East Melanesian Islands CEPF Summary

Established in 2000, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is a globalleader in enabling civil society to participate in and influence the conservation ofsome of the world’s most critical ecosystems. CEPF is a joint initiative of l’AgenceFrançaise de Développement (AFD), Conservation International, the EuropeanUnion, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Government of Japan, theJohn D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. CEPF isunique among funding mechanisms in that it focuses on high-priority biologicalareas rather than political boundaries and examines conservation threats on alandscape scale. From this perspective, CEPF seeks to identify and support aregional, rather than a national, approach to achieving conservation outcomes andengages a wide range of public and private institutions to address conservationneeds through coordinated regional efforts.