Who We Are

The California Institute for Biodiversity supports biodiversity conservation efforts statewide. We enable scientists, conservationists, philanthropists, educators, community members, landowners, and policymakers to coordinate their efforts, thereby streamlining conservation as the time to do this runs short.

OUR CAUSE

One of 35 global biodiversity hotspots, California sustains unparalleled diversity of creatures and habitats. All are imperiled by climate change and drought, invasive species and pesticide proliferation, habitat destruction and wildfire. We must act.

Fortunately, solutions exist. Some are difficult, others straightforward and simply underappreciated. CIB’s cause is to advance solutions, evolve outdated systems, and build innovative new approaches for saving and sustaining California’s abundant biodiversity, today and forever.

OUR APPROACH

Often, conservation organizations are hampered by their need to spend precious capacity on fundraising, growing staff, and corporate metabolism. By providing infrastructure and coordinating efforts among organizations and across silos, CIB hopes to help biodiversity advocates focus their efforts on coordinated activities with the greatest impact.

CIB connects researchers with funding, activists with policymakers, and community members with current data to make informed decisions. As a platform for change, the California Institute for Biodiversity’s lean team invests in expanding resources for the larger ecosystem of biodiversity advocates.

OUR THEORY OF CHANGE HOLDS THAT CIB CAN CATALYZE TRANSFORMATION BY:

  • Listening to scientists, conservationists, communities, and educators to identify the greatest threats and our most powerful solutions.

  • Convening and cohering various and disparate partners with the commitment and ability to advance those solutions.

  • Boldly acting to renew institutional capacity and inform policy reform; securing the funding that makes change possible; and encouraging deployment of advanced technologies and integrated tools to scale positive change.