Deadline: 28 November 2016
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in its role as the Regional Implementation Team (RIT) for the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is inviting Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) from civil society organizations for its East Melanesian Islands Biodiversity Hotspot.
Strategic Direction
- Empower local communities to protect and manage globally significant biodiversity at priority Key Biodiversity Areas under-served by current conservation efforts
- Conduct baseline surveys of priority sites that build government-civil society partnerships and bridge political boundaries.
- Support local communities to design and implement locally relevant conservation actions that respond to major threats at priority sites.
- Demonstrate conservation incentives (eco-tourism, payments for ecosystem services, conservation agreements, etc.) at priority sites.
- Integrate biodiversity conservation into local land-use and development planning
- Conduct participatory ownership and tenure mapping of resources within customary lands at priority sites.
- Provide legal training and support to communities for effective enforcement of environmental protection regulations.
- Explore partnerships with private companies to promote sustainable development through better environmental and social practices in key natural resources sectors
- Safeguard priority globally threatened species by addressing major threats and information gaps
- Develop, implement and monitor species recovery plans for species most at risk, where their status and distribution are known.
- Introduce science-based harvest management of priority species important to local food security
- Increase local, national and regional capacity to conserve biodiversity through catalyzing civil society partnerships
- Strengthen the capacity of local and national civil society organizations in financial management, project management and organizational governance.
- Provide core support for the development of civil society organizations into national and regional conservation leaders
- Strengthen civil society capacity in conservation management, science and leadership through short-term training courses at domestic institutions
Funding Information
CEPF supports biodiversity conservation through two types of grants:
- Large grants of over US$20,000
- Small grants of US$20,000 or less.
Eligibility Criteria
- Non-governmental organizations, community groups, private enterprises, universities and other civil society applicants may apply for funding.
- Organizations must have their own bank account and be authorized under relevant national laws to receive charitable contributions.
- Government owned enterprises or institutions are eligible only if they can demonstrate that the enterprise or institution can fulfil the following criteria:
- is a legal personality independent of any government agency or actor;
- the authority to apply for and receive private funds; and
- may not assert a claim of sovereign immunity.
How to Apply
All applicants must submit an LOI in English via given website.
Eligible Countries: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
For more information, please download the pdf Biodiversity Hotspot .