FCRA PROJECT
FCRA PROJECT: IUCN ACCEPTING PRE-PROPOSALS FOR SMALL GRANTS FOR THE PURCHASE OF NATURE.
Deadline: 1 May 2014
IUCN
(National Committee of the Netherlands) provides Small Grants for the Purchase
of Nature (SPN) to local NGOs Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Pacific to
work towards protection of threatened nature, create safe reserves and connect
wildlife habitats for endangered species.
The
idea behind this grant opportunity is that if capable NGOs start purchasing
land areas with the financial support from SPN to prevent rapid destruction of
forests and nature, it will lead to better conservation. Although governments
are making efforts to create protected lands and forests, the time taken by
them to make such policy decisions is very long.
The
SPN programme works only with carefully selected local conservation NGOs, with
a proven capacity in management of natural resources. These NGOs will
eventually own and manage the purchased areas. The SPN programme DOES NOT own
any lands, it only provides the funds for the purchase. Buying land and placing
the management, and/or ownership, in the hands of an NGO can be a delicate and
sometimes complicated matter. For people living around the purchased area,
access rights can change, as well as the right to use the resources available
in the area. Therefore besides having a proven capacity in natural resource
management, NGOs must also have the capacity to cooperate with local
stakeholders, and know how to manage the area in a participatory manner.
The
funds are eligible for local conservation NGOs working in Latin America, Asia,
Africa and the Pacific. Although the geographical range of SPN is very broad,
the bulk of the projects funded are located in Latin America. Legislation in
most countries of this continent makes it relatively easy (compared to many
countries in Africa and tropical Asia) for NGOs to purchase and manage land,
and arrange for the title deeds to be registered in their name.
High
funding priority will be given to;
Ø Land purchase in or
adjacent to areas with a high biodiversity value, like AZE – sites or IBAs;
Ø Areas with ecosystems
and/or species listed Critically Endangered or Endangered on the IUCN Red List;
Ø Land purchase
involving ecosystems under-represented in the public protected areas system
(for example dry forests in Mexico, Ecuador);
Ø Areas with a
strategic importance for the protection of the hinterland (buffer zones) or
connect important areas (corridors).