EC Call for Proposals to improve the Conservation, Management and use of Biodiversity

Deadline: 27-Sep-2024

The European Commission (EC) has announced a call for proposals to contribute to the reduction of biodiversity loss while sustainably improving the quality of life of local and indigenous communities living within priority landscapes for conservation and development (PPCD/KLCD) in sub-Saharan Africa.

Program Objectives and Priorities

• The specific objective is to improve the conservation, management and use of biodiversity as well as the goods and services provided by ecosystems within targeted Protected Areas and their area of direct influence for the benefit of all stakeholders, including communities in particular local and indigenous people, particularly women, youth and vulnerable populations.
• The priority(s) of this call for proposals is:
  • General priorities
    • The objectives of the proposed actions must be consistent with the overall objective of the call and the specific objective(s) listed above.
  • Specific priorities
    • The proposed actions must take into account the following priorities:
      • Demonstrate a formally established partnership relationship with the Government, in particular its National Agency for National Parks (ANPN). This partnership may aim to provide support for the management systems of the ANPN and to ensure a form of co-management of activities with the ANPN on the targeted NPs, or to ensure real delegated management of the NPs, for example under the form of a Public Private Partnership (PPP). Priority will be given to the delegated management option. The Partnership must be in accordance with the texts relating to the statutes, operation and mandate of the ANPN.
      • Cover 1 or 2 National Parks with, where applicable, 1 NP in the “Coastal Forests” landscape (including the Loango, Moukalaba Doudou, Mayumba NPs) and 1 NP in the broader “TRIDOM” landscape (including the NPs of Lope, Ivindo, Mwagna, Minkebe).
      • Although the territories concerned are made up of the NPs and their buffer zones, the action may exceptionally include activities in the “zones of influence” which must be defined and whose intervention must be duly justified (example of corridors between PN).
      • This action, which specifically aims at conservation in the NPs and their areas of influence, must be coordinated with other actions planned by the EU which specifically aim at the protection of biodiversity and the development of a green economy in areas neighboring the NP within the same landscapes (forest concession areas, community forests, etc.).
      • Consortia of conservation organizations are favored in order to allow a single contract when several organizations operate in separate parks.
      • Collaborations between international conservation entities and national entities with expertise in the participation of local and indigenous communities will be accepted (e.g. to support the functioning of Local Management Advisory Committees (CCGL) of the PN).
      • Involvement of the Ministry in charge of Tourism will be necessary in the context of (eco)tourism development and the professionalization of associated services.

Sectors or Themes

• Actions must relate to the biodiversity conservation sector, while including aspects of local governance and green economy.

Thematic Priorities

• Climate Change
  • Action is focused on protecting biodiversity and conserving landscapes, avoiding land use change and ensuring carbon sequestration in large portions of ecosystems. It also proposes improving knowledge and capacity to address both the causes and effects of climate change and biodiversity loss.
• Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls
  • To ensure the right of indigenous peoples and local communities to access natural resources and ensure that women play a leading role in land management and resource use, initiatives to empower to women and women’s defense organizations will be implemented as part of this action. The perfect integration of women, as actors and beneficiaries, as well as the promotion of the gender dimension will be reflected, where appropriate, in the procedures and practices adopted by the bodies responsible for implementation, including those government agencies and NGOs participating in the action. Awareness of the gender dimension will be strengthened by promoting parity between men and women among target groups and beneficiaries responsible for implementing projects. Where possible, the action will also encourage, through inclusive consultation and planning processes, the consideration of women’s experiences and the difficulties they encounter when designing and implementing initiatives. keys. In addition, decision-making processes will be based on an analysis of equality between men and women, and gender-sensitive indicators as well as data disaggregated by sex will be prioritized.
• Human rights
  • Generally, addressing issues related to land governance and ownership, as well as improving the overall governance system, by facilitating dialogue between stakeholders and relevant land users, partnerships, inclusiveness, community management systems, etc., constitute the guiding principles of NaturAfrica and the obligatory elements of integrated landscape management. The participation of local populations and the positive impact on them will be among the criteria applicable to the various projects on the ground. Partners will have to apply the principles of good management of biodiversity or forests such as transparency, legitimacy, accountability, inclusiveness, equity, connectivity and resilience. Finally, the right to food will also be taken into consideration throughout the action, taking into account the interdependence between food security, ecosystem management and climate change. A community rights-based approach will be favored which involves free, prior and informed consent, and will be accompanied by independent complaints handling mechanisms regarding human rights violations.
• Democracy
  • Democratic participation in the development and fine-tuning of strategies, plans and initiatives, particularly at the local level, is essential to ensure that the needs of all stakeholders are taken into account. The participation policy will consist of ensuring that people in vulnerable situations, minority groups, women and girls contribute to the development and preparation of activities.
• Conflict sensitivity, peace and resilience
  • By easing tensions linked to competing land uses as well as controlling access to other natural resources, by offering other means of subsistence which make it possible to strengthen food security as well as the resilience of human beings and ecosystems in the face of climate change and other natural disasters, but also by managing transboundary ecosystems and protected areas, as well as monitoring illicit economic activities (illegal logging, wildlife trafficking), the action will contribute to stability and the security of targeted populations as well as the prevention and management of land-related conflicts. Where applicable, a conflict-sensitive approach should therefore be favored. Finally, the action also aims to mitigate conflicts between humans and wild species as well as to promote local dialogue with a view to negotiated and sustainable management of natural resources.

