Deadline: 7-Jul-23
The Blue Carbon Accelerator Fund (BCAF) has launched its second readiness Support Call for Proposals, providing support for design-stage blue carbon ecosystem restoration and conservation projects.
The BCAF Readiness Support will provide funding for early-phase design, set-up, and implementation of coastal blue carbon projects in developing countries.
The purpose of the Readiness Support is to increase the global supply of investment-ready coastal blue carbon projects. The BCAF Readiness Support will help project developers in developing countries to commence and establish projects in a credible manner ready for next phase investment by:
- directly funding activities to kick-off or mature their project;
- providing capacity building opportunities;
- supporting technical collaboration between various project developers; and
- assisting with brokering future investors.
Direct funding provided under BCAF Readiness Support can be used for a variety of activities required to enable the project to be ready for private sector investment. Projects must demonstrate a clear path to entering the carbon markets and to deliver positive habitat conservation and/or restoration outcomes, as well as opportunities for developing local livelihoods.
Funding Information
- Under this call for proposal, Readiness Support funding will be available to a maximum AUD$170,000 per project. Funding allocation for each project will depend on the scope of the activity and its complexity.
- The projects funded by BCAF Readiness Support are to be undertaken within a maximum period of 18 months. Additional justification is required for any projects seeking a longer timeframe.
Eligible Activities
- Coastal blue carbon project feasibility assessments, including related scientific work such as flora and fauna surveys, habitat mapping, assessments of drivers of degradation and of response measures (including to prevent leakage), data recording, hydrological assessments (including with respect to sea-level rise), spatial mapping and modelling;
- Coastal (blue carbon) area management plans;
- Environmental and social impact assessments;
- Financial and economic analysis of projects, including accounting;
- Legal, technical and commercial analysis and support
- Blue carbon business planning (OPEX costs and revenue forecasts);
- Stakeholder mappings and engagement (including education, outreach and awareness raising);
- Preparation of regulatory filings and related public processes; and
- Project monitoring and implementation planning.
Ecosystem Types
The project must be located within at least one coastal blue carbon ecosystem. Coastal blue carbon ecosystems include:
- Seagrass;
- mangroves;
- tidal marshes (saltmarsh);
- sparsely vegetated saltmarshes (salt flats); and
- supratidal swamp forests
Locations
- The project must be located in any of the following countries: Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka.
- These countries are defined by the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) as Official Development Assistance (ODA) eligible or have recently graduated and are within Australia’s immediate neighbouring regions. Projects located in the Pacific region are encouraged.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligibility legal entities under the BCAF Readiness Support are:
- Non-governmental organizations (NGO);
- Universities and other research-focused institutions; and
- Private sector entities (small to medium type enterprises, incl. social enterprises, startups and carbon project developers).
- National or sub-national government entities (national or other jurisdiction government authorities) will not be eligible to receive grant funds. However, BCAF Readiness Support favours project proposals that can demonstrate linkages and engagements with, or sponsorship from, local authorities or other government entities.
For more information, visit Blue Carbon Accelerator Fund (BCAF).