This project's beginning

This is a sample of the email we sent to invite each member of the study's Steering Committee. It also introduces the project's begining:

"Hope this email finds you well.

We have reached you through our partner Oliver Hillel, from CBD. We would like to invite you to work jointly with us on an interesting project. Semeia is an NGO created by Passos Family with a long term mission to transform protected areas in a source of proud to all Brazilian citizens. To reach our goals, we articulate public and private sector to help leverage public private partnerships (PPP) in National and State Parks in Brazil. We believe that through articulating well designed partnerships, the private sector can hugely contribute to Biodiversity Conservation. Actually, we do not believe that governments, by their own, will be able to guarantee conservation of Protected Areas.

We work closely with government bodies and environmental agencies by  enhancing their capabilities to launch bids that attract responsible private players to the conservation agenda, in long term contracts. We also work closely to private entities trying to identify the most relevant conditions that might attract them to conservation agenda.

We have been endeavoring to identify benchmarks of PPP both in other sectors (as health, education) and in protected areas worldwide.  We have hired a group of consultants to develop a Benchmark Study that aims to analyze how concessions to private sector in protected areas can help  leverage biodiversity conservation (ToR attached).  The final report will be delivered by consultants by January 2013 but together with Oliver, we planned  an intermediate product to be taken to COP next october.

We would much appreciate to invite you to be a member of  the Advisory Committee (AC)  to this project (a sort of Peer Review Group) . What we expect from the advisory committee is mainly that it can:

•  Share previous experiences and contribute with strategic guidance to the project. We plan to hold one conference call per month with AC,  Semeia, CDB and Consultants, totalizing up to 5 calls (starting this September).
•  Help articulate a net of professionals to both respond to questionaries and to contribute to the overall efforts We would be delighted to have you become part of this group and also  hope we can take this  opportunity to further straighten institutional  relations!

 Thanks hugely for your attention, hope to hearing from you soon, Best

Regards, Ana Luisa"