Funding Information

• The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals amounts to EUR 3,200,000. The contracting authority reserves the right not to allocate all available funds.
• Amount of grants
  • Any grant requested under this call for proposals must be between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
    • maximum amount: 3,100,0000 EUR
    • minimum amount: EUR 3,200,000

Duration

• The initial planned duration of an action cannot be less than 30 months nor exceed 48 months.

Eligible Activities

• Eligible activities must be in line with the NP management plans. Each management plan is valid for 5 years and is composed of 5 planning documents technically detailing the activities proposed in the framework document:
  • Conservation and research program;
  • Monitoring and Anti-Poaching Program (LAB);
  • Tourism development program;
  • Local community involvement and environmental education program;
  • Zoning and development program for the National Park.
• In addition to the management of targeted NPs, activities should be considered in order to provide a restricted management system for action with key players at the national level, and to contribute to coordination and information sharing efforts between NPs within the same cross-border landscape at regional level within the framework of the NaturAfrica program.

Location

• The actions must be implemented in Gabon.

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead applicant(s)
  • To qualify for a grant, the lead applicant must:
    • be a legal entity and
    • have no profit motive and
    • belong to one of the following categories of organizations: non-governmental organizations (NGOs), economic operators (private), public sector operators, local authorities and international organizations (intergovernmental) and
    • have proven experience in implementing initiatives in the areas of biodiversity conservation, natural resource management and governance, as well as the green economy and
    • demonstrate a formally established partnership relationship with the Government, in particular its National Agency for National Parks (ANPN). This partnership may aim to provide support for the management systems of the ANPN and to ensure a form of co-management of activities with the ANPN on the targeted NPs, or to ensure real delegated management of the NPs, for example under the form of a Public Private Partnership (PPP). Priority will be given to the delegated management option. The partnership must be in accordance with the texts relating to the statutes, operation and mandate of the ANPN. And
    • be established in a country eligible for IVCDCI – Worldwide Europe (IVCDCI – Worldwide Europe, article 28, paragraphs 1 and 2) or in one of the following three countries: United States of America, United Kingdom, Africa from the South, and
    • be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies) and not act as an intermediary.
• Co-applicant(s)
  • The co-applicants participate in the development and implementation of the action, and the costs they bear are eligible in the same way as those borne by the lead applicant.
  • Co-applicants must meet the same eligibility criteria as those that apply to the lead applicant itself.
  • Co-applicants must sign the mandate form.
  • If the grant is awarded to them, possible co-applicants become beneficiaries within the framework of the action (with the coordinator).
• Affiliated entities
  • The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies).
  • Only the following entities can be considered affiliated with the lead applicant and/or co-applicant(s):
    • Only entities that have a structural link with the applicants (the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link.
    • This structural link mainly encompasses two notions:
      • Control on annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain forms of undertakings.
      • Entities affiliated with an applicant may therefore be:
        • Entities controlled directly or indirectly by the applicant (subsidiaries or first-tier subsidiaries) or controlled by an entity itself controlled by the applicant (sub-subsidiaries or second-tier subsidiaries). This is valid for other control levels;
        • Entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, these may be entities controlling a company controlling the applicant;
        • Entities at the same level of direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies);
      • Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as, for example, a network, federation or association of which the proposed affiliated entity is a member, or the applicant is a member of the same entity (for example, a network, a federation or an association) than the proposed affiliated entity.

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