Deadline: 30-Jun-25
The Maldives RREEF Programme aims to establish sustainable financing mechanisms to support coral conservation and facilitate the development of, and investment in, projects and businesses that sustainably contribute to the resilience of coral reefs and the communities living on these atolls.
Funded by the Global Fund for Coral Reefs this programme will engage local private sector actors, including micro, small, and medium-size enterprises led by men and women; support the development and deployment of incubators and accelerators for coral-positive entrepreneurs and enterprises; promote the use of and access to diverse and innovative financial instruments; and catalyse private sector finance at scale to protect Maldives’s reefs and build the resilience of local communities through the Blue Economy.
Purpose
- Ensure the participation of local communities and community organizations in implementing coral restoration, protected area management, and conservation efforts.
- Catalyse activities that contribute to developing solutions that support coral-positive blue economy.
- Support innovative ideas for coral restoration and effective protected area management and conservation.
- Create an enabling environment for organizations to contribute to building sustainable coral-positive interventions throughout the Maldives.
Thematic Areas
- Grants will be provided based on the following thematic areas:
- Sustainable livelihoods: Support for communities to develop sustainable alternative livelihoods focusing on innovative coral-positive business models and ecosystem based adaptation.
- Gender-Sensitive Resilience Building: Initiatives that empower women and girls to lead resilience-building efforts, including training in sustainable livelihoods, eco-friendly farming, and small-scale business development in climate-affected areas.
- Nature based tourism: Grants for developing community-based tourism ventures, focusing on responsible tourism that benefits protected area conservation efforts and provides sustainable income for local populations.
- Community based Adaptation Projects: Support for communities to engage in locally led adaptation projects focusing on coral reef protection and ecosystem-based adaptation strategies, with an emphasis on inclusion of vulnerable groups (women, youth, persons with disabilities).
- Marine Conservation Awareness and Capacity Building for sustainable Marine Practices: Community-based education programs aimed at increasing awareness and designed to reach diverse community members, including youth, women, to foster a sense a shared responsibility for marine conservation.
Funding Information
- The maximum grant amount per project is MVR 375,000.
- Duration: Maximum duration is 20 months.
Expected Outcomes
- The main outcomes of the Maldives RREEF Programme is as follows and encompass the areas of GFCR solutions:
- Sustainable Financing Mechanisms supporting improved management effectiveness of the Maldives Marine Protected Area network are established.
- Coral positive economy and gender responsive local livelihoods catalysed across Maldives
- Increased capacity for coral Research & Development (R&D) and monitoring within Maldives. Community Based Adaptation and Locally Led Adaptation approaches integrate principles of ‘leaving no one behind’ with an emphasis of inclusion of women and girls, Indigenous Peoples, youth and persons with disabilities.
Eligibility Criteria
- The grants to be issued through the Maldives RREEF Programme will be focused in Addu and Fuvahmulah. As such, applicants must demonstrate active engagement within these atolls. Listed below are eligible parties that can apply for the grants:
- Civil society organizations (CSOs) with priority for national and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs),
- Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and scientific communities, advocating for the rights of persons with disability, women, and children based.
For more information, visit UNDP.
