The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), an international initiative launched eight years ago, is based on the principle that local communities themselves are the best trustees of the environment that surrounds them, and that their economic growth will advance their capacity to care for nature. By focusing on “biodiversity hotspots” – regions with unique and highly threatened natural environments – the CEPF relies on the common-sense principle that protecting what nature provides for free is a crucial element of sustainable economic development.