Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund

The Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund is an endowment that promotes species conservation worldwide headed by Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the current ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of United Arab Emirates.^[1] The fund was established in October 2008 and became active in January 2009.^[2] It had an initial endowment of €25 million. Proceeds from the endowment are directed to projects to conserve threatened and endangered species of animals, plants and fungi around the world.^[3] It gave more than $2.4m in 2010 to 214 projects in almost 80 countries.^[2] From 2009 to summer 2019, the MBZ Fund has supported 1,982 projects with $18.5 million dollars across more than 150 countries.

Grant applications are submitted and managed through its website www.speciesconservation.org. Applications are reviewed three times per year by an independent board of advisers who make funding recommendations to the MBZ Fund's board of directors.

The MBZ Fund accepts applications for grants requesting less than $25,000 per year for projects that engage in direct boots-on-the-ground, get-your-hands-dirty species conservation. The MBZ Fund is potentially interested in applications from any country and for any species type (amphibian, bird, invertebrate, fish, fungus, mammal, plant, reptile), particularly those that are threatened but do not normally receive conservation attention.