IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

Nurturing NGO capacity to engage in biodiversity conservation in the Eastern Mediterranean is a three year project funded by the MAVA foundation and implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature – Regional Office for West Asia (IUCN-ROWA) in partnership with other conservation NGOs in the Levant Countries.

The project is designed to prioritize the needs of participating organizations and build the capacities for biodiversity conservation. Participating organizations will have the chance to share lessons learnt and gain knowledge through hands-on learning projects and joint policy initiatives.

Project Objectives
• Supporting the technical innovation and capacity development of NGOs & government institutions on biodiversity conservation and advocacy

• Facilitating effective networking platforms & joint policy development to improve national and regional conservation

• Assisting in increasing the overall institutional capacity development of partnering NGOs

• Disseminating lessons learnt, innovations and policy related achievements among a wider stakeholder network

 In order to achieve these objectives, the project implementation strategy addresses these essential project components below:

Knowledge sharing:
Increased biodiversity conservation in the middle-east can be developed and acquired through past experience and shared knowledge. Participating NGOs will be able to share their expertise and learn from others, creating a hub for lessons learnt.

Networking:
Joining NGOs from different countries creates great networking capabilities, which in turn help NGOs acquire new information and create networking channels for funding and up scaling.

Capacity Building:
Biodiversity conservation can only be achieved by gaining the necessary skills to develop and improve national policies. Increasing the capacity of the participating NGOs will become evident after a series of capacity building exercises the project will accomplish.

Demonstration:
Proactive learning through this project will allow NGOs to implement practical examples of biodiversity conservation in the field.

For more information: Mufleh Abbadi - mufleh.abbadi@iucn.org