World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

Organizational profile: As the world’s leading conservation organization, WWF works in nearly 100 countries. Their mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth. WWF works to help local communities conserve the natural resources they depend upon; transform markets and policies toward sustainability; and protect and restore species and their habitats. Their efforts ensure that the value of nature is reflected in decision-making from a local to a global scale. WWF connects cutting-edge conservation science with the collective power of our partners in the field, more than one million supporters in the United States and five million globally, as well as partnerships with communities, companies, and governments.

Within their biodiversity initiatives, WWF works to provide long-term, sustainable financing to biodiversity conservation by partnering with governments, private industries, communities and other non-governmental organizations. They develop financing solutions to protect and sustainably manage some of the most valuable natural resources in the world. Their work includes comprehensive assessments of potential sustainable finance mechanisms in target countries, negotiations with governments and donor agencies, and execution of complex financial deals that result in actual revenue for conservation.

Within their forests’ initiatives, WWF seeks to close the gap between how much is available for forest conservation and how much is needed. They help create multi-million-dollar funds to properly manage forests that are designated as protected. The funding is to train park officials about responsible forest management, buy satellite GPS collars to monitor and track endangered wildlife, and more. They also support Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), a global initiative designed to pay groups or countries for protecting their forests and reducing emissions of greenhouse gas pollutants, especially carbon dioxide. Through their Earth for Life initiative, they work with partners to create, expand and ensure proper management of conservation areas. They use a financial approach called Project Finance for Permanence (PFP). The PFP approach relies on a single closing, which is the moment in time when funding commitments are made and all of the other closing conditions (such as having performance monitoring systems in place) have been met.

Financing Instrument: Grants, Technical assistance

Project scale: WWF had nearly US$62 million in project grants and contracts expenses in 2019. Individual project scale is not known

Applicable geographical regions/country groups: Global

Recipient categories: Governments, Businesses, Communities, NGOs/NPOs

Eligibility Criteria: To be eligible for funds, the national government of a given country must commit to putting in place the policies and staffing needed to make sure the conservation areas program runs smoothly. Also, a source of in-country funding must be identified to fully finance the areas after the initial funding from donors runs out.

Application guidelines: The Project Finance for Permanence process is as follows:

Step 1: A PFP initiative begins with the development of ambitious and charismatic conservation goals, followed by the development of a comprehensive conservation plan to achieve the goals.

Step 2: A rigorous financial plan for funding the conservation plan is created, so as to ensure its lasting success.

Step 3: Donors commit funds to bring the plan to life. But their funds are held back until the total fundraising goal is reached and all key legal and financial conditions that have been agreed upon in advance are met.

Step 4: Everyone involved comes together to sign one agreement. At this closing, their donations are put into a fund, the governance of which is defined by them.

Step 5: Money within the fund is distributed over a set period of time and in accordance with the agreed financial plan.

Step 6: The government in the country where the conservation areas are located increases its spending until it fully assumes the costs of conservation.