Kolektif Program to effectively protect Indonesia’s Marine Biodiversity

Deadline: 1-Nov-21

The United States Agency for International Development in Indonesia (USAID/Indonesia) is seeking applications for Kolektif Program to effectively protect Indonesia’s marine biodiversity through improving existing Marine Protected Area (MPA) management, functions, and benefits.

Activities and Objectives

Kolektif is expected to strengthen the protection of Indonesia’s marine biodiversity by improving the management effectiveness of established MPAs at national and provincial level. The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) technical guidance on evaluation of MPA management effectiveness (EVIKA) will serve as one of the main references when designing activities that aim to improve MPA management effectiveness. Kolektif will identify existing gaps and underlying factors in the targeted MPAs that limit the effectiveness of their management, weaken the protection of marine biodiversity, and prevent the MPA from effectively reducing threats and delivering desired outcomes.

Additionally, Kolektif will explore opportunities to establish co-management of MPAs involving non-government stakeholders, including private sector actors that can unlock economic opportunities in priority MPAs, mobilize resources and support local livelihoods. To achieve this goal, Kolektif will focus on the following five main objectives:

Objective 1: Strengthened Human Resources and Institutional Arrangements for MPA Management
- The activity supports the GOI efforts to implement robust, evidence-based approaches to strengthening human resources and institutional arrangements for existing MPAs within the target geography. Implementing partners are expected to develop a nuanced understanding of the political, economic, social, and technical reasons behind low MPA effectiveness, despite significant past investments in this critical approach for marine biodiversity conservation and fisheries management. Implementing partners should consider assessing current MPA status, identifying existing gaps and underlying factors in priority MPAs that hinder or advance their management, limit the protection of marine biodiversity, and prevent the MPA from reducing threats and delivering desired outcomes.
  - Expected outcomes under objective 1 may include, but are not limited to:
    - Innovative approaches for strengthening human resources and institutional arrangements for MPA effectiveness identified and implemented, and when appropriate, scaled to the other MPAs;
    - The delivery of planning, monitoring, outreach, and conflict resolution by MPA managing authorities improved within the project period; and
    - Effective collaborative management arrangements involving central-provincial government, local communities, NGOs and private sectors are implemented and demonstrating measurable improvements in ecological and socio-economic outcomes.
Objective 2: Established Sustainable Financing for MPAs
- MPAs need sufficient funding to achieve their management goals. Currently, the government allocation to support MPA only covers approximately 20 percent of their needs14, which hinders conservation and sustainable development efforts.
- A range of funding sources, such as national and regional state budgets and non-state funding, can be further explored and mobilized to support effective and sustainable long term MPA management. Efforts should be explored to recognize effective MPA management as a “productive investment” rather than a recurring expense, given that well-functioning MPAs provide many benefits to both the environment and communities.
  - Expected outcomes under objective 2 may include, but are not limited to:
    - Existing legal framework that supports sustainable financing for effective MPA management strengthened and effectively implemented;
    - Increased government commitment to adequately fund MPAs management; and
    - Additional funding streams from non-state revenue including from development partners and the private sector to support MPA management in target areas mobilized
Objective 3: Increased Benefits for Coastal Communities Through the Sustainable Management of MPAs
- MPA establishment ideally aims not only to protect marine biodiversity but also to enhance the social and economic benefits received by the communities from sustainable management.
- Benefits can take a range of forms that are meaningful to the specific stakeholder groups within a given MPA.
- For example, benefits might include, increased livelihoods from sustainable fisheries or tourism; increased sense of agency from meaningful participation in protected area management; strengthened social relationships; improved community infrastructure or access to educational opportunities; improved well-being as a result of protecting resources for future generations. Ideally, benefits should increase with improved conservation activities, leading to increased support for effective protected area management. Conservation enterprise approaches that have been used extensively in USAID biodiversity programming could be considered as a reference/best practice.
  - Expected outcomes under objective 3 may include, but are not limited to:
    - Increased social and economic benefits derived from sustainable use in the target areas that further incentivize behavior change to support effective MPA management; and
    - Increased communities’ adaptation and resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change impacts in the target areas.

