2 million euro over five years to support at least 40 civil society organisations in Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt through nature conservation projects, capacity building and stronger cooperation networks.
By Mohammed TAFRAOUTI
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the French Global Environment Facility (FFEM) are renewing their partnership to support civil society organisations working to conserve nature in North Africa. On 27 October 2026, the two institutions signed a funding agreement for the fourth phase of the Small Initiatives Programme for Civil Society Organisations in North Africa (PPI-OSCAN), with €2 million in funding from the FFEM over five years.
The agreement was signed at the IUCN Pavilion on the sidelines of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia. The ceremony was attended by IUCN Director General Dr Grethel Aguilar and FFEM Secretary-General Stéphanie Bouziges-Eschmann.
The new phase aims to support at least 40 civil society organisations in Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. It will combine funding for biodiversity and ecosystem conservation projects with efforts to strengthen organisations’ technical and institutional capacities, improve project and resource management, expand cooperation networks and promote dialogue with public authorities.
Launched in 2014 with support from the FFEM and the MAVA Foundation, the programme combines small grants with long-term assistance. It is coordinated by the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation (IUCN Med).
More than a decade of action and results on the ground
The fourth phase builds on the achievements of the programme’s first three phases. According to IUCN, the initiative has supported 90 civil society organisations through 110 projects implemented, depending on the phase, in Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. These projects have contributed to species protection, ecosystem restoration and positive outcomes for local communities.
Another indicator of the programme’s institutional impact is that 11 supported organisations have since become IUCN Members: five in Tunisia, four in Libya and two in Morocco. This development reflects a process that extends beyond direct project funding to strengthen civil society organisations’ institutional standing and participation in wider nature conservation networks.
In Tunisia, the association IRADA, now an IUCN Member, has used programme support to bring together organisations from across the region to work on oasis conservation and resilience.
In Morocco, cooperation between conservation associations and the National Agency for Water and Forests to protect birds of prey illustrates how the programme can strengthen links between civil society and public institutions. This experience highlights the importance of connecting local initiatives with institutional action to advance national biodiversity conservation priorities.
Environment ministries and national authorities in participating countries are also involved in the programme, helping align local projects with national conservation priorities and improve the prospects for their long-term continuity and impact.
Beyond grants: strengthening local organisations
According to IUCN Director General Dr Grethel Aguilar, the support provided by the FFEM to North African civil society organisations through IUCN Med since 2014 has delivered benefits that extend well beyond financial assistance.
She noted that training and long-term support have enabled beneficiary organisations to improve their governance, manage resources more effectively and collaborate with larger and better-resourced partners.
“Civil society organisations are at the heart of our Union. Strengthening their capacities means strengthening conservation at the local level and their contribution to our shared mission,” Aguilar said.
Her remarks highlight the importance of combining financial support with technical expertise and organisational development, enabling associations to structure their activities more effectively, consolidate partnerships and increase their impact.
Aguilar also welcomed the signing of the new agreement, describing it as an important milestone in the partnership between the two institutions and thanking the FFEM for supporting the fourth phase of PPI-OSCAN.
A fourth phase focused on learning and networking
The new phase places greater emphasis on organisational development, with expanded opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, mentoring, experience-sharing and knowledge management. These measures aim to strengthen the skills of beneficiary organisations and encourage the exchange and replication of practices and solutions that have demonstrated their effectiveness on the ground.
The programme will also consolidate its presence in Egypt following a pilot phase, expanding opportunities for cooperation among civil society organisations in the four participating countries.
PPI-OSCAN 4 will further contribute to the development of Mubadarat, the IUCN Med platform for Mediterranean civil society organisations. The platform brings together PPI-OSCAN and other IUCN programmes and initiatives that provide funding, technical assistance and opportunities for organisations to work collectively to influence public policies beyond individual projects.
For Stéphanie Bouziges-Eschmann, Secretary-General of the FFEM, one of the objectives of the fourth phase is to help successful solutions and the organisations developing them scale up their activities. Achieving this requires organisations to diversify their funding sources.
She explained that the Mubadarat initiative, led by IUCN Med, would help ensure continuity in the support available to civil society organisations and strengthen their prospects for developing and expanding their work.
This approach addresses a practical challenge facing local associations: turning promising initiatives into sustainable programmes capable of attracting new partners and delivering results beyond their initial funding period. Diversifying financial resources, sharing knowledge and building cooperation networks are important tools for strengthening organisational autonomy.
Public funding and private philanthropy for nature conservation
Cooperation between IUCN Med and the FFEM in the Mediterranean extends beyond PPI-OSCAN. Their collaboration also covers sustainable blue tourism, ecosystem restoration and efforts to combat plastic pollution.
Philanthropic funding has also been an integral part of the programme since its early stages. The MAVA Foundation co-financed PPI-OSCAN alongside the FFEM. Its role is now being taken over by a Swiss foundation, according to information provided by the partners.
This combination of public funding and private philanthropy illustrates how different financial resources can be mobilised to support nature conservation. It also highlights the value of an approach that combines financial assistance with technical expertise, institutional support and networking opportunities for local organisations.
For Morocco, the new phase offers an opportunity to strengthen civil society initiatives for biodiversity conservation and expand partnerships between local associations and public institutions. Cooperation to protect birds of prey provides an example of the benefits of structured collaboration between field organisations and institutions responsible for managing natural resources.
Exchanges with organisations in other participating countries can also facilitate knowledge transfer and the sharing of experiences in addressing common challenges, including habitat degradation, pressure on natural resources and the deterioration of vulnerable ecosystems.
However, the effectiveness of this new phase will depend on its ability to reach organisations with limited resources, tailor support to the circumstances of each country and ensure that projects continue beyond the funding period. Assessing environmental and social outcomes will also be essential to determining the programme’s long-term contribution to biodiversity conservation.
Ultimately, the programme’s success will need to be measured not only by the funding mobilised or the number of organisations supported, but also by tangible changes on the ground: healthier ecosystems, more effective species protection, greater community participation and the ability of civil society organisations to sustain their activities after the programme ends.
