The GEF Earth Fund: Conservation Agreement Private Partnership Platform (CAPPP)

The goal of the Conservation Agreement Private Partnership Platform (CAPPP) proposed by Conservation International (CI) under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as Implementing Agency is to catalyze private sector support for conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of ecosystem services in globally important sites. The objective of the CAPPP is to demonstrate the potential for achieving biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service maintenance with private sector support through the use of conservation agreements with local land- and resource-users. Conservation agreements will be used to forge mutually beneficial links between the private sector and local communities and landowners who commit to achieve biodiversity conservation, reduce land degradation, support climate regulation efforts, and promote sustainable natural resource management. Using the Conservation agreement approach, the Platform will engage the private sector in conservation in the following ways: a) Streamline product sourcing agreements between companies and communities; b) Develop conservation partnerships between private sector actors and communities that produce social and environmental results to meet corporate responsibility commitments; and c) Build capacity of small and medium enterprises to ensure increased participation in product/service supply chains that benefit conservation as well as economic development. The project directly contributes to the overarching goal of the GEF's Earth Fund, which is to establish innovative partnerships with the private sector and to enhance private sector participation in GEF activities. The project will be implemented along the guidelines set out in the "Earth Fund CAPPP Operation Manual 5-11". It will contribute overall to achieving the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi Targets 4, 7 and 14.