Deadline: 23-Oct-23
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is accepting applications to enable community organisations to take collective action for adaptive landscape management in building socio-ecological resilience in the Crocker Range Biosphere Reserve, Sabah for global environmental benefits and sustainable development.
The Small Grants Programme (SGP) provides grants to NGOs, CBOs and local communities for community level conservation, restoration and sustainable livelihood interventions. The seventh Operational Phase (OP7) of the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) in Malaysia aims to build upon the long-standing achievements of SGP in the country, specifically involving strengthening civil society organisations and improving socioeconomic conditions for local communities through the implementation of participatory conservation, restoration, and climate change mitigation interventions.
In OP7, the project in Crocker Range Biosphere Reserve (CRBR), Sabah aims to foster collaboration among regional community organisations in the landscape. In addition, the project promotes activities related to forest conservation within the targeted landscapes, community livelihood improvement, community participatory in biodiversity conservation and restoration, landscapes undergoing improved practices, policy reforms for the sustainable resource management and climate mitigation projects.
The project aims to reach about ~3150 direct beneficiaries, 50% of whom are women, and will facilitate community-driven interventions that generate global environmental benefits, including bringing an estimated 16,000 ha of landscapes under improved practices (9,000 ha under improved management to benefit biodiversity and another 7,000 ha under sustainable land management in production systems); restoring 200 ha degraded agricultural lands and 100 ha forest lands; as well as mitigating greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 335,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in agriculture, forestry and other land use sectors and avoiding about 6,500 CO2e through energy efficiency and renewable energy; from all the projects executed under the SGP within the Crocker Range Biosphere Reserve landscape.
Scope of the Assignment and Indicative Activities
- All project activities must also be in line with the draft landscape strategy developed by the landscape strategy grantee. Note that the landscape strategy will be updated periodically as the situation on the ground evolves, please check for the latest version with SGP Secretariat. In the process of developing the project’s proposal, it is crucial to consider the following focuses (either one or more than one) in the overall project’s strategy.
- The potential projects include the following (but not limited to):
- Biodiversity and Land degradation
- Vegetation restoration and reforestation: Plant native trees and fruit trees, shrubs or grasses that are adapted and suitable to the microclimate and soil condition of the degraded site; invasive species management.
- Physical intervention and enhancement: Create diverse habitats such as wildlife corridors, wildlife crossings, provide suitable breeding, nesting sites and food source for both native and migratory wildlife.
- Water catchment management and restoration: Restore natural hydrology to regulate water flow and improve water quality; control soil erosion and sedimentation.
- Land restoration through agroforestry, climate-resilient agriculture, regenerative agriculture or sustainable agriculture practices (including planting of cash crops, other vegetables, herbs, fruits, poultry for self-subsistence and/or socio-economic activities; planting rattan, bamboo for handicraft etc.).
- Seed collection and plant/tree nursery for land restoration.
- Syntropic farming and/or other effective crop management and harvesting approaches that are practical for communities.
- Restore the forest ecosystem to re-establish wildlife habitat and conserve existing wildlife habitat.
- Establishment of Tagal areas and other indigenous and community conserved areas (ICCAs).
- Legal protection and improvement of land management over the existing and proposed indigenous and community conserved areas (ICCAs).
- Climate Change Mitigation
- Development of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies such as:
- Fuel-efficient cook stoves
- Solar pump
- Gravity fed water system for household use and irrigation
- Micro- and pico- hydroelectric generators for off-grid communities
- Solar PV for off-grid communities
- Biogas (at community level) for cooking
- Gasification system and turbine generator producing both power and biochar.
- Replacement of incandescent lamps and oil lamps with LED lights and solar lights
- Sustainable agriculture waste management system and practices to reduce waste and pollution
- Establish supply chains and improve logistics for more efficient transport of products to market.
- Development of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies such as:
- Policy Reform and Establishing Multi-stakeholder Landscape Governance Platform
- An integral aspect of the project’s landscape approach is establishing or strengthening multistakeholder landscape governance platforms by providing local communities with enhanced opportunities to participate in development planning. The project will facilitate multistakeholder platforms in the project landscapes, with representation by local civil society organisations, state and local government departments, private sector enterprises and/or associations, women’s groups, and others. Preference will be given to linking into and strengthening existing multi-stakeholder platforms.
- Project under this must ensure all the indicative activities below are included in the proposal:
- Engaging with key stakeholders in Crocker Range Landscape, agree upon the best approach for multi-stakeholder landscape governance platforms and prepare terms of reference for the platforms.
- Convene regular meetings of the multi-stakeholder landscape governance platforms, discuss landscape strategies, link with complementary initiatives, facilitate capacity building, organise strategic awareness campaigns, etc.
- Sensitise and build the capacity of stakeholders on gender mainstreaming and inclusion of indigenous peoples and other marginalised groups.
- Advocate and assist local government units in mainstreaming the multi-stakeholder platforms into local governance structures.
- Based on evaluations of portfolio results and lessons, prepare policy briefs to advance the enabling environment for incentivising participatory approaches.
- Advocate for policy reform through liaising with key stakeholders and convening stakeholder workshops, inviting local and national government officials, financial institutions, donor agencies, civil society, private sector, and research-academic institutes.
- Delivering technical and strategic support, guiding local stakeholders in implementing landscape approaches and providing advocacy for policy reform and upscaling.
- Biodiversity and Land degradation
Funding Information
- The maximum amount per grant project will be limited to US$50,000. The applicant should request the grant based on the estimated expenditures required to conduct proposed activities, not the maximum grant available.
Project Duration
- All projects must be undertaken and completed ranging from 12 months to a maximum 24 months’ time frame, and all projects must be completed by December 2025. The funds will be distributed on a milestone completion basis.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible Organisations:
- Locally registered Non-government Organisations (NGOs)/Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)/Community-based Organisations (CBOs), with an existing copy of the certificate of registration.
- Locally registered bank account of the organisation.
- In exceptional circumstances, unregistered organisations may contact the SGP Secretariat to discuss the potential arrangement of an intermediary contract with an established organisation.
- Applicant organisations must demonstrate that it has the capacity to implement the project and meet SGP’s administrative and book-keeping requirements.
- Applications may be written in either English or Bahasa Malaysia
For more information, visit UNDP.