Securing Sustainable Financing for Conservation Areas

The document outlines the Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) model, a holistic approach designed to secure policy changes and full funding for large-scale conservation goals over a long-term timeframe. It details a five-phase development process—identification, assessment, readiness, design, and implementation—and emphasizes the necessity of a shared vision, a robust financial model, and independent fund administration. The guide provides specific case studies from Brazil (ARPA for Life), Colombia (Heritage Colombia), and Peru (Peru’s Natural Legacy), illustrating how transition funds and sustainable financing mechanisms are used to move from donor dependency to national financial sustainability.

• Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) is a holistic model that aims to achieve ecological, social, political, organizational, and financial sustainability by securing all necessary funding and policy changes for a conservation program over a defined long-term period.
• A successful PFP must include several core components: a large-scale conservation goal, a detailed conservation plan, a financial model estimating costs in perpetuity, clear closing conditions, upfront funding commitments, an independent fund administrator, and rigorous disbursement conditions.
• The PFP development process is divided into five non-linear phases: identification (exploring potential), assessment (analyzing viability and feasibility), readiness (forming a coalition and training), design (developing goals, financial models, and closing agreements), and implementation (executing activities and managing funds).
• Transition funds are a specific type of sinking fund used primarily in developing countries to bridge the gap between initial donor funding and the eventual full coverage of costs by national sustainable financing sources over a period typically lasting 10 to 25 years.
• The ARPA for Life initiative in Brazil is one of the world's largest tropical forest conservation programs, aiming to consolidate at least 60 million hectares of conservation units using a 25-year transition fund with approximately $210 million in committed resources as of 2014.
• Peru's Natural Legacy (PdP) focuses on the financial sustainability of the National System of Natural Protected Areas (SINANPE), with an initial phase (PdP-Amazonia) targeting 17 million hectares over 11 years with an estimated financial gap of $140 million.
• Heritage Colombia (HECO) is a PFP initiative designed to ensure the long-term conservation and financing of 20 million hectares (10% of Colombia's territory) by year 20, utilizing a mix of external donor funds and national sources, including a 5% allocation from the national carbon tax.
• Environmental and social safeguards (ESS) are mandatory in PFP design to avoid or mitigate adverse impacts, requiring a screening process, the development of management plans, and the establishment of a grievance redress mechanism.

APA

N., H. C., Planitzer, C., Yudelman, T., Tua, J., Bernardes, E., Gatti, R., Ribeiro, F., Bermudez, L., Cavelier, I., Garzón, L., Gil, I., Laverde, M., Ortiz, C., Cuba, A., Godfrey, C., Harrison, H., Valcárcel, R., & Vergel, C. (2021). Securing Sustainable Financing for Conservation Areas. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/668/1z0aqa0cl9_PFP_ASL_WWF_REPORT_2021_March_22_final_.pdf

Chicago

N., Humberto Cabrera, Carolin Planitzer, Tanya Yudelman, Jon Tua, Edegar Bernardes, Renata Gatti, Fabio Ribeiro, et al. Securing Sustainable Financing for Conservation Areas. WWF International, 2021. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/668/1z0aqa0cl9_PFP_ASL_WWF_REPORT_2021_March_22_final_.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=N. |first1=Humberto Cabrera |last2=Planitzer |first2=Carolin |last3=Yudelman |first3=Tanya |last4=Tua |first4=Jon |last5=Bernardes |first5=Edegar |last6=Gatti |first6=Renata |last7=Ribeiro |first7=Fabio |last8=Bermudez |first8=Laura |last9=Cavelier |first9=Inés |display-authors=etal |title=Securing Sustainable Financing for Conservation Areas |publisher=WWF International |date=November 2021 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/668/1z0aqa0cl9_PFP_ASL_WWF_REPORT_2021_March_22_final_.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{n2021securing, author = {N., Humberto Cabrera and Planitzer, Carolin and Yudelman, Tanya and Tua, Jon and Bernardes, Edegar and Gatti, Renata and Ribeiro, Fabio and Bermudez, Laura and Cavelier, Inés and Garzón, Lucas and Gil, Ivan and Laverde, Melissa and Ortiz, Carolina and Cuba, Alberto and Godfrey, Claudia and Harrison, Henry and Valcárcel, Rodolfo and Vergel, Cindy}, title = {{Securing Sustainable Financing for Conservation Areas}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/668/1z0aqa0cl9_PFP_ASL_WWF_REPORT_2021_March_22_final_.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }