Overview of funding in the Med. The response from bilateral and multilateral donors.

Conservation in the Mediterranean is supported by bilateral, multilateral and philanthropic funding, as well as by bottom-up mobilization of resources. However, knowledge about the funding magnitudes, types and approaches, and the funding needs, has been limited. Donors and partners have recently gained new knowledge and have developed novel initiatives and mechanisms to meet the funding needs in innovative and more sustainable ways. Governmental funding is particularly important: governments invest in their own countries at national, subnational and local levels; bilateral funding from OECD countries is provided to partner countries; multilaterals (such as GEF and GCF) offer funding to eligible countries. Governmental funding will continue to play a key role based on commitments from international agreements and national policies. In this panel, speakers from bilateral and multilateral institutions will discuss the trends, challenges, and options for strengthening conservation funding