O ICLEI South America extended until January 31, 2022 The Call for Sponsors and Partners for the Conservation Unit Acceleration Program 2022. The call for proposals aims to select legal entities interested in sponsoring and/or providing technical and institutional support to the third edition of the Program, which is expected to run for 11 months. Interested parties should send their proposals to the email address provided. [email protected].

Developed since July 2020, with the support of Sense-Lab, the Acceleration Methodology has benefited from contributions from various experts from organizations such as GIZ, Fundação Grupo Boticário, DAP/MMA, IUCN, ICMBio, Semeia, WWF, and IPÊ – Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas. In the two previous editions of the Program, seven Conservation Units in the municipalities of São Paulo (SP), São José dos Campos (SP), Santa Maria (RS), Caruaru (PE), Alcinópolis (MS), Niterói (RJ), and Conceição do Mato Dentro (MG) were accelerated.

About the Conservation Unit Acceleration Program

The Conservation Unit Acceleration Program aims to promote an entrepreneurial and innovative approach to the management of municipal and state protected areas, based on learning about management tools and financial sustainability. It also aims to strengthen the management of protected areas and expand their biodiversity conservation capacities.

The initiative promotes sustainable local development in the territories where the participating Conservation Units are located, in an equitable and people-centered manner, contributing to green economic recovery and job creation.

According to Roberto Rüsche, Biodiversity Coordinator at ICLEI South America, the Program offers several benefits, such as the formation of collaborative networks between participating teams and program mentors; the development of customized tools for monitoring and prioritizing daily activities in protected areas; and improvements in the participatory management of the management councils of each unit. “There are also other gains for managers, such as broadening the perspective, reach, and impact that improved management of protected areas can effectively leverage in terms of sustainable local development, supported by the actions of the responsible secretariats, the work of protected area managers, and the recognition of their importance within municipalities and local governments.”

For sponsorship quotas, benefits, and other information, Click here to access the full text of the Notice..