About

The European Commission is seeking grant proposals to support Marine Protected Areas in the Transboundary Campo Landscape Between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon.

Objectives

• Sustainable and integrated use of marine resources is improved and stimulates inclusive economic growth

• The foundations of an effective regional system for the long-term maintenance of natural capital, biodiversity and services of marine and coastal ecosystems are established.

• The operationalization of the regional strategy for Marine Protected Areas in Central Africa is supported at the level of priority areas and the capacities of marine and coastal conservation professionals are strengthened.

Priorities

• Contribution to implementing the regional strategy aimed at strengthening cross-border collaborations and operationalizing the MPAs of Rio Campo in Equatorial Guinea and Manyange na Elombo Campo in Cameroon, while promoting the consideration of best practices in the conservation and restoration of the biodiversity of flagship species and habitats.

• Integration of elements from other components of the ODEBAC regional program (e.g. collaboration and sharing of experience with networks of actors, complementarity or relay of key initiatives, in the fields of research, policies, the blue economy, fisheries)

Funding Information

• The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 2,000,000. The contracting authority reserves the right not to allocate all the available funds.

• Any grant requested under this call for proposals must be between the following minimum and maximum amounts:

  • amount: EUR 1,900,000

  • amount: EUR 2,000,000

• The initial planned duration of an action cannot be less than 48 months nor exceed 60 months.

Eligible Activities

• Support to MPA conservation services for all components related to MPA management (research, biomonitoring, surveillance, economics, governance, development of development and management plans)

• Support for the involvement and capacity building of government parties, particularly in monitoring, research, spatial planning, political and institutional processes

• Management of marine and coastal areas (mangrove areas and coastal forests belonging or not to Special Reserves)

• Management of biodiversity and species diversity broadly, including fish, birds, turtles, sharks and cetaceans

• Support for economic aspects in a broad manner including the value chain linked to fishing, tourism, and any other relevant activity

• Taking into account the regional dimension of the program, in particular contributions, collaborations and sharing of experience with networks of actors at the regional level

• Collaboration with other components of the ODEBAC program: Technical Assistance, blue economy, regional AMP strategy, capacity building of stakeholders

• Gender awareness

Ineligible Costs

• Costs that do not comply with the conditions set out in the contract are not eligible. The following costs are not eligible:

  • debts and debt burden (interest);

  • provisions for possible future losses or liabilities;

  • costs declared by the beneficiary(ies) and financed by another action or work programme receiving a grant from the European Union (including the EDF);

  • purchases of land or buildings, unless these purchases are essential for the direct implementation of the action, in which case their ownership must be transferred in accordance with Article 7.5 of the general conditions of the standard grant contract, at the latest at the end of the action;

  • exchange losses;

  • contributions (except for work carried out by volunteers);

  • bonuses included in personnel costs;

  • interest charged by banks or other financial institutions;

  • credits to third parties

Eligibility

• There are three sets of eligibility criteria, which relate respectively to:

  • the actors:

    • the “lead applicant”, i.e. the entity submitting the application form,

    • where applicable, his or her co-applicants (unless otherwise provided, the lead applicant and his or her co-applicants are hereinafter jointly referred to as the “applicants”),

    • where applicable, the entity(ies) affiliated with the lead applicant and/or co-applicants;

  • actions:

    • actions likely to benefit from a subsidy;

  • costs or results/conditions:

    • when the grant takes the form of a reimbursement of costs (total or partial): the eligible costs, the types of costs that can be taken into account in calculating the amount of the grant.

    • where the grant takes the form of non-cost-related funding (total or partial): the eligibility conditions for the results/conditions

• Lead applicant

  • To be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:

  • be a legal person and

  • have no profit motive

  • belong to one of the following categories of organizations: non-governmental organization

  • be effectively established in a Member State of the European Union or in an eligible country as indicated in the basic act IVCDCI Article 28, paragraphs 1 and 2), c which includes in particular Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and the Member States of the OECD, and 

  • be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and the affiliated entity(ies), without acting as an intermediary, and

  • not be in any of the situations provided for in section 2.4 of the PRAG, and

  • have authorization to intervene in marine protected areas in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea (memorandum of understanding, MoU, letter of intent to collaborate) issued by the authorities in charge of managing the protected areas of the two countries.

  • Have a minimum turnover greater than the estimated annual value of the contract, i.e. EUR 500,000 minimum as indicated in section 2.6.11.2. Economic and financial capacity of the PRAG.

• Co-applicant(s)

  • Co-applicants participate in the development and implementation of the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.

  • Co-applicants must meet the same eligibility criteria as those that apply to the lead applicant.

  • Co-applicants must sign the mandate set out in Annex A.2, Section 5.

  • If the co-applicant(s) win(s) the grant contract, they will become the beneficiary(ies) of the action (with the coordinator).

Ineligibility Criteria

• The following entities cannot be considered affiliated with an applicant:

  • the awardees of a contract launched by an applicant, or its subcontractors, the entities to which a public service is delegated or granted on behalf of an applicant;

  • entities that receive financial support from the applicant;

  • those who regularly collaborate with an applicant on the basis of a memorandum of understanding or who share assets;

  • entities that have signed a consortium agreement under the grant contract

Post Date: July 10, 2025