Deadline: 28-Jan-22
Within the frame of the biodiversity research program “Encouraging the Development of a Pro-Nature Economy” (ECOPRONAT), AFD is launching a call for expressions of interest for research on “Scaling up Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and large-scale ecological restoration: Towards changes in agricultural production, land-use and urban development models”. This call is the first phase of the selection process. The aim: funding four research projects, starting by the end of second quarter of 2022.
The ECOPRONAT research program aims to develop knowledge and methodologies to mainstream biodiversity in the policies and various sectors of AFD Group’s interventions, to mobilise financial resources, and build capacities of student researchers and researchers from the South.
Objectives
The research objectives for this call should be to:
- Provide research and experiments results on scaling up Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in the three sectors concerned by the programme (agriculture and natural resources; land-use planning and management of the consumption of areas including agriculture, cities, water and industry; and cities and nature).
- Explore the capacities and efficiency of NbS to contribute to changes in agricultural production, land use and urban development models. Research incorporating the challenges of integrating biodiversity into urban areas is particularly welcome.
- Inform international debates and orientations on the convergence of biodiversity and climate agenda.
- Explore the levers of action and success (technical, ecological, social, political, financial) linked to the change of scale in ecological restoration of degraded areas (all types of ecosystems degraded by the three priority sectors of the program: agriculture, land use, cities, or to be restored via these sectors).
- Provide tools and insights based on the best available science and useful for the design and implementation of official development assistance projects involving NbS in general and restoration in particular to intervene in these three sectors, whether for donors, recipients (administrations of the Global South and local authorities of the Global South in particular) and implementing partners (NGOs, consultancy firms, research institutes, etc.).
Themes
This call for expressions of interest targets research on two related themes (one with the other in a “mainstreaming” perspective):
- transformative changes in development models (development of knowledge to integrate biodiversity into agricultural, land use and urban sectors and related policies) and
- mobilization of financial resources to support these changes.
Funding Information
The total budget allocated to this call is EUR 890,000 inclusive of all taxes, for the subsequent selection of a maximum of four research projects for funding, each for an amount of less than 225 000 euros inclusive of all taxes.
Eligible Project Proponents
- Universities and research centres, NGOs, private foundations, international research centres and companies (including consultancy firms and individual consultants) which will make all their research public.
- Particular attention will be paid to ensuring that funding reaches not only actors in developed countries but also those in the Global South. Proposals that involve and build the capacities of research students and researchers from the Global South in the design, implementation and especially production of research results will be selected in priority.
- A given organization can be part of several consortia at the stage of this Call for Expressions of interest but may only be in a maximum of one consortium at the time of submission of the full proposals.
Geographical Areas
All of AFD’s intervention countries, with a non-exclusive priority given to partner countries of the Biodev 2030 initiative with the exception of those (Kenya, Mozambique) already benefiting from an activity financed by ECOPRONAT in the framework of its first call for projects on biodiversity mainstreaming. This non-exclusive priority thus goes to: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Guinea, Guyana, Madagascar, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda, Vietnam. It is possible to work on and with other countries without this being penalising as long as it is justified, with the exception of South Africa which is already benefiting from ECOPRONAT funding.
Eligibility Criteria
Particular attention will be paid to ensuring that funding reaches not only actors from developed countries but also those from the Global South. This will help to:
- build their capacities,
- ensure that the projects funded benefit from their knowledge of local contexts, and
- encourage ownership of the research results by decision-makers (governments, administrations, companies, NGOs) in partner countries.
Proposals that involve and build the capacities of research students and researchers from the Global South in the design, implementation and especially production of research results will be selected in priority.
For more information, visit https://www.afd.fr/en/call-expressions-interest-research-scaling-nature-based-solutions-ecological-restoration