Focus
♦ Headline ♦ Focus ♦ Calendar ♦ Useful links ♦ About us ♦
Conservation International’s visit to France opens the way to new partnerships with French institutional and non governmental actors.
Mr. Russ Mittermeier, president of the American NGO Conservation International (C.I.) came to Paris on June 18 for a two-day visit, in order to renew his organizations partnership with the AFD. Accompanied by Olivier Langrand, CI’s Senior Vice President of International Government Relations, and Mr. Pierre Bollinger, the Non Governmental Affairs Advisor here at the Embassy, Mr. Mittermeier met with representatives of both the French government and of the French civil society.
With a budget for 2008-2009 of 170 million dollars and more than 1000 employees working in 40 countries, Conservation International is the first American NGO in the field of biodiversity and the third environmental NGO in the United States. It maintains close ties with France, which is its main bilateral donor. No later than last October, Mr. Jean-Marie Bockel, the French Secretary of State in charge of Cooperation, visited the headquarters of C.I. ; a visit which convinced him of the similarities in the approaches to biodiversity put forth by the NGO and the French government.
Upon arriving in Paris, Mr. Mittermeier was received by Mrs. Kosciusko-Morizet, the French Secretary of State in charge of the Ecology. During their meeting, Mrs. Kosciusko-Morizet touched upon the initiative to create an Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), underlining its importance in the eyes of the French government. Noting that this initiative was little known in the United States, Mr. Mittermeier assured the Secretary of State that C.I. would do its part to promote it and increase its visibility. In line with this statement, Mr. Mittermeier proposed to establish a partnership with the French Ministry of the Environment.
Another high point in Mr. Mittermeier’s visit was his meeting with Mrs. Benedicte Hermelin, director of the French NGO Gret. Despite the different size of their organizations, the leadership of both NGOs agreed on the necessity to develop the capabilities of the local civil societies in the countries where they intervene. They set the ground for future collaborations in Madagascar, Cambodia, Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mrs. Benedicte Hermelin is expected to come to C.I.’s headquarters in the fall to work over the details of these future joint projects.
During his stay in Paris, Mr. Mittermeier also found partners in unexpected places. His meeting with the director of the French Museum of Natural History proved fruitful as it may lead to an international congress on animal species co-organized by C.I. and the museum.
| Site map
|
Contact us |