In February 2026, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) will launch a new US$10 million investment to support biodiversity conservation in the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot. Spanning five years, the initiative will focus on selected conservation corridors across Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) serving as the regional implementation team.
The first call for proposals under this investment will be announced on 2 February 2026 and will remain open until 16 March 2026. This call will invite applications from local organisations based in the hotspot for projects aligned with Strategic Directions 3 and 6 and Investment Priority 9.1 of the newly updated Indo-Burma Ecosystem Profile. A second call is planned for the second half of 2026 and will focus on Strategic Directions 1 and 2 and Investment Priorities 9.2, 9.3 and 9.4. Unlike the first round, this later call will be open to both local and international organisations.
All calls for proposals will be widely promoted through the CEPF website and its social media channels, including LinkedIn and Facebook, as well as through the social media platforms of the IUCN Asia Regional Office, which acts as CEPF’s regional implementation team in Indo-Burma.
Indo-Burma is one of the most biologically significant regions in the world and has received US$37.5 million in CEPF funding for biodiversity conservation since July 2008. The new investment aims to build on the achievements of past and ongoing CEPF-supported projects while responding to increasing threats to biodiversity and ecosystems that millions of people depend on for food, water, shelter and climate resilience.
To date, CEPF has awarded 429 grants in the hotspot to nongovernmental organisations, community-based groups, academic institutions and other civil society organisations. With this support, grantees have strengthened biodiversity management across more than three million hectares of Key Biodiversity Areas by promoting community-managed forests, fisheries and conservation areas, and by developing co-management mechanisms for protected areas. They have also established long-term conservation programmes for 35 globally threatened species, helping to slow or even reverse population declines, and have delivered tangible well-being benefits to more than 250 local communities, including improvements in land tenure, food security and access to vital ecosystem services.
Ahead of the new funding cycle, the Indo-Burma Ecosystem Profile was updated through a participatory and consultative process coordinated by WWF between March and October 2025. More than 350 stakeholders contributed through expert input and country-level consultation workshops organised by WWF offices in each hotspot country. The draft findings were reviewed and refined during a final assessment workshop held in Bangkok in July 2025 and organised by IUCN, with additional guidance provided by an advisory committee of conservation experts and practitioners.
The updated profile reflects significant changes over the past five years, including shifts in civil society capacity, political and operating environments, the scale and drivers of biodiversity threats, and donor investment patterns. While stakeholders urged CEPF to retain the core investment strategy—recognising that long-term conservation outcomes often require more than five years—updates were made to priority species lists to reflect major changes in the IUCN Red List between 2020 and 2025, including a substantial increase in the number of species classified as globally threatened.
Adjustments were also made to priority geographies. The Chindwin River corridor in Myanmar was removed due to the deteriorating security situation and replaced by the Hala-Bala Forests Corridor in Thailand, creating new opportunities for civil society organisations in the country to access CEPF support. In addition, the revised strategy places a stronger emphasis on organisational development and includes provisions for start-up support and flexible financing mechanisms, such as mini-grants and seed funding, particularly for grassroots organisations and groups led by Indigenous peoples and local communities.
Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to review the updated ecosystem profile and to contact the regional implementation team at CEPF to discuss project ideas or clarify any questions. CEPF grants are awarded through a competitive process and applications undergo objective peer review. Funding priority will be given to projects that closely align with the investment priorities of each call, demonstrate strong potential for achieving sustainable conservation outcomes, build on or complement existing initiatives, offer good value for money, and show the institutional capacity and experience needed to deliver results. CEPF welcomes applications from both previous grantees and organisations that have not received CEPF funding in the past.
