Funds are available for conservation projects to safeguard biologically rich and threatened regions in Viet Nam and elsewhere in Indochina. Non-governmental organisations, community groups and other civil society organisations are invited to send letters of inquiry to the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund for funding opportunities.
Eight civil society organisations have been funded in Cambodia and Viet Nam so far and another 10 have asked to develop full proposals.
The fund is designed to safeguard Earth’s biodiversity hotspots. It is a joint initiative of l’Agence Francaise de Development, Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank.
"We are happy to be able to extend funding opportunities to Laos and Thailand to conserve biodiversity which is restricted to those countries or is already depleted elsewhere."
The fund began with a US$9.5 million, five-year investment plan in Indochina in June last year with BirdLife International acting as its regional implementation team.
Guided by an ecosystem profile developed with stakeholders, the fund’s investment strategy in the region focuses on the northern highlands limestone in Viet Nam and parts of southern China, and the Mekong River and major tributaries in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand biodiversity conservation corridors.
Projects approved for funding so far include community advocacy for sustainable development of riverine resources in both Cambodia and Viet Nam, vulture conservation, surveys for the poorly known Wrougton’s free-tailed bat and research on wetland birds.
It is important that applicants read the investment strategy and strategic directions for the Indochina region which are summarised in English, Khmer, Lao and soon in Thai and the version Vietnamese can be found at www.birdlifeindochina.org/cepf/eligibility-criteria and in English at cepf.net/Documents/final.indoburma_indochina.ep.pdf.
The fund will support biodiversity conservation through two types of grants: core grants of more than $20,000 and small grants of $20,000 or less. All applicants must submit a letter of inquiry.
Applications for small grants can be made in Khmer, Lao or Vietnamese.
The letters of inquiry form is available at birdlifeindochina.org/cepf/application-process or cepf.net/Documents/cepf.loi.doc.
Before submitting formal letters of inquiry, applicants are encouraged to discuss proposal ideas and eligibility with the BirdLife International regional implementation team cepf-rit@birdlife.org.vn.