Arannayk Foundation (AF)

About us

The Arannayk Foundation (AF), also known as the Bangladesh Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation, is a not for profit company (limited by guarantee and not having a share capital), established in 2003 by the joint initiative of the Governments of the People´s Republic of Bangladesh and the United States of America based on the provisions of the US Tropical Forest Act of 1998, which seeks to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity assets of tropical forests.

The mission of AF is to facilitate the conservation, protection, restoration and sustainable use of tropical forests in Bangladesh, which provide a wide range of benefits to mankind, by providing financial grants or other support to qualified organizations or entities.

The Foundation envisions that the natural ecosystem and biodiversity resources of the forests in Bangladesh are maintained in a sustainable manner by responsible stakeholders through collective efforts – providing access and benefits to local communities, national economy and the humankind at large in an equitable manner.

Objectives:
• Dedicated to, and a key player in successfully promoting and accomplishing activities that support tropical forest conservation and biodiversity protection.
• To develop conservation partnership among the NGOs, the Government and the private sector concerning forest conservation on privately owned or leased tea estates.
• To demonstrate that conservation can provide a sustainable alternative to the present sources of incomes and values generated from the exploitation of natural tropical forests.
• To generate sufficient complimentary funding in order to provide financial grants to qualified organizations engaged in activities aimed at conservation, protection, restoration and management of tropical forest and biodiversity assets of Bangladesh.
• To facilitate capacity development of stakeholders to ensure sustainable alternative income and employment opportunities for local communities particularly for the poor whose lives depend on natural resources.

Activities:
• The Arannayk Foundation serves as a catalyst to the protection and sustainability of forest biodiversity in Bangladesh. It has adopted the ecosystem approach and considers the entire range of possible goods and services in order to optimize the mix of benefits for a given ecosystem.
• The foundation provides financial grants or other support to qualified organizations or entities, as listed below, engaged in activities aimed at conserving, protecting, maintaining and/or restoring tropical forest and biodiversity assets of Bangladesh:
• The foundation coordinates its project related activities and provides the needed technical and financial support to partner implementing NGOs, community based organizations and the private sector. Moreover, it monitors the progress of all its supported programs. Forward looking assessments are be made incorporating the lessons learned and experiences gathered by the intervention programs.
Farid Uddin Ahmed is the Executive Director of the Arannayk Foundation (AF).

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.