Deadline: 14 August 2017
BirdLife International, as the CEPF Regional Implementation Team (RIT) for the Guinean Forests of West Africa Biodiversity Hotspot, are currently accepting Letters of Inquiry (LoIs) from community groups and associations, non-governmental organizations, private enterprises, universities, research institutes and other civil society organizations for its biodiversity conservation projects in the Guinean Forests of West Africa Biodiversity Hotspot.
Strategic Directions & Priorities
- Empower local communities to engage in sustainable management of 40 priority sites and consolidate ecological connectivity at the landscape scale
- Strengthen the elaboration and/or implementation of land-use planning, land tenure and forestry reforms to facilitate good governance in the management of community and private reserves and concessions
- Promote preparation and implementation of participatory management plans that support stakeholder collaboration in protected area management
- Demonstrate sustainable livelihood/job creation activities for local communities that will act as incentives for the conservation of priority sites (e.g. domestication of wildlife species, sustainable logging from locally- controlled forests, harvesting of NTFPs, sustainable agriculture, etc.)
- Mainstream biodiversity conservation into public policy and private sector practice in the nine conservation corridors, at local, subnational and national levels
- Conduct policy-relevant research, analysis and outreach that informs and influences the development of national government conservation policies, including on protected area management, payment for ecosystem services, REDD+ and ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change
- Generate locally-relevant information on natural ecosystems (e.g., economic valuations of ecosystem services) to influence political and economic decision-making in favour of their conservation
- Facilitate partnerships among local communities, private sector and government to demonstrate models for best practice mining, sustainable forestry and sustainable agriculture by private companies
- Safeguard priority globally threatened species by identifying and addressing major threats and information gaps
- Support the implementation of Conservation Action Plans for Critically Endangered and Endangered species on the IUCN Red List
- Update the KBA analysis by incorporating recently available data, including on Alliance for Zero Extinction sites and global Red List assessments and by conducting targeted research to fill critical knowledge gaps
Funding Information
Applicants may apply for Small Grants (up to US$50,000).
Eligibility Criteria
- 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;
- has the authority to apply for and receive private funds; and
- may not assert a claim of sovereign immunity.
- This call is open to both local and international civil society organizations. Please note that BirdLife International as the RIT and CEPF particularly welcome applications from local and grassroots organizations (for example indigenous people’s, women’s and youth groups and NGOs).
- Individuals must work with civil society organizations to develop applications, rather than apply directly.
How to Apply
Interested applicants should submit letters of Inquiry (LOIs) via email at the address given on the website.
Eligible Countries: Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sao Tome & Principe, Sierra Leone and Togo.
For more information, please visit West Africa Biodiversity Hotspot.