Sustainable Water and Natural Resources Management and Protection

Deadline: 30-Jul-21

European Commission is calling for proposals for Sustainable Water and Natural Resources Management and Protection to reorganize the water sector in line with Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) principles, based on hydrological boundaries.

The EU Country Strategy Paper for Tajikistan foresees a deepening of the EU existing focus on rural development and a provision of 59 million Euros under RDP phase II for Tajikistan rural areas. Building on its past experiences and taking into account other donors’ complementary activities, the European Union for 2021-2026 will continue aiming at poverty reduction and wealth creation in rural communities, the improvement of the quality of life, living standards and food security of people, as well as the protection and efficient use of natural resources.

The EU programme will build on the natural resources management actions started under RDP I along with Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) actions, previously supported by the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO) and currently integrated in the EU Regional programmes. This will be done by strengthening inclusive community participation in planning, management and protection of natural resources in line with the Forest and Pasture laws devolving power to the communities and local government. The programme will support the use of sustainable and climate-smart agricultural practices to improve livelihood in rural areas, by promoting sustainable agriculture and improving management of natural resources.

The EU RDP II has three interrelated components (please see the details in the annex M):

Component 1 – aims to improve added value of agricultural production – will develop a performant (productivity gains) and sustainable (environment-friendly) agriculture through increased investment and innovation in the value chains.
Component 2 – aims to improve management of natural resources – will support rural livelihood by contributing to the reduction of food and nutrition insecurity of rural populations relying on fragile ecosystems. Both components 2 and 3 will promote climate-resilient production models
Component 3 – aims to promote sustainable and efficient use of water – will contribute to mitigate rarefaction of water resources whose regular supply is essential for agriculture and sanitation. This will be done by improving management of water (better techniques and governance) and reducing losses (rehabilitated/improved infrastructure)

Objectives

The global objective of this call for proposals is: to enable inclusive growth and resilience to extreme climate conditions in rural communities, based on improved agriculture and sustainable use of water and natural resources.
The specific objective(s) of this call for proposals is/are: to improve livelihood in rural areas, by improving management of natural resources to reduce poverty as well as food and nutrition insecurity in upper catchments of Zeravshon and Vaksh rivers Watersheds.

Priorities

The priority(ies) of this call for proposals is/are:

Sustainable production practices are promoted among rural communities
Watershed management plans under Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) are prepared and possibly implemented
Nutrition at community level is improved: safe and supportive environments for enhanced nutrition at all ages.
Access to safe drinking water and sanitation is improved

Funding Information

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 20 000 000.
Indicative allocation of funds by lot/geographical distribution:
- Lot 1.
  - Total amount: EUR 5 000 000
- Lot 2.
  - Total amount: EUR 15 000 000
Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
- Lot 1.
  - minimum amount: EUR 5 000 000
  - maximum amount: EUR 5 000 000
- Lot 2.
  - minimum amount: EUR 15 000 000
  - maximum amount: EUR 15 000 000
Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum percentages of total eligible costs of the action:
- Minimum percentage: 60 % of the total eligible costs of the action.
- Maximum percentage: 90 % of the total eligible costs of the action.

Eligibility Criteria

Lead applicant

In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
- be a legal person
- be non-profit-making
- be a specific type of organisation such as: non-governmental organisation, public sector operator, local authority, international (inter-governmental) organisation
- be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary.

Co-applicant(s)

Lead applicants established in Tajikistan must act with at least one co-applicant established in Tajikistan.
Lead applicants not established in Tajikistan must act together with at least two co-applicants established in Tajikistan.
Actions proposed by lead applicants, that are not established in Tajikistan must be based on local initiatives and should ensure genuine involvement of co-applicants established in Tajikistan during all stages of the implementation. Applications must demonstrate expected benefits and added value of the partnership in responding to identified local needs. The Evaluation Committee will give particular importance to the “quality of partnership”.
Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself.
In the context of the EU response to the COVID-19 crisis, a derogation from the rule of nationality and origin applies to this call. As such, lead applicants, co-applicants and affiliated entities may be of any nationality.
Co-applicants must sign the mandate.
If awarded the grant contract, the co-applicant(s) (if any) will become beneficiary(ies) in the action (together with the coordinator)

Affiliated Entity(ies)

The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies).
Only the following entities may be considered as affiliated entities to the lead applicant and/or to co-applicant(s):
Only entities having a structural link with the applicants (i.e. the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link.
This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:
- Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings:
  - Entities affiliated to an applicant may hence be:
    - Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the applicant (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control;
    - Entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the applicant;
    - Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies).
- Membership, i.e. the applicant’ is legally defined as a e.g. network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the applicant participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association,…) as the proposed affiliated entities.