Canada: Conservation Project Fund

Deadline: 1-Oct-21

The Coast Funds is inviting applications for Conservation Project Fund to support eligible programs and projects focused on sustaining or enhancing the ecological integrity of the Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii.

• Its goals include supporting and enhancing First Nations’:
  • Application of traditional ecological and cultural knowledge to the management of ecosystems, protected areas, lands, and resources in the Project Area;
  • Participation in the management of protected areas and ecosystems within the Project Area;
  • Science, research and monitoring of ecosystem function and processes;
  • Collaborative efforts that sustain and enhance the biodiversity, productive capacity and resilience of ecosystems in the Project Area to ensure the sustainability of cultural and traditional resources, such as fish, wildlife, and cedar in perpetuity; and
  • Maintenance, restoration, or enhancement of habitats and ecosystem productivity in protected areas to ensure populations of migratory birds are maintained or enhanced, species at risk or of special concern are stabilized and enhanced where possible, and productive riparian areas are maintained and restored; and
  • Capacity to maintain a permanent base of jobs – seasonal or full time – to support conservation planning, research, monitoring and interpretation.

• Projects that may be eligible for funding:
  • Science, research, and monitoring for conservation matters;
  • Conservation, Protected Area, and cultural zone resource planning and management consistent with ecosystem-based management;
  • First Nation participation in joint conservation management initiatives;
  • Protection or interpretation of biophysical or cultural resources in Protected Areas or areas of specific biological or cultural significance;
  • Monitoring compliance with conservation management plans;
  • Habitat restoration activities;
  • Capacity building specific to conservation initiatives (i.e. certified training, workforce development); and
  • Planning and development of resource department operating strategic plans, operating plans, or funding applications.

• Projects in Protected Areas not consistent with all approved management plans for the area;
• Activities inconsistent with any land and resource management objectives, including ecosystem-based management regulatory objectives;
• Open net cage finfish aquaculture;
• Costs related to the consultation and accommodation duties of governments (except in support of Protected Area management or other conservation management initiatives);
• Costs related to the statutory duties of governments or other entities (except in support of ecosystem-based management conservation capacity building for Participating First Nations);
• Activities inconsistent with provincial laws, regulation, determinations, or policies;
• Political or other activities inconsistent with Coast Fund’s registered charitable tax status and constitution; and
• Conservation projects (i.e. habitat restoration, conservancy management) that occur outside the Project Area except where projects are focused on capacity building specific to prospective conservation initiatives (i.e. certified training, workforce development) within the Project Area.

• A PARTICIPATING FIRST NATION (one of the 27 First Nations or 3 Regional Organizations specified in Schedule G of the Conservation Investments and Incentives Agreement) as represented by the authorized governing body of the Nation that is listed as a qualified donee with the Charities Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency; or
• A stewardship office, resource management department, or non-profit society that has delegated responsibility for conservation on behalf of the PARTICIPATING FIRST NATION and is a registered charity.

For more information, visit https://coastfunds.ca/apply/conservation-project-funding/