Deadline: 21-Dec-21
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are currently accepting Letters of Inquiry (LoIs) from nongovernmental organisations, community groups, Indigenous People’s organisations, women’s groups, private companies and other civil society organisations for projects that address the conservation of biodiversity in the Indo-Burma Hotspot, and that meet the criteria set out in this call.
CEPF is designed to safeguard Earth’s biologically richest and most threatened regions, known as biodiversity hotspots. CEPF is a joint initiative of the Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, and the World Bank.
In the Indo-Burma Hotspot, it is also supported by the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies. A fundamental goal is to ensure civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation.
The Indo-Burma Hotspot included all non-marine parts of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, plus parts of southern China.
The current call for LoIs is limited to projects that address one or more of the investment priorities listed in the following section.
CEPF expects to issue additional calls for LoIs covering other investment priorities in 2022. These calls will be announced on CEPF’s website and e-newsletter.
Priorities
- Empower local communities to engage in conservation and management of priority sites. CEPF and IUCN invite proposals that address one or more of the following investment priorities:
- Support communities to analyze conservation issues and inform them about rights and opportunities related to natural resource management and conservation.
- Pilot, amplify and develop sustainability mechanisms for community forests, community fisheries and community-managed protected areas through authentic, community-led processes.
- Develop co-management mechanisms for protected areas that enable community participation in zoning, management and governance
- Revise KBA identification in the hotspot using the new KBA standard.
- Strengthen the capacity of civil society to work on biodiversity, communities and livelihoods at regional, national, local and grassroots levels. CEPF and IUCN invite proposals that address one or more of the following investment priorities:
- Support networking mechanisms that enable collective civil society responses to priority and emerging threats
- Provide core support for the sustainable organizational and technical capacity development of domestic civil society organizations
Funding Information
- Small grants are those for funding amounts up to USD40,000.
- Large grants are those for funding amounts between USD40,000 to USD250,000.
- During Phase II of CEPF’s investment in the Indo-Burma hotspot (2013-2020), the average size of large grants was just over USD160,000.
- The maximum length is five years. In practice, small grants are usually 1-2 years in length, and large grants usually 1-3 years in length.
Preference
Preference will be given to projects that address the following criteria:
- are the closest fit to the investment priorities eligible for support under this call;
- have a high likelihood of achieving their stated objectives and contribute strongly to sustainable conservation outcomes;
- build upon past initiatives and complement ongoing initiatives;
- represent good value for money; and
- demonstrate the institutional capacity and experience necessary to carry out the work.
Eligibility Criteria
- Organizations applying for funding must have some form of legal registration.
- Eligible countries: Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam.
- CEPF accepts large grant applications in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. IUCN accepts small grant applications in Chinese, English, Khmer, Lao, Myanmar, Thai and Vietnamese.
For more information, visit https://www.iucn.org/regions/asia/our-work/regional-projects/critical-ecosystem-partnership-fund-cepf/how-apply-cepf-funds