CT6 begins discussion on setting up CTI Trust Fund

The representatives from the six member countries (CT6) of CTI-CFF have begun meetings on the establishment of the CTI-CFF Regional Conservation Trust Fund (RCTF) with experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA). In the series of RCTF meetings that started in January 2021, Dr. David Meyers of CFA discussed the roles and responsibilities of WCS/CFA, the proposed mission, budget requirements, draft terms of reference for the Technical Committee and Advisory Board, and the governance structure. Dr. Meyers serves as the main advisor and consultant in setting up the CTI-CFF RCTF. The fund is expected to be endorsed during the 16th Senior Officials Meeting of the CTI-CFF.

The CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat (RS), under the leadership of Dr. Mohd Kushairi Mohd Rajuddin, initiated discussions on the RCTF. Dr. Kushairi expressed gratitude to the CT6 representatives for their active participation, which demonstrates the countries’ commitment to providing sustainable financing for CTI-CFF’s biodiversity conservation efforts. He also thanked WCS and CFA for their support in building RS’s capacity for regional sustainable finance planning and implementation through a 2020 webinar and a series of consultations. The technical assistance from WCS to CTI-CFF has been made possible through funding from KfW/EU.