Eswatini Environment Fund Program 2024/2025

Deadline: 29-Oct-2024

The Eswatini Environment Authority is accepting submissions for the Eswatini Environment Fund Program to provide financial support for programmes, projects and activities aimed at the enhancement, protection and conservation of the environment and the sustainable management of natural resources and supporting community participation in these activities and to promote environmental sustainability at grassroots level in the in the Kingdom of Eswatini.

Priority Areas

• The Eswatini Environment Fund seek to tackle emerging environmental risks facing the country in all four administrative regions of the country. In this year funding cycle, the focus is on five thematic areas:
  • Sustainable Land Management 
    • Sustainable land management (SLM) refers to practices and technologies that aim to integrate the management of land, water, and other environmental resources to meet human needs while ensuring long-term sustainability, ecosystem services, biodiversity, and livelihoods. SLM is crucial to minimizing land degradation, rehabilitating degraded areas and ensuring the optimal use of land resources for the benefit of present and future generations.
  • Climate Change
    • Climate change refers to the long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Climate change has many local consequences such as intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity. Climate change affects the health, ability to grow food, housing, safety and work.
    • Climate Change Adaptation supports interventions that respond directly to the needs of vulnerable communities and are most impacted by climate change. This year adaptation themes include;
      • Climate-Smart Agriculture – These projects are expected to address the direct or indirect impacts of climate change on agricultural production and could target livestock and/or crop production.
      • Climate-Resilient Livelihoods – These projects are anticipated to increase the resilience of income generating activities and associated assets in the face of a changing climate.
      • Capacity building and Governance – These projects are expected to address the capacity building/skills development needs of communities to facilitate local adaptation action plans and disaster risk preparedness plans.
  • Sustainable Water Management
    • Sustainable water management means the consumption of water in a way that meets current, ecological, social, and economic needs without compromising the ability to meet those needs in the future. The focus is here water sources like rivers, earth dams, springs, and wells to name but a few.
  • Chemical and Waste Management
    • Chemicals play a key role in agriculture, health and almost every aspect of modern industries, while they also pose potentially great threats to a healthy ecosystem and human health. Illicit and improper use of hazardous chemicals is still on-going, and lack of awareness in handling pesticides and herbicides is an issue for many communities. Improper management of municipal and solid waste, incineration and uncontrolled dumping continues to release harmful chemicals into the environment with negative consequences for both people and the ecosystems they rely on.
    • The Eswatini Environment Fund (EEF) provides financial and technical support to communities and civil society organizations for addressing national environmental challenges, while also promoting poverty reduction and sustainable development. In the chemicals and waste priority area the following projects may be funded: supporting organic farming as an alternative to using harmful pesticides and herbicides, community recycling project, community waste management project, reduction of waste through segregation and compost production.
  • Ecosystem, Habitat, Biodiversity Protection and Sustainable Use
    • Biodiversity is the variety of all forms of life and it is essential to the existence and proper functioning of all ecosystems. Biodiversity supports habitats for all species by providing many unique environments in which species can exist; these include ecosystems of all types and sizes, rare ecosystems, and corridors between habitats. Biodiversity promotes food security, clean air, water security, energy security, and provides raw materials economic development.

Eligibility Criteria

• Projects that are eligible for funding by the Fund must satisfy the following minimum requirements:
  • Must have positive impact on community environmental protection and rehabilitations;
  • Enhance community livelihoods;
  • Must demonstrate sustainability beyond the funding period;
  • Must demonstrate community ownership or stakeholder involvement
  • Must demonstrate youth participation;
  • Must have the capacity to leverage additional resources.
  • The call for funding is open to:
    • Communities (rural, peri-urban, and urban);
    • Environmental groups within communities;
    • Non-Governmental Organizations engaged environmental protection initiatives.
    • Individuals whose projects portray clear positive impacts to the environment and wider community;
    • Educational and Research institutions.

For more information, visit EEA.