ABOUT | PONT

In accordance with its mission and role, PONT seeks to:

• Manage and raise funds aiming to generate complementary funding; stable long-term financial support to conservation initiatives.
• Contributing to long-term conservation objectives via co-financing key conservation actions, as a solid partner providing funding continuity for its beneficiaries.
• Collaborate with stakeholders and environmental actors to improve the quality and efficiency of management and to use the provided co-funding to reach the optimal impact on biodiversity conservation.
• Promote collaboration between stakeholders; encourage synergies.
• Promote transboundary cooperation and a collective ecoregional approach.
• Raise public environmental awareness and community engagement.
• Engage with governments to leverage funding and political commitments towards conservation.

PONT is a transboundary conservation trust fund. As a trust fund, PONT’s approach to conservation differs from the standard “project based” or “short-term” solutions. PONT’s funding is long-term focussed on the implementation of key conservation actions and designed to ensure the sustainable management of the Prespa- Ohrid ecoregion. Our model emphasizes long-term commitment, transparency, efficiency, accountability and collaboration.

PONT combines investment income from its endowment with other available capital and annual donations to generate grant-making resources for the protected areas and environmental actors, including civil society, municipalities and science/academic institutions addressing nature protection in the region.

PONT raises and manages funds for the allocation of conservation grants verified by a rigorous monitoring and evaluation programme. PONT also leverages collaboration, political commitment and funding towards the achievement of its mission.

Over the last 20 years more than 50 conservation trust funds have been created around the globe, aiming to improve environmental management  primarily on a national level. To date there are only 8 transboundary conservation trust funds including PONT. PONT is the first transboundary conservation trust fund in the Balkans.