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Arctic Species Conservation Fund (Canada)

Deadline: Ongoing Opportunity
The World Wildlife Fund is pleased to announce the Arctic Species Conservation Fund that supports research and stewardship actions, safeguarding some of Canada’s most emblematic species.

The Arctic Species Conservation Fund supports high-quality stewardship and research initiatives focused on wildlife and habitats in the Canadian Arctic. WWF-Canada relies on partnerships with Indigenous organizations and the best available information to jointly advocate for effective Arctic conservation policies and legislation. Established in 2016, the ASCF is proud to support applied conservation initiatives that focus on Arctic wildlife including Atlantic walrus, barren-ground caribou, beluga whales, bowhead whales, narwhal, polar bears, and ringed seals.

Conservation Priorities
  • Arctic Habitats
    • Support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area projects at any stage of development.
    • Initiatives that enable community groups to participate in Land Use Planning, Environmental Impact Assessments, Strategic Environmental Assessments, Species at Risk listing processes, etc.
    • Studies on the resilience of Arctic habitats in the face of a warming climate or disturbance.
    • Studies on the effectiveness or need to improve existing protected areas.
    • Projects that demonstrate the potential of economic opportunities for northern communities through conservation programming.
    • Indigenous-led monitoring of wildlife population trends across the Canadian Arctic.
    • Projects with a focus on the High Arctic, including Tuvaijuittuq, Pikialasorsuaq and the Last Ice Area.
  • Marine Mammals
    • Understanding the effects of underwater noise, ice breaking and oil spill events on marine mammals.
    • Understanding the impacts of ship-based contaminants (black carbon, greywater, heavy metals, invasive species, microplastics, scrubbers etc.) on marine mammals and Arctic marine habitats.
    • Identification of critical habitat for marine mammals, with an emphasis on migration corridors.
    • Piloting monitoring and management of migrating whales through science, community-led initiatives, or a combination of both.
    • Evaluation or design of measures used to reduce effects of shipping disturbance on marine mammals.
    • Evaluating the impacts of shipping disturbance on walrus at their haul-out sites.
  • Barren-ground Caribou
    • Research furthering their understanding of the effects of roads, mining sites and other forms of disturbance on caribou and their habitats.
    • Identification and characterization of critical habitat for caribou.
    • Actions that help create or implement existing management plans and recovery strategies for caribou.
  • Polar bears
    • Research contributing to the understanding of the drivers of polar bear conflict in communities.
    • Development and implementation of methods to reduce human-polar bear conflict in communities.
    • Projects that bridge the gap between Indigenous Knowledge, Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and scientific understandings of polar bears.
    • Identification and characterization of important polar bear habitat both currently and in the future.
Funding Information
  • Projects can take place anywhere across northern Canada. Applicants can request up to $25,000.00 CAD per year.
  • Proposals for multi-year projects will be accepted, but funding will be determined on an annual basis.
Arctic Species Conservation Fund Projects
  • Arctic Whales
    • Passive acoustic monitoring and drone assessment of the impacts of shipping and development on High Arctic beluga whales and narwhals
    • An ecosystem approach to quantifying behavioral and energetic impacts of human-made disturbance to Arctic whales
    • Assessing movements and ecosystem effects of subarctic whales in the Baffin Bay – Davis Strait region
    • Assessing the impact of underwater noise from ships on bowhead whales in Foxe Basin, Nunavut
  • Polar Bears
    • Reducing human-polar bear conflict in Whale Cove, Nunavut
    • Tracking problem polar bears to increase community and bear safety
  • Walrus
    • Assessing walrus vulnerability to disturbance using satellite telemetry, stationary cameras and acoustics
  • Barren-Ground Caribou
    • Long-term shifts in Arctic vegetation and snow cover: three decades of change on southeastern Victoria Island
    • Land Use Planning in the traditional territory of the North Slave Métis Alliance
    • Using animal-borne sensors and acoustic recording units to monitor caribou behaviour, insect harassment and sound disturbance
    • IceNet: an innovative method to predict sea ice formation in the context of caribou migration
Eligible Projects
  • The types of projects the fund seeks to support include:
    • Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area projects at any stage of development, including scoping
    • Initiatives that enable communities to participate in Land Use Planning, Environmental Impact Assessments, Strategic Environmental Assessments, Species at Risk listing processes etc.
    • Studies on the resilience of Arctic habitats
    • Projects that demonstrate the potential of economic opportunities for northern communities through conservation programming
    • Nature-Based Solutions projects seeking to identify, restore or protect areas of carbon storage
    • Understanding the effects of underwater noise, ice breaking and oil spill events on marine mammals
    • Understanding the impacts of ship-based contaminants (black carbon, grey water, heavy metals, invasive species, microplastics, scrubbers etc.) on marine mammals and Arctic marine habitats
    • Research furthering their understanding of the effects of roads, development sites and other forms of disturbance on caribou and their habitats
    • Identification and characterization of critical habitat for caribou
    • Development and implementation of methods to reduce human-polar bear conflict in communities
Eligibility Criteria
  • Applicants from all backgrounds (community groups, Hunters and Trappers Organizations, governments, universities, independent researchers, non-government organizations, etc.) and fields of study (Indigenous Knowledge (IK), Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ), natural sciences, social sciences, etc.) are eligible to apply.

For more information, visit WWF.