EU seeking Proposals to Support Eco-Tourism Development in Botswana

Deadline: 30 June 2020

The European Union (EU) has announced a call for proposals to facilitate the development of the eco-tourism value chain with a focus on community-based, economically-viable and effectively managed ecotourism enterprises, conservation and heritage areas.

Objectives

Under the 11^th European Development Fund, EU is funding a specific programme for “Job creation and investment climate in the Eastern and Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean region (EA-SA-IO)” for a total budget of EUR 74 million.
The programme has a “country window” for Botswana of EUR 5 million to support the following objectives:
- Improving the business enabling environment and investment climate.
- Upgrading value chains and services with high potential for job creation, including tourism.

Priorities

The priorities for this call for proposals are;
- Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) and nature-based tourism to provide substantial employment and economic benefits to local communities;
- Promotion of initiatives that support sustainable development and diversification of the tourism offer in Botswana, including cultural, heritage and adventure tourism;
- Support to eco-friendly tourism practices and conservation activities in and around protected areas;
- Improving participation of local communities in the tourism value chains and integration in local/regional supply chains.
Methodological priorities applying to this call for proposals are:
- Partnerships with local organisations are encouraged and should ensure the involvement of all partners during all stages of the action implementation. Likewise, partnerships between organisations with different strengths are encouraged in order to design and implement strong, coherent actions that address mutual supportive issues in a coherent and holistic manner.
- In all cases actions should be aimed at promoting community participation and local ownership to enable the targeted populations to acquire increased ability to participate in governance and development processes at the local level and to ensure long-term impact and sustainability.

Funding Information

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 1,500,000. The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.
Size of grants
- Minimum amount: EUR 500,000
- Maximum amount: EUR 750,000

Duration

The initial planned duration of an action may not 24 months nor exceed 36 months.

Location

Actions must take place in Botswana.

Eligibility Criteria

Lead applicant(s)

In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
- Be a legal person and
- Be non-profit-making and
- Be a specific type of organisation such as: non-governmental organisation, public sector operator, local authority, international (inter-governmental) organisation as defined by Article 156 of the EU Financial Regulation and
- Be established in an Africa Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of States
- A Member of the European Union
- This obligation does not apply to international organisations
- For UK applicants: Please be aware that following the entry into force of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement on 1 February 2020 and in particular Articles 127(6), 137 and 138, the references to natural or legal persons residing or established in a Member State of the European Union and to goods originating from an eligible country, as defined under Regulation (EU) No 236/2014and Annex IV of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, are to be understood as including natural or legal persons residing or established in, and to goods originating from, the United Kingdom. Those persons and goods are therefore eligible under this call. Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community. Regulation (EU) No 236/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014 laying down common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union’s instruments for financing external action. Annex IV to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, as revised by Decision 1/2014 of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers (OJ L196/40, 3.7.2014) including the Overseas Countries and Territories having special relations with the United Kingdom, as laid down in Part Four and Annex II of the TFEU.
- Be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary.
- Be able to demonstrate that they have carried out activities in the field of this call for proposals at least during the last three years at the time of submission of an application

Co-applicant(s)

Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself.

Affiliated Entities

The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies).
Only the following entities may be considered as affiliated entities to the lead applicant and/or to co-applicant(s):
- Only entities having a structural link with the applicants (i.e. the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link.
- This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:
  - Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings:
    - Entities affiliated to an applicant may hence be:
      - Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the applicant (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control;
      - Entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the applicant;
      - Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies).
- Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as a e.g. network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the applicant participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association,…) as the proposed affiliated entities.