Deadline: 24-Apr-23
Applications are now open for the Round 2 of the Indigenous Watersheds Initiative (IWI) Funding Program to support Indigenous led, community-informed visions for watershed health and security.
Round Two focuses on First Nation organizations or communities in BC that have not received funding through the HWI or Round One of IWI. Approximately $6 million is available for project grants.
Focus Areas
This may look different from watershed to watershed. IWI will prioritize projects that advance watershed health through the following areas:
- Stewarding watershed health through traditional practices, rehabilitating ecosystems, or monitoring;
- Securing safe and clean drinking water for all;
- Sustaining local and traditional food systems;
- Connecting communities to their watersheds;
- Protecting and mitigating against climate change; and,
- Advancing Indigenous laws and knowledge.
Funding Information
- Due to limited funding, they suggest a maximum of two project proposals per organization. A suggested requested amount is $25,000 – 300,000 per project proposal.
Location: For this round of funding, applications will be prioritized that come from regions of the province where few or no applications were received as part of IWI Round One or HWI, particularly the following watershed basins in B.C.: Mackenzie, Nass, Stikine, Taku, Yukon, Skeena, North Vancouver Island and North and Central Coast.
Eligibility Criteria
- This current funding is available to:
- First Nation communities or organizations in British Columbia that have not been previously funded by HWI or IWI Round One.
- New projects and/or projects that are in progress. Funded activities need to be completed by December 2024.
- Funding applications will be assessed on how they incorporate one or more of the criteria below:
- Supporting intergenerational learning, mentorship and the fostering of future watershed stewards and champions;
- Supporting the advancement of UNDRIP implementation;
- Incorporating Indigenous knowledge and laws;
- Building or strengthening partnerships;
- Connecting community members to their land, cultures, languages, food systems, and traditions;
- Restoring and rehabilitating watersheds;
- Supporting watershed stewardship such as data collection, ecosystem assessments, implementing traditional stewardship practices, training;
- Supporting watershed planning or mapping;
- Advancing climate adaptation and mitigation; and
- Educating and engaging community on watershed health.
- They recognize that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, and that local priorities may look different from community to community. They will also give careful consideration to projects that do not fit discretely in existing government funding programs.
For more information, visit Indigenous Watersheds Initiative.