A lot of green: Conserving biodiversity gets huge lift. (Big Gifts).

A gift of $261 million over 10 years is being used to spur the development of centers for biodiversity conservation and coalitions of environmental organizations.

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation pledged the money to Conservation International (CI) to develop a global initiative to stop species extinction in specific hotspots of biodiversity. It is believed to be the largest single gift to a private conservation organization, according to the Washington, D.C-based CI.

CI intends to develop an alliance of conservation partners to raise $1.5 billion in private investments over that time and in its effort to leverage $6 billion in 10 years toward those efforts. The initiative would work to conserve 25 biodiversity hotspots in more than 40 countries identified by scientists as top priorities. These include the Congo forest in Africa, the Amazon River region in South America, and tracts of land in New Guinea.

The initiative would focus on extinction prevention, and particularly emphasize the conservation of critically endangered species, according to the organization. It would establish centers for biodiversity conservation (CBCs), which will be located first in the Andes, Madagascar, Brazil and the Guianas, and Melanesia. Also it would create a global network of 10 research field stations, to be integrated with 40 others added through other funding sources. In addition, CI is creating a Global Conservation Fund to provide alternatives to industries that counter conservation efforts.

Gordon Moore, who co-founded tech-giant Intel, co-chaired the Defying Nature's End conference in August, 2000, where a blueprint for this effort came to light. "The rate of species loss and habitat destruction demands immediate action," stated Moore. "Collaboration is critical, and we expect CI to continue to build strong alliances and maintain its commitment to solid science and innovative thinking. We also hope this investment will stimulate participation from a broad sector of society."

Peter Seligmann, chief executive officer of CI, issued a statement in which he called the Moore Foundation gift a "transformative" grant. "We're now able to make deals at a scale and pace that we've never done before," he said. "We can now go head-to-head with anyone in order to preserve the most biodiverse places on Earth. The goal is to leverage the $261 million gift into $6 billion in new funding from various sources: the United Nations, the World Bank and individual governments included to preserve approximately 400 million acres of tropical forest. That represents a landmass four times that of California."

While the grant is expected to equate to roughly $26 million per year over the 10-year period, the initial stages of implementing the initiative would include bringing people and groups together. It also is contingent on the organization's ability to find matching funds.

The goals articulated by the findings of the Defying Nature's End conference indicate the $6 billion is merely a starting point in the overall global agenda.

Scientists estimated that the conservation effort would require approximately $35 billion over a time period of possibly 30 years, though there are several variables that make the time period difficult to pinpoint. But it gave conservationists hope that the task could be achieved.