Reducing Narco-Ranching and Trafficking of Flora and Fauna in Honduran Protected Areas

Deadline: 4-Aug-21

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. Department of State has announced an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a project to reduce incentives for drug, flora, and fauna traffickers to profit from undetected and uncontrolled ranching and deforestation in the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve and Tawahka Anthropological Reserve.

The Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve and the Tawahka Anthropological Reserve, comprise some two million hectares of pristine and biodiverse jungle managed by members of the indigenous Miskitu, Mayangna, Tawahka, Pech, and Garifuna communities. These forests are in the most remote parts of Honduras with extremely limited government presence leaving one of the most biodiverse parts of Central America open for transnational criminal organizations to operate.

Goal: To reduce activity by and impunity for transnational criminal organizations and other criminals in the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve and the Tawahka Anthropological Reserve.

Objectives

The overall objectives of the project are as stated below.

Deterrents to the illegal trafficking and commercialization of timber and wildlife in the target areas exist.
Protocols exist to detect, investigate, and successfully prosecute environmental crimes in this region and the local population knows how to access justice.
Indigenous communities are empowered to use the justice system to protect their lands and recover territory expropriated by illegal activities.
Information and attention to narco-ranching and illicit wildlife and timber trafficking is increased within relevant Honduran government agencies and among the public in the target area.

Funding Information

Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $750,000 to a maximum of $1,500,000
Total available funding: $1,500,000
Length of performance period: 24 to 36 months
Anticipated program start date: October 2021

Priority Region/Countries: Honduras

Participants and Audiences: Target audiences for activities under this project include but should not be limited to: indigenous populations and governing bodies in the target area, investigators and prosecutors from the Public Ministry, investigators and officers from the Honduras National Police, other Government of Honduras agencies/actors operating in the target areas, and judges.

Eligibility Criteria

The following organizations are eligible to apply:

U.S.-based non-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
U.S.-based educational institutions subject to section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code;
Foreign-based non-profits/non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=334010