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The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and its regional implementation team (RIT) for the hotspot the Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands, are accepting letters of inquiry (LOIs) from non-governmental organisations, community groups, Indigenous peoples’ organisations, women’s groups, private companies and other civil society organizations for projects that promote ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) in response to climate change and address the eligible activities and geographies of this call.

Eligible Technical Scopes 

• Applicants should ensure that the core content of their LOI refers to Strategic Direction 1 and one or both of its Investment Priorities as listed below. Failing to align with this strategic direction will result in the application being considered ineligible.

  • Strategic Direction 1: Empower communities and civil society to implement actions to improve the resilience of species, ecosystems, and human populations to climate change in priority KBAs 

    • This strategic direction will focus on providing the necessary funding, technical support, and capacity building for CSOs to implement EbA actions to improve the resilience of the most vulnerable species, ecosystems, and people to climate change. Expected outcomes include increased resilience and improved livelihoods for vulnerable populations, but also improved resilience of ecosystems and ecosystem services. 

  • Investment Priority 1.1: Implement EbA actions, including agroforestry, “climate smart agriculture”, eradication of IAS, restoration of degraded watersheds and coastal ecosystems (including wetlands, mangroves, reefs and seagrass beds), and promotion of sustainable management of coastal and terrestrial ecosystems 

    • Eligible projects will be those proposing to design and implement EbA, Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) and conservation actions that respond to climate impacts at priority KBAs. Activities will analyze the adverse impacts of climate change on human livelihoods and propose solutions that can support, conserve, or restore species and natural areas in ways that help regulate or diminish the negative impacts. Identified solutions will then need to be planned based on an understanding of their costs and strategies to cover those costs, both during the projects and beyond, to ensure the sustainability and continuity of the new EbA actions.

  • Investment Priority 1.2: Support the establishment and development of economic models that improve the resilience of local communities to climate change and support value chains for natural products, while strengthening ecosystem services that contribute to EbA 

    • Eligible projects will be those proposing to support the development of economic models that improve community resilience to climate change, including nature-based tourism and sustainable production of natural products. This could be done, in particular, through strengthening the factors of production, improving access to national and international markets and/or capacity building in business management and entrepreneurship.

Funding Information

• The minimum amount for large grants is US$50,000. Applications with a budget below US$50,000 will not be eligible for review. These applicants are recommended to check the call for small grants.

• Large grant projects can start as of 1 April 2025 and run up until 31 December 2029 (56 months). However, every project will need to be designed in such a way that intermediate results towards the CEPF targets will be achieved by 31 December 2026.

LOI Components 

• Priority will be given to projects that: 

  • Demonstrate that the proposed EbA activity addresses vulnerability based on a clear climate change risk.

  • Adopt EbA approaches that increase the resilience of ecosystems and ecosystem services in the priority KBAs. 

  • Reflect on the climate change mitigation potential of the project. 

  • Address priorities identified in national climate change policy or strategy documents of the relevant country of implementation.

  • Demonstrate positive gender impacts. 

  • Demonstrate effective and efficient use of funds. 

  • Demonstrate a clear strategy for achieving financial sustainability. 

  • Are the closest fit to the investment strategy set out in the ecosystem profile.

Eligible Countries

• Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles

Eligibility

• Non-governmental organisations, community groups and associations, universities and research institutes, private enterprises and other civil society organisations may apply for this call. 

• Individuals are not eligible. 

• Government-owned enterprises or institutions are not eligible unless it can be established that they: 

  • Have a legal personality independent of any government agency or actor. 

  • Have the authority to apply for and receive private funds. 

  • May not assert a claim of sovereign immunity

• Applicants based outside the eligible geographic areas are eligible as long as the project deliverables are focused on the conservation needs of this call within the eligible geographies. 

• Preference will be given to projects that show that they will coordinate with other organisations to prevent duplication of efforts, for instance through partnerships and alliances. As such, joint projects with multiple organisations are eligible, as long as one lead organisation submits the application and all project partners have clear roles defined in the application. 

• Applying organisations must have their own bank account and they must be legally entitled to receive grants.

• Rodrigues Island (of the Republic of Mauritius)

  • Applicants must be based in Rodrigues Island or have ongoing activities in the eligible KBAs.

Post Date: August 09, 2024