One way in which WWF develops the conservation ability of organizations is by supporting locally relevant initiatives through the provision of grants. The first of the tools to be applied in the Mediterranean capacity building programme was a grants scheme which forms the core of the ATW programme. ATW grants provide selected NGOs and other groups with the resources and the expertise to develop environmental awareness and conservation initiatives in a locally relevant and independent way. It is a highly successful initiative, which gives priority to activities in the southern and eastern Mediterranean. 

Over the last eight years around 100 grants have been awarded to organizations (NGOs, GOs, and educational bodies) in 22 Mediterranean countries. These are Project Grants available to NGOs for small environmental education projects, Small Grants used to attract new partners in the region, and Travel Grants which provide funds for NGOs and GOs to attend courses and encourage the exchange of ideas, experience and resources between the northern and southern/eastern countries of the Mediterranean.

Mediterranean forests, woodlands, grasslands and scrubs are vital centres of biodiversity, with a wealth of landscapes from the Portuguese cork forests to the cedars of Lebanon; from the acacia woodlands of North Africa and the Middle East to the firs of the Italian Apennines. Subtropic-like evergreen oaks ar  interspersed with maquis shrubs, steppe grasslands, stretches of cyclamen, crocus, orchids and lilies and dozens of aromatic species of lavender, sage, rosemary and thyme. Large carnivores such as brown bear, lynx, and wolf, large herbivores such as ibex and chamois, and endemic species such as Barbary ape, Sardinian deer, Barbary deer, Iberian lynx, mouflon, Spanish imperial eagle live in these forests. The contrasts of the region, concentrated as they are into relatively small spaces, create a vibrant and beautiful mosaic in which diversity is the central theme.

While freshwater is in short supply throughout the region, the Mediterranean is nevertheless home to a vital network of running water and lake environments which are fundamental for their endemic and rare fish species and migrating water birds. Many of these are vulnerable, endangered or even critically endangered. The major rivers of the region have generated invaluable wetlands such as the deltas of the Nile, the Ebro or the Rhone. These nutrientrich wetlands have great ecological, social and economic value. Playing a fundamental role in the hydrological cycle, their natural functions include ground water recharge and discharge, retention of sediments, filtration of toxic substances, nutrient recycling, and floodwater storage. As reservoirs of biodiversity and na ural productivity, wetlands support the life-cycles of migratory fish and birds. Crossed by three main migratory routes, the Mediterranean is a critical stopover for the estimated two to five billion birds migrating from temperate to tropical zones each year.

Through capacity building initiatives to form and strengthen the relationship with the Croatian NGO Green Action, WWF has contributed to the achievement of concrete conservation results, such as the protection of the Velebit forests, a national symbol for Croatians.

Green Action (Zelena Akcija), a Croatian environmental NGO founded in 1990 with the goal of promoting environmentallysound sustainable development, joined forces with WWF in 1999.

In 2000, Green Action received an ATW grant for its project SOS for Adriatic Forests. This project was an important step for Green Action, which had previously worked predominantly on campaigning. Here they gained invaluable experience in high quality project design, and forest resource management planning. In addition, through access to the WWF network, and their attendance at international workshops and meetings, they gained a broader view of conservation issues in the Mediterranean. Green Action began their collaboration with WWF on the pan-Mediterranean issue of forest hotspots, and were able to establish important links and partnerships with other organizations and NGOs both within Croatia and throughout the region.

Since then, Green Action has successfully carried out a campaign including lectures, round tables, and a petition by 72,000 people to stop construction of a power plant in the Velebit forests. WWF and Green Action have also worked with the Croatian authorities on ways to improve protection for the entire Velebit area which hosts some of the few remaining old-growth forests in the Mediterranean.

Mobilizing a range of government and civil society participants, including the Croatian Ministry of Environment and the Croatian Forest Research Institute Jastrebarsko, Green Action and WWF achieved the signing of an agreement by the Government of the Republic of Croatia, that will significantly contribute to the protection of the Velebit forests. The signing of the agreement and the designation of Sjeverni Velebit as a national park has been welcomed as a Gift to the Earth by WWF. Gifts to the Earth are new actions or clear commitments by governments, organizations, corporations or individuals to help preserve the planet’s natural wealth.

Continuing and expanding the partnership with Green Action, WWF aims to implement an innovative protection plan in the region called Green Belts against Desertification. This approach integrates both nature conservation and sustainable development and allows economic benefits for local communities. This project is the first step towards the development of a fully-fledged ecoregion conservation programme in the Dinaric Alps and Dalmatian Coast Ecoregion, which stretches form Trieste to Northern Albania. Green Action will be key participants in this process.

In El Feija National Park, Tunisia, an environmental education programme for schools provided the initial ice-breaker towards commencing dialogue with local communities in the region. WWF played a key role in liaising between local community groups, the National Park Direction and government departments towards the improved management of this important forest area.

The north-western part of Tunisia hosts one of the best preserved and most diverse stretches of Mediterranean forest in the whole of North Africa. Although legal protection was granted to the area in 1990, it met with strong opposition from local farmers and cattle breeders.

In 1996, WWF started working in Feija and its surrounding region with a project addressing schools and the local community. With the support of the Spanish Aid Agency, WWF developed a pilot programme on environmental education and awareness, focusing on Mediterranean forests. Workshops for local foresters and periodical meetings with the inhabitants of Feija were held, to debate the threats to and opportunities for conservation. The project was implemented in collaboration with the local forest administration and the education department, and succeeded in creating a bridge for constructive dialogue between the local community and the authorities, with WWF acting as  a facilitator.

In 1999, WWF fostered the creation of the Feija AFIC (Forestry Association of Collective Interest), the first of its kind to be established in Tunisia. This association of local users of the forest, grew out of the need to collectively manage forest resources and commercialize environment-friendly products. The Feija AFIC represents 26 families from the local community who are

developing conservation and development initiatives in collaboration with the National Park Direction and WWF.

The project then moved into its second phase focusing on the promotion of Non Timber Forest Products (NTFP) as a strategy to seek new sources of income for the local people, to avoid land use conflicts, and to promote better use of natural resources. Within this initiative, the production of organic honey has so far been the most successful activity, although the distillation of plants for oil and the production of charcoal have also been promoted.

In the framework of this project, WWF also promoted the twinning between El Feija and Monte Arcosu, the forest reserve owned by WWF Italy in Sardinia. The two areas have many points in common, including their establishment as protected areas for endemic deer (Monte Arcosu hosts one of the last populations of Corsican Red Deer). Through the twinning, Tunisian beekeepers have been trained and are able to exchange valuable information with the highly experienced Italian partner. Local farmers are continuing to join the bee keeping initiative, and have invested their own money in the purchase of 95 extra beehives.