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; encouraging synergies to sustain Europe’s most important biodiversity hotspots and UNESCO designated transboundary World Heritage site and Biosphere Reserve as well as the transboundary Prespa Park.
• Promote transboundary cooperation, healing and reparation, 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 and focused on the implementation of key conservation actions. It is designed to ensure the sustainable management of the Prespa-Ohrid ecoregion and beyond. Our model emphasises long-term commitment, transparency, efficiency, accountability, and collaboration.

We believe in:

• Localisation for global impact
• Supporting grassroots
• Community-led rather than community-based
• Breaking down traditional methods of funding
• Being based locally, knowing the area and those working in the area
• Being outcomes focused rather than outputs focused
• Creating an enabling environment
• Providing mentorship
• Being a flexible and accessible funder

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 with the aim of improving environmental management, primarily on a national level. To date, there are only 8 Transboundary Conservation Trust Funds, including PONT. PONT is the only Conservation Trust Fund working in the Balkans.