Deadline: 24-Jul-2024
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) announces an open competition for applications aimed at empowering local communities and grassroots civil society organizations (CSOs) across key countries to combat nature crimes and associated crime convergence.
Program Goal
- The goal of this program is to increase global grassroot civil society engagement in addressing nature crimes.
Objectives
- All proposals should align with one or both objectives below.
- Objective 1: Combat nature crimes across key source and transit countries.
- Objective 2: Reduce global consumer demand for, and availability of, products illegally traded goods sourced from, or linked with, nature crimes
Funding Information
- Total Funding Ceiling: $4 million
- Total Funding Floor: $1 million
- Anticipated Number of Awards: 1-2
- Period of Performance: 24 months
- Anticipated Time to Award, Pending Availability of Funds: September 30, 2024
Expected Outcomes
- Outcomes supporting Objective 1 include, but are not limited to:
- Strengthened capacity, partnerships, and communication channels for civil society to generate and share actionable information on nature crimes, including through community monitoring, developing red flag indicators and investigative reporting;
- Legal and regulatory reform resulting from the review of applicable local, national, and regional legislation and regulation on nature crimes;
- Promoting and protecting local journalists and grassroots civil society efforts to expose nature crimes, strengthen transparency, and provide insight into criminal networks and trends;
- New targeted campaigns and knowledge products to raise public awareness of nature crimes locally;
- Strengthened frameworks for local communities to monitor natural resources and influence their governance;
- New reporting or tipline mechanisms for the public to inform law enforcement officials of suspected nature crime activities;
- Identifying socioeconomic factors within target countries to identify nature-based solutions and effective alternative livelihood programs for affected communities, to reduce incentives for nature crimes;
- Employing a One Health approach to address the relationship between nature crimes and increased risk of zoonotic disease emergence and spread, including consideration of the primary, upstream drivers of disease spillover.
- Outcomes supporting Objective 2 include, but are not limited to:
- Stronger public messaging campaigns to raise global awareness about the devastating impacts of nature crimes on local communities, their livelihood, and the environment.
- More robust communication channels to link local community organizations with news outlets and industry partners, promoting ongoing awareness and dialogue on nature crime-free supply chains;
- Analyzing and mapping nature crimes and their convergence through network mapping, data indexes, and visual models across regions to help identify where these crimes intersect along shared supply chains;
- Enhanced the role of local civil society in traceability and transparency solutions within nature crime-affected industries
- Highlighting the health risks linked to nature crimes, including the zoonotic disease risks stemming from the trafficking of endangered and threatened species for use in traditional medicine;
- Advancing understanding of the relationships among foreign private investment, particularly in infrastructure and extractive activities; criminal networks; and the incidence of nature crimes.
Performance Indicators
- All project proposals must include tentative qualitative and quantitative indicators that measure progress towards a desired outcome. Final indicators will be determined in consultation with the OES team, following project selection but prior to project funding.
- Example indicators:
- Number of people and/or civil society organizations trained in the collection, sharing, and use of information to prevent and combat nature crimes, as a result of USG assistance;
- Number of people and/or local communities that apply improved community monitoring practices as a result of USG assistance;
- Number of laws, policies, or regulations that address nature crimes officially proposed, adopted, and/or implemented as a result of USG assistance (disaggregated by result);
- Number of new or improved community initiatives combating nature crimes as a result of USG assistance;
- Number of people reached by public awareness campaigns on the harms of products linked with nature crimes as a result of USG assistance.
Eligibility Criteria
- OES welcomes applications from U.S.-based non-profit/non-governmental organizations with or without 501(c) (3) status of the U.S. tax code; foreign-based non-profit organizations/nongovernment organizations (NGO); private, public, or state institutions of higher education; and for-profit organizations or businesses.
- Applications submitted by for-profit entities may be subject to additional review following the panel selection process. Additionally, the Department of State prohibits profit to for-profit or commercial organizations under its assistance awards.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.