ECCC Call for Proposals: Natural Heritage Conservation Program

Deadline: 24 December 2018

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is inviting proposals to develop, coordinate, and deliver a national level project aimed at assisting local, provincial and national conservation organizations in securement of ecologically sensitive private lands in perpetuity in Canada.

The Natural Heritage Conservation Program is being funded by the Canada Nature Fund to enable a coordinated pan-Canadian approach to private land acquisition for purposes of establishing new protected and conserved areas.

Objectives

More specifically, $100 million over 4 years in federal funding will support programming that achieves the following objectives:

to contribute to the achievement of the terrestrial and inland water elements of Target 1 of Canada’s 2020 Biodiversity Goals and Targets
to contribute to the protection of habitat for the recovery of Species at Risk Act (SARA) listed species at risk and the prevention of other species from becoming listed under SARA

Priorities

Priorities, in order of importance:

lands secured, in key conservation areas; contribute to:
- achieving Pathway to Canada Target 1
- providing the following priority co-benefits:
  - recovery of species at risk (lands with critical habitat or regular occurrence of species listed under SARA and/or species assessed “at risk” by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada [COSEWIC] and/or provincially listed species)
  - prevention of species not listed under SARA, including migratory birds, from becoming at risk
  - climate change adaptation and mitigation
  - provision of ecosystem services
  - completion of ecological gifts
Partnerships and collaboration advanced:
- multiple funding and delivery partners, across the country
- collaborative governance structure representative of the partners
- increased capacity of land trusts partnering in the project delivery for the purpose of furthering compliance with the Canadian Land Trust Alliance’s Standards and Practices or with the Guide des bonnes pratiques en intendance privée: aspects juridiques et organisationnels

Funding Information

One or more national-scale project(s) will be funded to a combined maximum for all funded projects of $25M per year for four years, for an overall combined maximum total of up to $100M.
The selected project(s) would have a four-year duration from April 1, 2019 until March 31, 2023.

Mandatory Proposal Requirements

Proposals must include:

an articulation of how securement of at least 200,000 ha of ecologically sensitive private lands will be achieved, through eligible land securement activities
an outline of a collaborative governance structure with project partners for the management of the project, including how work planning, decision-making, and further disbursement of funds will occur
a statement of project deliverables that are national in scope and will be delivered regionally, with a plan in place to allocate funds for sub-projects across the country
an attestation that the applicant and their delivery partners are in compliance or substantially in compliance with the Canadian Land Trust Alliance’s Standards and Practices or with the Guide des bonnes pratiques en intendance privée: aspects juridiques et organisationnels
program delivery in both French and English
matching funding by a minimum of 2:1 from non-federal sources ($2 match for each $1 of federal funding); match may include in-kind sources such as donations of land

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible applicants include land conservation organizations, such as: