The Ramsar Regional Center – East Asia (RRC-EA) is now accepting project proposals for funding support under the RRC-EA Wetland Fund 2021.

The Ramsar Regional Center – East Asia (RRC-EA) was established in 2009 to promote the implementation of the Ramsar Convention by providing opportunities for awareness raising, information sharing, networking and funding. Its regular Grant Program is the RRC-EA Wetland Fund. The RRC-EA Wetland Fund began in 2009 and has already supported 60 wetland conservation projects (as of October 2020). It supports four (4) projects per year with a budget of USD 10,000 per project (but not exceeding KRW 12,500,000) for measures that promote wetland conservation and wise use in support of the implementation of the 4th Ramsar Strategic Plan 2016-2024.

Thematic Areas

Wetland advocates from the region are invited to apply for small grants in line with the following thematic areas:

Thematic Area 1: Conservation and wise use of wetlands to support the implementation of the 4th Ramsar Strategic Plan 2016-2024

• support to national or sub-national processes on wetland conservation and wise use, including policy development
• implementation of activities that support the preparation or updating of Ramsar Information Sheets
• socio-economic and ecological studies to determine possible expansion of Ramsar Site boundaries
• wetland site/ecological assessments and research studies that will support the development and updating of wetland management plans, designation of new Ramsar Sites, and the establishment of trans boundary Ramsar Sites
• completion and dissemination of national wetland inventories
• mapping of wetlands for restoration measures
• support to processes for the development and implementation of wetland restoration plans as aligned with wetland management plans
• support to processes for the development or revision of national wetland CEPA action plans or programs
• measures to control invasive alien species
• joint development and implementation of activities with the private sector
• provision of capacity building support for Ramsar Site Managers and wetland managers
• establishment of national or local networks of Ramsar Sites and wetlands
• assessment of wetland ecosystem services/values and management effectiveness of Ramsar sites
• support to national processes to facilitate country accession to the Ramsar Convention

Thematic Area 2: Celebration of World Wetlands Day 2021

• any type of WWD celebration activity
• preference is given to activities that reach out to other wetland stakeholders who are not normally involved in affairs related to the Ramsar Convention

Funding Information

• 4 projects for Thematic Area 1: USD 10,000 (KRW 12,500,000)
• 3 projects for Thematic Area 2: USD 5,000 (KRW 6,250,000)

Project Duration

The duration of projects is limited to one (1) year

Target Countries

The Target Countries of this program are 17 Ramsar Contracting Parties in East, Southeast, and South Asia, namely: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

Eligible Costs

• Travel
• Communication (e.g. telephone, courier service)
• Meeting (e.g. hotel accommodation, snacks and meals, equipment rental, function room)
• Production of output materials (e.g. editing and printing, video production, website development)
• Personnel (must not exceed 20% of total budget)

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must:

• be experienced in any of the thematic areas
• have established linkages or networks with various wetland stakeholders (practitioners, researchers, policy makers, local communities) involved in any of the thematic areas
• have the capacity to encourage active stakeholder participation
• possess strong management and communication skills

For more information, visit Ramsar Regional Center.