The mandate of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) is to “stimulate, promote and support conservation actions for halting biodiversity decline, preventing species’ extinctions, and restoring and conserving intact habitats and ecosystems, both on the ground and in the water”. In partnership with the IUCN SSC, the goal of this request for funding is to halt further biodiversity decline by implementing species conservation plans. We will support on the ground priorities of IUCN SSC Species Conservation Plans (e.g. Action Plans, Conservation Strategies, Population and Habitat Viability Assessments) as well as conservation actions that are endorsed by the relevant IUCN SSC Species Specialist Group. Applications must explicitly address priorities defined in published action plans, which you can find here and here. If no plan for a particular species has been published, the proposal must include a letter of endorsement by the relevant IUCN SSC Species Specialist Group, indicating that the proposal indeed addresses a priority conservation action. Funds are not restricted by taxon or region; proposals must include principal investigators or participants resident in the country where the fieldwork will be conducted and show indication of legal permission to conduct the work if funds are granted.
DETAILS
Proposals that focus on the following themes are encouraged:
- Specific and defensible priority actions to avert a species decline;
- Projects that include the active involvement of early career conservationists;
- Projects that support conservation leaders from the countries where the species occur
Typical proposal requests should be less than $30,000; however, applicants may request up to $50,000. Successful applicants may use awarded funds over one or two years. Up to 20 percent of the total can be used as a stipend for the applicant and/or team members. (Please see the Preparing Your Proposal page regarding stipend eligibility and other budgetary guidance.) All applications should include a clear review of the state of knowledge about the topic and a plan for evaluating the outcomes of the proposed work. Preference will be given to proposals that include feasible plans to demonstrate change in key, quantifiable indicators of: for example, reduction in drivers of population decline (e.g. unsustainable hunting, fishing or logging); or increase in numbers, degree of protection, or connectivity of populations of the target species. For any questions, please write to speciesrecovery@ssc.iucn.org.
When applying for this RFP, please select Wildlife in the Lens dropdown menu on the Project Description tab of the application. The deadline for application is 10th July with decisions announced by November.
For more information, visit https://www.nationalgeographic.org/grants/grant-opportunities/species-recovery/
