Story | 29 Jul, 2016

Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund recognises 15 ‘Hotspot Heroes’ for outstanding conservation efforts

ARLINGTON, VIRIGNIA, USA—The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is celebrating its 15th anniversary by recognising 15 conservationists as “Hotspot Heroes.”

Photo: © Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF)

CEPF selected the Heroes from among the fund’s more than 2,000 grantee organisations around the globe. The Hotspot Heroes and the nongovernmental organisations they work for have made outstanding contributions to the conservation of biodiversity hotspots—the world’s most biologically diverse yet threatened terrestrial regions. The Heroes exemplify the kinds of dedicated, dynamic people who work with CEPF to make certain vital ecosystems can continue to provide clean air, fresh water, healthy soils, sustainable livelihoods, resilience to climate change and much more.

CEPF is a joint initiative of l'Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. CEPF provides grants to civil society organisations that are working to conserve the biodiversity hotspots in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

CEPF will honor the Hotspot Heroes at a reception set for Sunday, September 4, at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, in conjunction with the World Conservation Congress held by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which takes place September 1–10 in Honolulu.

The Indo-Burma Hotspot Hero, is Viet Nam's, Dao Thi Nga, Director of the Center for Water Resources Conservation and Development (WARECOD).

Dao Thi Nga, director, the Center for Water Resources Conservation and Development (WARECOD), Vietnam

Photo: © Nguyen Viet Hung

Dao Thi Nga was born in Vietnam and earned a Ph.D. in human geography from York University in Toronto. She is the co-founder and director of the Center for Water Resources Conservation and Development (WARECOD), a Vietnamese nongovernmental organisation that focuses on water resources in the country, primarily rivers. The aim of the organisation is to protect not only the biodiversity of water resources, but also the well-being of the communities that depend on those ecosystems.

As director of WARECOD, Dr. Nga has been instrumental in piloting community co-management of fisheries in Vietnam, working with indigenous peoples and other local communities in the north of the country to develop working models that can inform policy development and lead to wider replication. Since 2009, these efforts have been supported by CEPF and resulted in the establishment of demonstration models and the adoption of regulations on co-management of aquatic resources by the Tuyen Quang Provincial Government. A feature of WARECOD’s work has been innovative outreach activities, such as cookery competitions for fishing families and interactive plays.

To view the other Hotspot Heroes, visit the CEPF website.

LINKS:

Full article on CEPF website