic objectives to be accomplished:

  • Strengthen the institution for improved governance and service delivery to members
  • Increase networking and partnerships to improve effectiveness and visibility
  • Ensure financial sustainability

c) Financial Sustainability Working Group and Products

The goal of this initiative was to develop a Financial Strategy for CAFÉ and RedLAC for long-term sustainability.

Five products were realised towards the achievement of this goal.

  • Product 1: Work Plan for developing the Financial Strategy
  • Product 2: The Diagnostic
  • Product 3: Development of financial studies
  • Product 4: Review of the financial management strategies
  • Product 5: Developing a Marketing Plan to raise funds

The consultancy was successfully done by Cecilia Embree of AtmosClear Canada Inc., from Canada.

Dr Théophile Zognou

Théophile Zognou holds a PhD in international environmental law from the University of Limoges, France. Lecturer at various universities, Dr. Zognou is the Executive Director of the Sangha Tri-National Trust Fund (FTNS) which has an endowment capital of 65 million euros, positively impacting the TNS region that covers the Central African Republic, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is the author of the book entitled “The Protection of the Marine and Coastal Environment in the Gulf of Guinea Region” and several legal articles in the field of the environment. Dr. Zognou was once a banker for about 8 years before joining the environmental field.

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Ms. Karen Price

Karen has had a lifelong passion for environmental issues and her 20-year career has been shaped by the Malawi Environmental Endowment Trust (MEET), where she currently works as the National Coordinator. MEET was one of the first Conservation Trust Funds (CTF) to be established in Malawi as an independent grant making institution that provides sustainable financing for biodiversity and natural resource management initiatives. Karen is responsible for providing strategic leadership to drive overall institutional strategy and operations to ensure that funds are mobilized, managed and disbursed to projects that yield positive conservation in accordance with national policies and plans specifically in the areas of landscape restoration, wetlands and waste management. She was instrumental in developing and implementing the guiding grant policy which has benefitted just over 250 environmental projects (in energy, environmental education, landscape restoration, waste management, human/wildlife conflict, wetlands, climate change) with community based organisations, local non-governmental organisations, academia and government.

Karen Price holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) degree in Environmental Management, from the University of Cape Town, South Africa and a Master of Science (MSc.) in Environment and Development from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. In terms of regional or continental experience, she was President of the Consortium of African Funds for the Environment (CAFÉ) from 2017 to 2022. CAFÉ is a network of nineteen CTF’s on the continent that strives to build the capacity of CTF’s by sharing of experiencing whilst pursuing innovative financing mechanisms that support conservation.

She has also served and continues to serve on various boards. She is the outgoing Chairperson of BASEflow Malawi, an organization that seeks to improve the sustainability of groundwater sources in Malawi; she’s Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Centre for Environmental Policy (CEPA), an organisation that conducts research and advocacy on environmental and natural resource management policy and legislation; a Board member of the Coordination Union for the Rehabilitation of the Environment (CURE) an organization that works to provide technical support and improve networking amongst non-governmental organizations, the Government of Malawi, donors and other organizations or individuals working in the area of the environment; and a board member of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (AERA). She is also a member of the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO) Regional Committee of International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Karen hopes to inspire the next generation and to expand her role and contributions to the sector and the region by exploring innovative financing and alternative approaches that enable greater participation and contributions towards the development of innovative environmental management solutions based in social enterprise and communities of practice.

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TAPIWA MAKIWA

Tapiwa Makiwa is the CEO of the Community Conservation Fund of Namibia (CCFN) a CTF charged with the mandate to ensure sustainable funding to Namibia’s Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Programme. A lover of nature, Tapiwa is a Chartered Accountant (CA) by qualification, affiliated with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Namibia (ICAN). In addition to this professional qualification/accreditation, he also holds amongst others an Honours Degree in the Theory of Accounting and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting Sciences from the University of South Africa (UNISA). Having completed his accounting articles with KMPG Chartered Accountants and Auditors he has worked in the audit, mining, and hospitality, retail, and manufacturing sectors of business. Immediately before his current role as Chief Executive Officer of the Community Conservation Fund of Namibia, he served as Chief Finance and Business Development Officer for a Namibian group of companies with interests in retail, hospitality, catering, and manufacturing. He has +/-17 years of progressive work experience in the financial field (audit, tax, accounting) and business and strategic management experience in the exploration, retail, hospitality, and tourism sectors with both international and local companies. Tapiwa carries with him a wealth of governance, business, and financial skills and together with his passion for people and wildlife has the balance required for operational and financial oversight of a CTF. He currently serves as the Vice-President of the Consortium of African Funds for the Environment, helping derive the objectives of the consortium forward.

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DR FANNY N’GOLO

Name : Dr Fanny N’golo

Position : Executive Director

Organisation : Foundation for Parks and Reserves of Côte d’Ivoire (FPRCI)

Veterinarian, Ecologist

More than twenty-five years of experience in natural resource management and biodiversity conservation / management of development projects

  • Establishment of a sustainable financing mechanism for national parks
  • Evaluation of the management effectiveness of protected areas
  • Management of wildlife and protected areas
  • Environmental education
  • Monitoring and evaluation of development projects
  • Monitoring of environmental impact studies
  • Coordination of participatory natural resource management projects
  • Planning and management of development projects
  • Strategic communication of development projects
  • Reform of protected area management systems
  • Mobilization of financing

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Guillaume de Rouville

Executive Director of the Okapi Fund for Nature Conservation in the DRC since June 2019, Guillaume is a former business lawyer who worked in the finance sector until 2000, then in biodiversity since 2001, first with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), then with the NGO Pro-Natura International in Brazil. He also has extensive experience in micro-finance and in the start-up sector, for which he raised funds when running an incubator he set up with associates passionate about innovation issues, particularly in the field of clean energy.

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