Objective 4: Strengthened Compliance with MPA Rules and Regulations
- The activity supports the MPA management efforts to increase users compliance with MPA rules and regulations, including reducing illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the target areas. To strengthen compliance, the activity should consider assessing the compliance level in each MPA site and factors that influence the compliance and noncompliance.
- Approaches to increase compliance with MPA regulations will consider perspectives from all the MPA users, in particular the local communities and the private sector. In addition, the activity will consider enhancing awareness raising efforts that target all MPA stakeholders, particularly for local community stewardship to protect customary rights over resources and livelihoods to increase voluntary compliance. The observed benefits from voluntary compliance is expected to increase ownership over the MPAs and reduce enforcement costs.
  - Expected outcomes under objective 4 may include, but are not limited to:
    - Effective MPA monitoring, surveillance, and enforcement systems established and implemented;
    - Community surveillance groups (Pokmaswas) or customary management systems strengthened in the target areas to support compliance and enforcement, as appropriate;
    - Acknowledgement and inclusion of local / indigenous regulations in the formal MPA regulatory framework in the target areas; and
    - Increased awareness and compliance of MPA users about MPA regulations and benefits.
Objective 5: Improved Protection for Marine Endangered, Threatened and Protected (ETP) Species and Priority Habitats
- The activity aims to support GOI efforts to effectively protect ETP marine species and habitat, reduce poaching and by-catch of ETP marine species, and strengthen the implementation of evidence-based plans for priority ETP marine species as an integral part of MPA management plans.
- This objective will ultimately support efforts to improve ETP species populations in Indonesia.
- Many ETP species are still widely traded in legal and illicit markets. Harvesting is driven by many factors, both national and international, and is strongly motivated by the current high profit – low risk context of the under-regulated market. Authorities have inadequate information on the status of ETP species which weakens enforcement. In addition, the challenges in species protection persist due to limited resources, poor awareness of rural and urban populations, and limited cooperation between the relevant actors. Efforts within MPAs should be complemented by collaboration with other key stakeholders to reduce threats/demand and disrupt the supply chain of ETP species17 within and outside the MPA.
  - Expected outcomes under objective 5 may include, but are not limited to:
    - Evidence-based ETP marine species regulations and policies strengthened and implemented;
    - Poaching and other threats to the ETP in the target areas reduced; and
    - Stakeholders’ compliance of ETP marine species policies and regulations increased.

Funding Information

USAID intends to award one (1) cooperative agreement pursuant to this notice of funding opportunity.
Subject to funding availability and at the discretion of the Agency, USAID intends to provide an amount not to exceed $15,000,000 in total USAID funding over a five (5) year period.
The anticipated period of performance is five (5) years. The estimated start date will be upon the signature of the award, on or about January 2022.

Results

USAID expects that Kolektif will contribute to the following results at the goal level: Management effectiveness of existing national and provincial MPAs in target areas improved to optimal and/or sustainably managed levels13;
Key drivers and direct pressures to biodiversity in the target areas reduced;
Community benefits from the sustainable use and conservation of marine biodiversity in the target areas enhanced

Target Beneficiaries and Key Stakeholders

Kolektif’s beneficiaries and key stakeholders will include national and local government officials, NGOs, private sectors, universities and community groups. When appropriate in certain target areas, Kolektif is encouraged to work in collaboration with other donors/projects to complement the activity’s goals.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility for this NOFO is not restricted. Organizations eligible to apply under this NOFO includes non-profit or for-profit non-governmental organizations, inclusive of, foundations, colleges and universities, private businesses and associations and excludes public international organizations and governmental organizations.
Pursuant to Code of Federal Regulations, it is USAID policy not to award profit under assistance instruments such as cooperative agreements. While for-profit firms may participate, pursuant to Prohibition against profit: no funds will be paid as profit to any for-profit entity receiving or administering Federal financial assistance as a recipient or subrecipient, and as such, for-profit organizations must waive profits and/or fees to be eligible to submit an application.
Successful applicants must have established financial management, monitoring and evaluation processes, internal control systems, and policies and procedures that comply with established U.S.
Government standards, laws, and regulations.
USAID welcomes applications from organizations that have not previously received financial assistance from USAID.
Faith-based organizations are eligible to apply for federal financial assistance on the same basis as any other organization and are subject to the protections and requirements of Federal law.

For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=335635