Since 2001, the Foundation has supported Conservation International in its efforts to protect ecosystems in key geographies around the world through the application of conservation science.

2008 Highlights

In the past year, Conservation International’s accomplishments included the following:

• Through its Global Conservation Fund, endowment funding has been established to help ensure effective long-term biodiversity protection in Colombia, the Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape and Caucuses.
• The Center for Applied Biodiversity Science supported IUCN Red List processes for endangered species, concluding in the global mammal assessment that nearly 50 percent of the world's 634 primate species are in danger of extinction. CABS also contributed to Madagascar’s national efforts to refine and implement its national climate change adaptation strategy. 
• The Madagascar Action Plan continued its work building climate change resilience by linking climate mitigation and adaptation with protected area creation and management.
• The Marine Management Area Science Program conducted research through more than 40 different activities that have had important impacts in Brazil, Panama, and Fiji.
• Through the Atlantic Forest Action Plan, CI has expanded the regional network of protected areas by 82,500 hectares, advanced the “Pact for Reforestation of the Atlantic Forest” and helped to shape key environmental policies for the biome.
• Conservation International’s work on the Cerrado-Pantanal Action Plan resulted in a newly completed satellite-based monitoring system, the creation of three new protected areas totaling 390,000 hectares, and the launch of the BioCerrado Alliance to engage the private sector in conservation activities.
• The Guiana Shield Action Plan is being implemented and playing a critical role in engaging the Guyana government in the debate over Reduction in Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD). The work is focused on demonstrating the critical link between biodiversity conservation, anthropogenic activity and socio-economic well-being to support the Guiana Region Conservation Corridor (GRCC).
• Tropical Ecosystem Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) has joined a network of tropical field stations in order to  support their monitoring efforts, standardize methods of data collection, and most effectively utilize their information management system and long-term biodiversity trend data.

We congratulate Conservation International on these successes and achievements in 2008.