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Call for Grant Proposals: PONT Environmental Actors Programme (Greece)

Deadline: 17-Mar-23

The Prespa Ohrid Nature Trust (PONT) is inviting submission of concept notes from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) involved in conserving the PONT Focus Region in North-Western Greece with a focus on enhancing conservation connectivity along the ecological corridors connecting protected areas.

PONT’s Environmental Actors programme aims at complementing and supporting the conservation work carried out by the Protected Area Management Authorities, as well as at facilitating stakeholder and community involvement in protected area governance and management.

Grants to Environmental Actors are primarily intended for qualified NGOs with a local presence in the PONT Focus Region, as well as with a mission and strategy that concerns nature conservation, including such activities as promoting citizen participation in conservation, developing sustainable society and local communities.

Call Theme: Connectivity Conservation in the PONT Focus Region.

Scope
  • The grants under this Call for Grant Proposals are intended for eligible NGOs active in NorthWestern Greece with a strategy in conservation, developing society, improving communities, and promoting citizen participation in conservation. This Call aims at co-financing conservation actions enhancing conservation connectivity along the ecological corridors connecting protected areas in the PONT Focus Region.
  • The thematic scope of this Call is defined by the following theme:
    • Connectivity Conservation in the PONT Focus Region in Greece
  • The geographical scope of this call is limited to the Priority Connectivity Conservation Area:
    • The Pindos-Prespes Connectivity Conservation Area within the PONT Focus Region
Funding Information
  • The total budget of each grant may be from €50,000 up to a maximum of €150,000. A minimum of 25% of co-financing/matching funds from non-PONT sources by the applicant and/or its implementing partners is required.
  • he timeframe for implementation of the grant must be between 18 and 24 months, with 15 June 2023 being the earliest starting date.
Eligible Activities
  • The eligible actions must focus along ecological corridors connecting the protected areas / Natura 2000 sites within the Pindos-Prespes Connectivity Conservation Area (PP-CCA) of North-Western Greece in the PONT Focus Region. The applications must aim at restoring or maintaining ecological connectivity for any one or a combination of the following purposes:
    • Movement of individuals: to allow for the movement of selected species between the existing protected areas, including those eligible for PONT financing.
    • Genetic exchange: To allow for the movement of selected flagships species between population segments that have been separated by a highway; dam and/or associated development.
    • Migration: To facilitate the annual passage of selected flagship species for breeding.
    • Maintenance/restoration processes: to restore ecological functions in identified connectivity bottlenecks within the PP-CCA of North-Western Greece.
    • Climate change adaptation: to facilitate range shifts of species to adjacent areas in the landscape through restoring riparian and/or other corridors in the PP-CCA of North-Western Greece.
  • The applications should aim at establishing effective, participatory governance structures for the selected ecological corridors(s) and include any of the following recommended actions or the ones highlighted in chapter 13 of the “Description of the Connectivity Conservation Area (CCA) in North-Western Greece: a PONT study”:
    • Launch and manage a connectivity conservation initiative for a selected ecological corridor or a group of closely related ecological corridors based on a collaborative partnership.
    • Assist the connectivity partnership in adopting a vision and mission statements, in line with the connectivity (management) objective for the ecological corridor(s).
    • Assist the connectivity partnership in defining the boundaries of the ecological corridor(s), establish an effective, collaborative governance body, and develop a management plan for the selected corridor(s).
    • Raise awareness among civil society and stakeholders of the need and purpose of governance and management of ecological corridors.
    • Assist local communities and stakeholders to organise themselves and provide information and technical support to participate in decision-making regarding the selected ecological corridor(s).
    • Foster the active engagement of stakeholders to broaden social support for the selected ecological corridor(s) and thus improve their management.
    • Support and facilitate the active participation of women, youth, vulnerable people (elderly, disabled etc.), and local communities in governance and management of the selected ecological corridor(s).
    • Promote the establishment of processes and mechanisms to get feedback and identify, hear, and resolve complaints and disputes related to the governance or management of the ecological corridor(s).
Eligibility Criteria
  • Concept Notes under this Call may be submitted by an individual organization or a partnership/group of organizations with the applicant (lead partner) being an eligible local or national NGO active in North-Western Greece. For the purposes of this Call the applicant must be a legally established and tax registered non-for-profit organization for at least the last 3 years in Greece. The applicant (lead partner) should be a new beneficiary for PONT meaning that the applicant (lead partner) cannot currently have an ongoing grant with PONT.
  • Applicant organizations must be composed of basic staff, infrastructure, financial systems, and a basic budget. Applicants must have their own bank account and be authorized under relevant national laws to receive charitable contributions. Other NGOs, cooperatives, social enterprises, individuals, community groups, associations, protected area management authorities, municipalities, research institutes or businesses must work with eligible applicants to develop applications.
  • Eligible applicants can submit Concept Notes as an individual organization or in consortium with other Environmental Actors serving as implementing partners. Partnering of Environmental Actors is preferred, and the PONT evaluation panel will give additional points to applications submitted by two or more Environmental Actors. Implementing partners may be based nationally in either Greece, North Macedonia or Albania or in any other part of the PONT Focus Region. In cases where the lead applicant is a national NGO, the involvement of locally based NGOs as implementing partners is highly encouraged. Both the applicant and implementing partner may be involved in one proposal only. The application should clearly state the role of the implementing partner(s).
Criteria
  • Applications submitted under this Call should consider the following:
    • Where relevant, applicants are encouraged to submit concept notes which harmonize with existing national or regional initiatives.
    • Applied research, with the involvement of protected area staff where relevant, related to the priority actions is supported, but fundamental research is not.
  • Grants cannot be used for:
    • the purchase of land, involuntary resettlement of people, or activities that negatively affect physical cultural resources, including those important to local communities.
    • activities adversely affecting local communities or where these communities have not provided their broad support to the grant proposal.
    • removal or alteration of any physical cultural property (includes sites having archaeological, paleontological, historical, religious, or unique natural values).

For more information, visit Prespa Ohrid Nature Trust (PONT).