Open Call for Proposals: Eastern Tropical Pacific Region

Deadline: 15-Aug-24

Blue Action Fund is pleased to announce a new open Call for Proposals focusing on the Eastern Tropical Pacific region for providing individual grants to NGOs for projects in developing countries.

Blue Action Fund is a non-profit foundation established under German law. It is structured as a two-tier board model with a Management Board conducting day-to-day business and a Supervisory Board overseeing its activities and providing strategic guidance.

Due to the concurrence of three major ocean currents, the seascape of the Eastern Tropical Pacific is one of the most productive tropical oceans in the world. Fish stocks are abundant and marine megafauna, such as sharks, rays, sea turtles and cetaceans, find rich feeding grounds. The region boasts vast mangrove forests and is home to iconic World Heritage Sites such as the Galapagos Islands and Marine Reserve (Ecuador), Cocos Island (Costa Rica), or the Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary (Colombia). However, these thriving waters – and the communities that depend on them – face growing threats ranging from illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing to pollution due to coastal development. Climate change is further exacerbating these challenges. Having recognised these risks, governments from several countries have stepped up in recent years and are pledging ambitious new marine protections resulting in a significant increase of MPA coverage in the region. However, still more MPAs and more support in their management are required to effectively conserve these waters. The Call therefore also supports the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life below water.

Thematic Focus

• The thematic focus of projects should cover both:
  • Support ecologically representative and well-connected systems of MPAs by enhancing management effectiveness of or enlarging existing MPAs, or by establishing new MPAs; and
  • Support sustainable livelihoods in coastal communities dependent on MPAs and their buffer zones.
  • Newly established or better managed MPAs or networks of MPAs, as well as Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) which result in conservation of biodiversity;

Funding Information

• Blue Action expects to award grants from this Call with a total volume of up to EUR 20 million.
• Eligible Projects can ask for a Blue Action contribution of between EUR 2-4 million, in exceptional and well justified cases of up to EUR 5 million.
• Duration
  • Can be completed within 5 years or less.

Activities

• MPA Governance 
  • management plans
  • mapping and demarcation
  • monitoring, control and enforcement measures
  • data collection
  • training of staff
• Sustainable Livelihoods 
  • saving clubs
  • sustainable tourism initiatives
  • reduction of harvest losses in fisheries
  • empowerment of women
• Species Conservation/Sustainable Fisheries 
  • gear selectivity
  • co-management initiatives
  • conservation measures for key species
• Habitat Conservation and Restoration 
  • mangroves
  • coral reefs
  • seagrass beds

Eligibility Criteria

• Blue Action is looking forward to receiving proposals for projects that will be implemented in one of the following countries (or in case of transboundary MPAs in several of these): Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru.
• Eligible applicants are NGOs with proven experience in coastal and marine conservation as well as sustainable livelihood development in the area. NGOs must provide match funding of at least 25% of the total project costs.
• NGOs must have experience in implementing similar sized projects, have environmental and social management system capacities, and their reporting and financial management systems must be compliant with internationally recognised standards.
• Blue Action encourages applications by consortia of NGOs that have local implementing partners and include both environmental and social development NGOs. Blue Action’s procedures require that all projects must receive the endorsement of the appropriate national authority/authorised body of the country in which the project is to be implemented.

For more information, visit Blue Action Fund.