Since 1 February 2024, the IUCN French Committee has been implementing its support programme for biodiversity NGOs working in developing countries (ProBioDev). Its three-year objective is to improve the state of biodiversity in developing countries by actioning civil society initiatives and by reinforcing the capacities and partnerships of NGOs.
Created in 1992, the IUCN French Committee is a network of IUCN entities and experts in France. Its work focuses on the challenges of preserving biodiversity in France and around the world. Its programmes are devoted to biodiversity policy, species, protected areas, ecosystems, environmental education, French overseas territories and international cooperation.
Between 2021 and 2023, the IUCN French Committee implemented its SOBioDev project to help structure the network of French biodiversity NGOs working in the Global South. One of the strategic objectives of this project was to improve biodiversity organisations’ access to funding that was adapted to their needs.
The ProBioDev programme builds on the work carried out for the SOBioDev project: its aim is to improve the state of biodiversity in developing countries through civil society initiatives and capacity building. The programme has three main components: 1) a funding system for meso-level projects led by 11 civil society partnerships concluded between a French organisation and a local organisation (23 organisations supported in total); 2) coordinating a collective of French biodiversity stakeholders working in developing countries; and 3) capacity building and reinforcing partnerships with organisations.
The scheme thus offers a major innovation: supporting strategic alliances and the development of fair and mutually supportive partnerships to meet biodiversity-related challenges in the Global South. It also contributes to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which was adopted at the end of 2022 to stop and reverse biodiversity loss.
