The
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands The
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
The Ramsar Convention's Small Grants Fund
Ramsar Small Grants Fund for Wetland Conservation and Wise Use (SGF)
SGF portfolio of project funding opportunities, 2008. The Ramsar Small Grants Fund (SGF) was established in 1990 as a mechanism to assist developing countries and those with economies in transition in implementing the Convention and to enable the conservation and wise use of wetland resources. From 1991 to 2007 the Fund has provided a total of 7.3 million Swiss Francs to 217 projects from 104 countries, providing up to 40,000 Swiss francs (about US$32,000) per project. Over this same period, 470 feasible projects were not supported due to lack of funds. The Fund relies exclusively upon voluntary contributions from government agencies and national and international NGOs.
Each year a rigorous evaluation procedure is carried out by the Ramsar Secretariat to assess the project proposals according to the strength of the project design, their relevance to the Convention’s objectives, and the capacity of the proponents to complete the project successfully. The SGF Portfolio 2008 (PDF) describes 18 projects that were favorably evaluated, but for which financial support has not yet been found. We strongly encourage you to consider providing financial support for one or more of these projects. If you are able to help or would like additional information, please contact Ms Alexia Dufour (dufour@ramsar.org).
Suitable project proposals are those which contribute to the implementation of the Convention's Strategic Plan 2003-2008 for the conservation and wise use of wetlands; provide emergency assistance for Ramsar sites; or provide 'preparatory assistance' to allow non-Contracting Parties to progress toward accession. Eligibility is restricted to countries on the List of Aid Recipients established by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), effectively meaning developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Projects may be proposed and implemented by any agency, NGO, or individual, but proposals MUST be endorsed and monitored by the Administrative Authority (the Ramsar implementing agency) in the Party's government, and seldom is more than one proposal approved from the same Party in any year. Successful proposals receive 80% of the allocated funds upon signature of the contract and the remainder upon submission of an adequate final report, but countries from which adequate final project reports have not been received may be denied further consideration for funding until those outstanding project dossiers have been closed.
Projects for the 2008 cycle were selected by the Standing Committee in October 2008. The call for proposals is now being made for the 2009 cycle, with a deadline of 30 June 2009 for application and with a decision by the Standing Committee around the end of the year. The current edition of the "SGF Operational Guidelines", which includes complete information and the required forms, is now available on the Ramsar Web site in Word and PDF formats, as well as directly from the Secretariat.
The
Secretariat's regional teams also offer an advisory
service to help with the preparation of suitable proposals, for
which drafts should be submitted to the Senior Regional Advisors by
30 April 2009. Please note that our advice is intended to help
to improve project proposals for re-submission to the Small Grants Fund
process, but it is not a guarantee that the proposals will be approved
by the Standing Committee when it makes its decisions. |
Readers can also find below lists of the successful project proposals for each year since 1992 and news reports of successfully completed projects, which may provide useful tips as to the kinds of projects and approaches most often selected for assistance.
The deadline for applications for the next round is 30 June 2009.
The deadline for submissions of draft proposals for the SGF advisory service is 30 April 2009.
All of the required forms for applying to the Small Grants Fund are included in the Operational Guidelines.
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[Note: Project applicants from the Neotropical Region may also wish to consider
Ramsar's Wetlands for the Future Programme.]
Ramsar Small Grants Fund Allocations Reports
The Allocations Reports contain one-paragraph descriptions of each of the projects approved for each year's funding cycle.
[Note: these are occasional SGF news items as they have come to hand, not a thorough survey of completed projects.]
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For
further information about the Ramsar Convention or the Small Grants Fund, please
contact: the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196
Gland, Switzerland (tel. +41 22/999 0170, fax +41 22/999 0169, e-mail 
).
Posted 5 March 1998, updated 15 December 2008, Dwight Peck.
