Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund invites Letters of Inquiry in Two Different Biodiversity Hotspots

The  Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is a global program administered by the Conservation International through a CEPF Secretariat. The joint initiative of Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, l’Agence Française de Développement, and the World Bank, CEPF is designed to safeguard the world’s biologically richest and most threatened regions, known as biodiversity hotspots.

The CEPF supports projects that are in an approved biodiversity hotspot. The grant applicant must be authorized under relevant national laws to receive charitable contributions. To be eligible for the grant, government-owned enterprises or institutions must establish that the enterprise or institution has a legal personality independent of any government agency or actor, the enterprise or institution has the authority to apply for and receive private funds, and the enterprise or institution may not assert a claim of sovereign immunity. Here are the two open opportunities and two restricted opportunities (for pre-qualified organizations) for different Biodiversity Hotspots-

East Melanesian Islands Biodiversity Hotspot

Deadline: 26 August 2014

Community groups, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and other civil society organizations for biodiversity conservation projects in the East Melanesian Islands Hotspot are invited to submit Letters of Inquiry (LoIs). The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CPEF) jointly call eligible entities to apply for the fund.

The East Melanesian Islands Hotspot holds exceptional cultural and linguistic diversity. The hotspot is one of the most geographically complex areas on the earth. The region covers  Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the islands region of Papua New Guinea.

Preference is given to projects that are the closest fit to the investment strategy and demonstrate a leading role for local civil society organizations. Applications from local and grassroots organizations are highly regarded. Individuals are encouraged to work with civil society organizations to develop applications, rather than to apply directly.

Strategic Direction & Investment Priorities

Strategic Direction: Empower local communities to protect and manage globally significant biodiversity at priority Key Biodiversity Areas under-served by current conservation efforts

Investment Priority

1. Support local communities to design and implement locally relevant conservation actions that respond to major threats at priority sites.

Strategic Direction: Integrate biodiversity conservation into local land-use and development planning

Investment Priority : Conduct participatory ownership and tenure mapping of resources within customary lands at priority sites

Strategic Direction : Safeguard priority globally threatened species by addressing major threats and information gaps

Investment Priority : Conduct research on the following five globally threatened species for which there is a need for greatly improved information on their status and distribution: Makira Moorhen; Beck’s Petrel; Guadalcanal Rat; Emperor Rat; and King Rat

Strategic Direction : Increase local, national and regional capacity to conserve biodiversity through catalyzing civil society partnerships

Investment Priority

1. Strengthen the capacity of local and national civil society organizations in financial management, project management and organizational governance.
2. Provide core support for the development of civil society organizations into national and regional conservation leaders.
3. Strengthen civil society capacity in conservation management, science and leadership through short-term training courses at domestic academic institutions.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must be from one of the following countries -  Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the islands region of Papua New Guinea.
• Applicants can be community groups, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, private companies and other civil society organizations.

For more information, please visit the link.