The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and BirdLife International, as regional implementation team (RIT) for the hotspot, are inviting proposals in the form of letters of inquiry (LOIs) for large grants from non-governmental organizations, community groups, private enterprises, universities and other civil society organizations (CSOs).

CEPF is a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan and the World Bank. A fundamental goal is to ensure civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation.

The Mediterranean Basin Biodiversity Hotspot is the second largest hotspot in the world and the largest of the world’s five Mediterranean-climate regions. CEPF’s niche for investment in the Mediterranean was formulated through a participatory process that engaged civil society, donor and governmental stakeholders throughout the region.

Funding Information

US $20,000 to US $110,000.

Eligible Activities

• LOIs will only be accepted for the following strategic direction and country:
  • Strategic Direction 1: Support civil society to engage stakeholders in demonstrating integrated approaches for the preservation of biodiversity in coastal areas.
  • Country: Cabo Verde
• Under Strategic Direction 1, the following investment priorities are eligible under this call for proposals:
  • Investment Priority 1.1: Engage local stakeholders in conservation actions that address threats to key elements of biodiversity in priority KBAs in the coastal zone.
  • Investment Priority 1.3: Support civil society to engage with local or national governments to mainstream biodiversity conservation into integrated coastal zone management, land-use and development planning processes.
• More specifically, CEPF expects to support projects that aim at:
  • Supporting the creation of new protected area through innovative management initiatives.
  • Improving management of existing protected areas, including through initiating site co-management and/or through preparing/updating/implementing strategic documents such as management plans.
  • Developing or strengthening concrete conservation actions that aim at protecting threatened species.
  • Improving knowledge and monitoring.
  • Supporting best practices for artisanal fisheries (in particular, enhancing sustainable fishing practices, reducing by-catch and building synergies with marine protected areas).
  • Mobilizing local private sector in support of biodiversity-friendly practices, supporting small-scale business in ecotourism, local fisheries, valorisation of local products (fish, shells, food products), supporting local farmers or cooperatives, etc.

Eligibility Criteria

• Non-governmental organizations, community groups, universities and private enterprises may apply for funding. Individuals must work with civil society organizations to develop applications rather than apply directly.
• Organizations must have their own bank account and be authorized under relevant national laws to receive charitable contributions.
• Government-owned enterprises or institutions are eligible only if they can demonstrate that the enterprise or institution has:
  • a legal personality independent of any government agency or actor;
  • the authority to apply for and receive private funds; and
  • may not assert a claim of sovereign immunity.
• Grants cannot be used for:
  • the purchase of land, involuntary resettlement of people, or activities that negatively affect physical cultural resources, including those important to local communities.
  • activities adversely affecting Indigenous Peoples or where these communities have not provided their broad support to the project activities.
  • removal or alteration of any physical cultural property (includes sites having archaeological, paleontological, historical, religious or unique natural values).

For more information, visit CEPF Call for Letters of Inquiry.