The Darwin Initiative was announced by the UK Government at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 and has provided funding of around £80 million since. Darwin Initiative assists countries that are rich in biodiversity but poor in financial resources to meet their objectives under one or more of the three major biodiversity Conventions: the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD); the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES); and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), through the funding of collaborative projects which draw on UK biodiversity expertise.
Darwin projects are diverse. Typically, they may address issues in the following areas:
- institutional capacity building
- work to implement the Biodiversity Convention
- environmental education or awareness