Call for Letters of Inquiry for Small Grants in the Balkans

Deadline: 26-Feb-21

CEPF and BirdLife International, serving as regional implementation teams (RIT) for the hotspot, are inviting proposals in the form of letters of inquiry (LoIs) for small grants from private enterprises.

The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Development, Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan and the World Bank. A fundamental goal is to ensure civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation.

The Mediterranean Basin Biodiversity Hotspot is the second largest hotspot in the world and the largest of the world’s five Mediterranean-climate regions. CEPF’s niche for investment in the Mediterranean was formulated through a participatory process that engaged civil society, donor and governmental stakeholders throughout the region.

Funding Information

Amount: Between USD 5,000 and USD 30,000 per grant.

Eligible Activities

The scope of this call is limited to the types of activities and locations described below. LOIs will only be accepted for the following two strategic directions:

Strategic Direction 2: “Support the sustainable management of water catchments through integrated approaches for the conservation of threatened freshwater biodiversity”

Eligible countries: Montenegro

Eligible Catchment Management Zone under this call for proposal: Catchment surrounding Niksic

Strategic Direction 3: “Promote the maintenance of traditional land-use practices necessary for the conservation of Mediterranean biodiversity in priority corridors of high cultural and biodiversity value”

Eligible habitats and traditional practices: Pastures and pastoralism

Eligible countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania

Project should take place in the following eligible corridors: Eastern Adriatic and Southwest Balkans

Eligible Countries

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia.

Eligible Applicants

Non-governmental organizations, community groups, universities and private enterprises may apply for funding. Individuals must work with civil society organizations to develop applications rather than apply directly.
Organizations must have their own bank account and be authorized under relevant national laws to receive charitable contributions.
Government-owned enterprises or institutions are eligible only if they can demonstrate that the enterprise or institution has:
- a legal personality independent of any government agency or actor;
- the authority to apply for and receive private funds; and
- may not assert a claim of sovereign immunity.
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 Indigenous Peoples or where these communities have not provided their broad support to the project activities.
- removal or alteration of any physical cultural property (includes sites having archaeological, paleontological, historical, religious or unique natural values).