Partnerships: KfW banking group
Together for sustainable natural resource management of forests
fW Bankengruppe (KfW banking group) gives impetus to economic, social and ecological development on a global scale. Its statutory functions are those of a promotional bank for the German economy and a development bank for countries in need.
On behalf of the German government, the KfW Development Bank is supporting projects in the forest sector worldwide. This covers more than 100 projects focusing on forests and biodiversity in over 40 countries all over the globe.
Why join forces?
WWF and KfW share a number of concerns regarding natural ecosystems and biodiversity, including the belief that poverty and socio-economic constraints are among the main causes for environmental degradation. Both organisations recognize the value of putting together their comparative advantages to deal with these issues.
In 2004, the two organizations signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding, agreeing to work together in helping efforts towards sustainable natural resource management (NRM) and biodiversity conservation.
From shared values to shared initiatives
Through the collaboration, KfW and WWF are contributinge to conservation, restoration and sustainable use of natural ecosystems in developing and transformation countries. The partners are working jointly on a variety of projects, particularly in regions identified by WWF as ecoregions¹. Among others, these initiatives include sustainable management of protected areas, watershed management, and the development and promotion of policies and tools such as certification.
Snapshot of WWF/KfW activities
Ongoing WWF and KfW joint activities include:
- Protected Areas Management
In Madagascar, KfW and WWF are working in Andringitra National Park and Pic d'Ivohibe on an Integrated Conservation and Development Project, focussing on developing park management infrastructure and staff capabilities in conservation, ecological monitoring, community development, environmental education and ecotourism.
- Sustainable Financing Initiatives
Still in Madagascar, KfW and WWF are involved in the development of a Trust Fund for Protected Areas, and a Debt for Nature Swap of 10.3 million euros, of which 1.7 are pledged into the newly developed Trust Fund for capitalisation.
- In the Amazon, KfW is also playing a role in the development of ARPA (Amazon Region Protected Areas Programme) - a ten-year initiative that aims to create an additional 12 per cent of protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon and raise US$400 million for protection of 50 million hectares of the Brazilian Amazon. Towards this end, KfW has already donated approximately US$20 million to ARPA.
- Sustainable Forest Management and Certification programme
In Vietnam, KfW is co-financing several forestry projects to support smallholder establishment of production forests with protective functions on barren land.
- Forest Landscape Restoration
Also in Vietnam, KfW funding is going into the Forest Sector Support Programme (of which WWF is one of the partners).
¹ Ecoregions are relatively large units of land or water containing a characteristic set of natural communities that share a large majority of their species, dynamics and environmental conditions.
