The Fundamentals That Make Conservation Last

A PFP secures system(s)-level durable, representative, and effective protection outcomes and community benefits, delivering additionality especially in countries yet to meet their 30×30 targets. The scale of the PFP is agreed to by all the PFP parties and is reflected in the final agreements signed by all the parties. The conservation plan milestones can be reflected in the closing conditions or the disbursement conditions within the final agreements signed by all the parties. The scale may also be reflected in laws, decrees, executive orders, or other policy mechanisms.

A detailed conservation and community development plan for the PFP provides the groundwork to describe the geographic scope and expected conservation and human well-being outcomes, along with a set of priority interventions and/or actions to achieve them. A PFP may have a separate community development plan or combined conservation and community development plans, in some cases called a PFP strategic plan. The conservation and community development plan is an essential underpinning of the PFP moving forward and elements of it will form part of the financial model and the final closing agreements signed by the parties (e.g., conservation targets, policy changes or additions, management model, governance model, etc.). Elements of the conservation plan are sometimes reflected in the disbursement conditions.

A detailed conservation and community development plan for the PFP provides the groundwork to describe the geographic scope and expected conservation and human well-being outcomes, along with a set of priority interventions and/or actions to achieve them. A PFP may have a separate community development plan or combined conservation and community development plans, in some cases called a PFP strategic plan. The conservation and community development plan is an essential underpinning of the PFP moving forward and elements of it will form part of the financial model and the final closing agreements signed by the parties (e.g., conservation targets, policy changes or additions, management model, governance model, etc.). Elements of the conservation plan are sometimes reflected in the disbursement conditions.

Funding from public and private funders secured at closing through pledges or other firm commitments to fully meet the transition period funding requirement as established in the PFP financial model and reflected in the final agreements. Closing funding includes contributions to be managed by the CTF, generally placed into a transition (or ‘spend-down’) fund, though a portion may also be used to capitalize an endowment. Closing funding could also include any direct funder support to other entities for agreed-upon PFP implementation activities, and any other resources the government may direct to the transition period, such as non-PFP endowments. Elements of this component are essential to the final closing agreement to lay out funding commitments and how they will be tracked over time. 

While closing funding commitments from donors and governments ensure there are sufficient funds at closing to implement the PFP and achieve its conservation and community development goals, long-term durable funding ensures that the PFP and its achievements can be sustained over the long term beyond the transition period. Without durable funding, a PFP is not permanent. Long-term durable funding should be recurring in nature and come from in-country sources, obviating the need for significant future fundraising for the specific conservation goals and activities of the PFP. Generally, long-term durable funding builds on the government’s agreement to substantially increase their financial support for the PFP conservation and community development goals over the defined implementation term through earmarked contributions and then, after transition funds have been fully expended, to sustain the PFP at the level established in the financial plan through ongoing budget allocations and/or income from new SFMs established during implementation. Recurring disbursements from endowment funds capitalized at closing or built over the implementation period may also be a supplementary part of a PFP’s overall long-term funding strategy. The parties agree to these long-term funding commitments and will be reflected in the final agreements signed, including the financial model, and perhaps also as disbursement conditions

Leverage is a fundamental aspect of the PFP model, and in a PFP, the Government counterpart should make a meaningful new financial contribution by allocating income generated from new funding mechanisms or increasing allocations from existing appropriations (e.g., increased budget appropriations, allocated income from new or existing taxes, levies, and fees, or income generated through the implementation of other policy-based, market-based or sovereign finance mechanisms). The government commitment is agreed to by all the parties and incorporated into the PFP final agreements along with the other contributions (e.g., private donors, public funding) and is also reflected in the financial model.