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When you look at the olm (Proteus anguinus, VU) you might not see a giant, but the 12-inch-long, pinkish salamander is the king of its world. It rules the lightless realm of the Balkan Peninsula’s Dinaric karst cave systems. In fact, the olm is the largest exclusively cave-dwelling animal in the world.

Both men and women depend on Earth’s ecosystems and their life-sustaining benefits. Often, though, the role of women in conservation is overlooked or understated.

The world’s forests are an important part of maintaining healthy watersheds, providing everything from erosion prevention to water quality maintenance. The network of roots underneath a forest holds the soil in place. That same root network also aerates the soil, allowing water to be filtered as it drains down into the local supply of groundwater. Even the leaf litter that carpets the forest floor can prevent nitrates from entering the water supply and causing harmful algae blooms.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2016 CEPF Photo Contest!

CEPF received more than 60 images celebrating people, including grantees working on the ground to conserve biodiversity and beneficiaries of CEPF-supported projects. These striking images showcase the vital links between civil society, communities and ecosystems in the world’s biodiversity hotspots, and demonstrate how CEPF grantees are protecting hotspot species and critical ecosystems, and enabling people to participate in sustainable livelihoods.

Earth Day 2016’s theme is Trees for the Earth. People everywhere are looking to the trees to protect not only the global climate, but also local ecosystems. Trees give us oxygen, store excess carbon from our atmosphere and provide food and shelter for forest inhabitants ranging from the unassuming eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) to the mighty western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla, Critically Endangered).

En español: 12 Consejos para recibir financiamiento para su idea de proyecto

In total, CEPF’s grant directors have reviewed some 5,000 letters of inquiry (LOIs). They recently reflected on what makes a proposal stand out, and what makes it miss the mark. Here’s their advice:

CEPF recently announced it will reinvest in the Caribbean. As we wrap up our initial, six-year, investment in the hotspot, we take a look at some of CEPF grantees’ greatest achievements thus far.

In 2010, CEPF began its investment in the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany, a biodiversity hotspot located in southern Mozambique, eastern Swaziland, and two provinces in South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.

The timing aligned with a South African government-subsidized green jobs initiative, and CEPF developed its strategy for the region with this in mind.

In 2006, Friends for Conservation and Development (FCD) in Belize consisted of a handful of volunteers implementing a few isolated environmental activities like tree planting and clean-up campaigns. But when the organization applied for CEPF funding to improve management of the Chiquibul-Maya Mountains in the Mesoamerica Biodiversity Hotspot, Grant Director Michele Zador saw potential.

CEPF held its second Regional Implementation Team (RIT) Exchange last month in Athens, Greece. Twenty-eight RIT members, along with six Secretariat staff, came together for three days to share ideas, challenges and solutions. All nine active biodiversity hotspots were represented.

The CEPF model works, in large part, because of these teams, which are located in or near each active biodiversity hotspot at host organizations. They work on the ground directly with CEPF’s grantees, helping to build local capacity and implement CEPF’s strategy in the hotspot.

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