Deadline: 15-Nov-21
Applications are now open for the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) Grant Program to fund projects which benefit biodiversity in a wild landscape.
The definition of ‘landscape’ includes marine environments, and a broad range of wild, non-urban spaces. Projects must conserve, protect, enhance, restore, and/or reconnect habitats within a given landscape that are particularly important for the biodiversity there.
This focus on biodiversity will also address the importance that EOCA places on the issue of climate change. Projects should ensure that the habitats being conserved are those that sequester carbon, reduce emissions, enable adaptations to climate change, and/or protect against further habitat and biodiversity loss.
It is also very important that the projects are beneficial to the local communities that live in, or near, these habitats. Projects should highlight how they encourage local stewardship of habitats, alleviate poverty, support local ecosystem services, while at the same time, having a link to outdoor enthusiasts who value these precious wild spaces.
Priority Areas
The Two Main areas that must be addressed in your application are:
- Protect, enhance or restore threatened key species, habitats or broader ecosystems in ‘wild’ areas
- Consider the needs of the outdoor enthusiast
Project Outcomes
Your application should include 3 easily identifiable and measurable outcomes to show how the project will address the issues above. They should consider:
- Conservation measures addressing specific issues and root causes (5 points)
- What are the identified threats to the species / habitat / ecosystem? What are the impacts of these threats? How are these threats going to be eliminated, alleviated or better managed? How will the habitat / ecosystem be protected, enhanced or restored? How will the project deliver the desired outcomes? How will the experience for the local community, the visitors and the habitat be enhanced in the long term?
- Involvement / engagement of local people (5 points)
- In order for a project to be sustainable, it is vital that local people are fully engaged. If local communities and also communities of interest are not involved, they may not feel any need or desire to ensure that the good work that has been started continues into the future. Obviously, if specialist work needs to be carried out, relevant experts may need to be brought in, but wherever possible, projects will involve the local community, giving them ownership of the project and its outcomes, and contributing to their livelihoods during and after the project.
- Education and communication (5 points)
- Education and communication should be aimed at both local communities and visitors. Education should include communicating responsible ways of enjoying the project area, suggestions as to how visitors and locals can reduce threats to the species, habitat or ecosystem, and ways in which they can help protect the biodiversity of the project area. How will you reach the potential visitors to the area effectively and communicate with the local community, and how will this process continue once EOCA’s funding for the project has finished?
Eligibility Criteria
- Nonprofit organisations can apply to EOCA for grants of up to €30,000 to implement a conservation project of up to 24 months in duration in any country around the world except North America (US and Canada – where the Conservation Alliance provides funding for conservation efforts from the North American outdoor industry).
- Project applications MUST:
- protect a threatened species or habitat;
- have a link to the outdoor enthusiast;
- involve hands-on practical conservation work.
For more information, visit https://www.eocaconservation.org/project-info.cfm?pageid=20