Hello, lovers of biodiversity and tropical beauty! The Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands Small Grants Program is offering funding to support innovative projects that promote environmental conservation and sustainable development in the region.
Whether you’re working to protect the endangered lemurs of Madagascar, combat coral bleaching in the Seychelles, or improve marine stewardship in Mauritius, this program is investing in the preservation of this unique and fragile ecosystem.
By supporting local communities and organizations, the Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands Small Grants Program is investing in the future of this vital region.
Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands Small Grants Overview
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and its regional implementation team (RIT) for the hotspot are accepting letters of inquiry (LOIs) from non-governmental organizations, community groups, Indigenous peoples’ organizations, women’s groups, private companies, and other civil society organizations for projects that address the call’s eligible activities and geographies.
The Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles are highly vulnerable to climate change. People, agricultural land, and infrastructure are concentrated along coastal areas, which are vulnerable to rising sea levels and increased storm frequency and severity.
Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) encourages ecosystem protection, improved management, and restoration to supply the critical services that people require to adapt to climate change and variability. While there are a few experimental programs, EbA financing is currently minimal, and CSOs are not actively involved.
In response to the problems of climate change in the Indian Ocean island countries, CEPF has developed a new initiative called Ecosystem-Based Adaptation in the Indian Ocean, which is funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the European Union via AFD. The program provides targeted funding to help CSOs implement EbA.
CEPF has hired a group of nongovernmental organizations to serve as its RIT in the region. IUCN NL coordinates and leads the RIT, which comprises SAF/FJKM for Madagascar, ID-ONG for the Comoros, ENA for Mauritius, and SeyCCAT for Seychelles. These organizations are collaborating with CEPF to develop a five-year conservation strategy for the hotspot and strengthen local civil society capacity.
Eligibility Criteria of Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands Small Grants
Non-governmental organizations, community groups and associations, universities and research institutes, private businesses, and other civil society organizations can apply for the funding:
- Individuals aren’t eligible. Individuals should collaborate with civil society organizations to draft applications instead of applying directly.
- A government-owned firm or organization is eligible only if it can demonstrate that
- Has a legal personality separate from any government agency or actor.
- It is not permissible to assert sovereign immunity claims.
- Applicants from outside the qualifying geographic locations may apply as long as the project deliverables address the conservation needs of this request within the designated geographies.
- Has the ability to apply for and accept private funding.
- Applicants are urged to collaborate with other groups to avoid duplication of effort and to form partnerships or alliances.
- Joint projects involving many organizations are allowed, as long as one lead organization submits the proposal and project partners have clearly defined roles in the application. Applying organizations must have their bank accounts and be legally eligible to receive grants.
Ineligible Funding Activities
The CEPF does not sponsor the following activities:
- Use of child or forced labour.
- Dam construction or rehabilitation, whether huge or complex.
- Paying pay or salary enhancements to government security personnel.
- Pesticides classified as IA and IB by the World Health Organization, or class II are likely to be used or accessible to lay personnel, farmers, or others who lack the necessary knowledge, equipment, and facilities to handle, store, and apply these chemicals correctly.
- Buying of a firearm or other weapon.
- Activities that promote the trade-in or use of any substances listed in the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, as well as other chemicals or hazardous materials subject to international bans, restrictions, or phaseouts due to high toxicity to living organisms, environmental persistence, bioaccumulation potential, or ozone layer depletion.
- Physical resettlement of individuals (voluntary or involuntary).
- Buying of land.
- Activities that could harm important habitats.
- Activities involving the introduction or usage of potentially invasive, non-indigenous species.
- Get rid of or modification of any tangible cultural heritage.
- The use of language
- Small grant applications should be in English. Other languages will not be considered for evaluation.
NOTE: The application deadline is 13 May 24. For additional information, you can visit the CEPF to learn more.
Technical Scope of the Grant Program
CEPF is asking for proposals that focus on the following Investment Priority as part of Strategic Directions:
- Strategic Direction 1: Empower communities and civil society to take steps to strengthen species, ecosystems, and human populations’ resilience to climate change in priority Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs).
- Investment Priority 1.1: Execute Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) actions such as agroforestry, “climate-smart agriculture,” eradication of invasive alien species (IAS), restoration of degraded watersheds and coastal ecosystems (including wetlands, mangroves, reefs, and seagrass beds), and supporting of sustainable coastal and terrestrial ecosystem management.
- Investment Priority 1.2: Encourage the construction and development of economic models that improve local communities’ resilience to climate change and value chains for natural goods, while also increasing ecosystem services that contribute to EbA.
The Funding Information
- The maximum amount for minor awards is $50,000. Applications with budgets exceeding this amount will not be reviewed.
- Small grant projects are planned to begin on August 1, 2024, and have a maximum duration of December 31, 2026.
