The Darwin Initiative is a

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

funding program that aims to assist countries with rich

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

but poor financial resources to meet their objectives under the

Convention on Biological Diversity The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its ...

(CBD); the

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

(CITES); and the

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, also known as the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) or the Bonn Convention, is an international agreement that aims to conserve Animal migration, migratory species t ...

(CMS).

Establishment

The Darwin Initiative was announced by the UK Government in 1992 at the

Earth Summit The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to June 14, 1992. Earth Su ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. It was established as a

non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process of n ...

DETR The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions was a United Kingdom Cabinet position created in 1997, with responsibility for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). The position and department ...

, moving to

DEFRA DEFRA may refer to: * Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, United States law * Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom government department {{Disambiguation ...

on its formation in 2001. In 2010 DEFRA provided annual funding of £7 Million. This will be increased during the period to 2014.

Darwin Advisory Committee

The Darwin Initiative is managed by the Darwin Advisory Committee (DAC), and currently chaired by Professor David Macdonald. The first chairman was Sir

Crispin Tickell Sir Crispin Charles Cervantes Tickell (25 August 1930 – 25 January 2022) was a British diplomat, environmentalist, and academic. Background Tickell was the son of writer Jerrard Tickell and Renée ( Haynes), a great-granddaughter of Thomas ...

who was succeeded by Professor

David S. Ingram David Stanley Ingram, OBE, VMH, FRSB, FRSE, FLS, F.I. Hort (born 10 October 1941) is an Honorary Professor of Science, Technology and Innovation Studies at the University of Edinburgh Ingram served as master of St. Catharine's College, Cambri ...

in 1999. Ingram held the post until handing over to Macdonald in 2005. The DAC comprises experts from government, academic, science and the private sector. The DAC's

Terms of Reference Terms of reference (TOR) define the purpose and structures of a project, committee, meeting, negotiation, or any similar collection of people who have agreed to work together to accomplish a shared goal. Terms of reference show how the object in ...

state its purpose to be

"To advise the
Secretary of State for the Environment The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment (DoE). This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Tra ...
on the principles and objectives of the Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species grant programme in implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity especially Article 5, taking into account the past experience of the grant programme."

The DAC therefore advises Ministers on development of the Initiative and makes recommendations on applications for funding. The DAC is supported by a small secretariat team provided by DEFRA. Under the

2010 UK quango reforms Following the 2010 United Kingdom general election, the UK Government under the Cameron–Clegg coalition announced plans to curb public spending through the abolition of a large number of quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations (quangos) ...

, the Darwin Advisory Council will be reconstituted as a ''committee of experts'' effective by March 2011.

Projects funded

The scope of supported projects is very broad and includes: * * Institutional capacity building * Training * Research * Work to implement the Biodiversity Convention * Environmental education or awareness Supported projects include some based in the UK, UK Overseas Territories and over 100 countries worldwide. In December 2010, the Darwin Initiative had invested a total of £79,652,500 in 728 projects in 156 countries since 1992.

References

External links

* http://www.darwininitiative.org.uk/ Official Site Science and technology in the United Kingdom Government agencies established in 1992 Public bodies and task forces of the United Kingdom government {{science-org-stub