Canada-backed biodiversity grants deliver gains in Southeast Asia and beyond

Canada’s CA$20 million investment through the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund supported 100 conservation grants across Southeast Asia and South America in 2025, helping reduce threats to biodiversity while advancing women’s leadership and community benefits. The work covered more than 28,000 square kilometers of Key Biodiversity Areas and is being extended through CEPF’s long-term hotspot strategy.

Why it matters: - Canada’s funding supported conservation in ecosystems that provide fresh water, carbon storage and other services that people outside the region also rely on. - The initiative tied biodiversity protection to gender equality and local community leadership, not just species and habitat outcomes. - The grants helped advance Canada’s broader biodiversity goals under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

What happened: - The Government of Canada provided CA$20 million through Global Affairs Canada to the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. - The investment funded 100 grants to civil society organizations in 2025. - The grants supported work in the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand, plus the Cerrado and Tropical Andes hotspots in South America. - The funded projects targeted more than 28,000 square kilometers of Key Biodiversity Areas.

The details: - In Indo-Burma, 3,915 square kilometers of Key Biodiversity Areas saw reduced biodiversity threats. - Projects in Indo-Burma reduced threats to 44 globally threatened species. - The conservation and sustainable-use work delivered cash benefits to 6,254 women and 6,735 men. - Community-based conservation and sustainable-use initiatives were supported across more than 3,534 square kilometers of Key Biodiversity Areas in Indo-Burma. - A total of 294 women and 232 men in the region showed increased capacity to design and implement community-based conservation projects. - Seventy-six community natural resource management bodies developed management plans to address threats to Key Biodiversity Areas and threatened species. - Non-cash benefits reached 25,374 females and 28,391 males, including improved land tenure, better food security and improved access to water. - Thirteen civil society organizations developed organizational gender action plans and implemented at least one measure to address barriers to gender inclusivity. - Across all three hotspots to date, the grants reduced threats across 12,000 square kilometers of Key Biodiversity Areas and 88 globally threatened species. - Across those hotspots, 89,454 women and 91,413 men gained improved land tenure, food security or water access. - Ninety-three organizations created or updated gender action plans. - Eighty-six organizations took actions supporting gender equality, including zero-tolerance policies on sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, gender-sensitive hiring, childcare provisions, and women’s mentorship and leadership pathways. - Among grant-recipient organizations, 57 more women moved into technical roles, 17 more into supervisory roles and 22 more into leadership roles. - More than 17 million hectares of formal protected areas have been established since CEPF began in 2001, along with support for more than 1,300 globally threatened species and more than 6,700 communities.

Between the lines: - The results point to a conservation model that pairs ecological outcomes with social outcomes, especially for women, Indigenous Peoples and local communities. - CEPF’s structure matters here because it channels money through local civil society groups instead of relying only on top-down conservation programs. - The gender actions suggest the grants aimed to change who leads conservation work, not just what projects get funded. - IUCN Asia served as CEPF’s regional implementation team for Indo-Burma, helping build local capacity and carry out the conservation strategy.

What's next: - CEPF will continue work in the three hotspots supported by the Canada investment and build on the results already achieved. - Best practices from the grants are being shared through CEPF’s Learning Hub. - More project examples and best-practices materials are available in CEPF’s best practices and projects page.

The bottom line: - Canada’s support produced measurable biodiversity gains while expanding community benefits and women’s leadership across several high-risk ecosystems.