Description
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (“Service”) mission is to work with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The International Affairs Program delivers on this mission through its financial assistance programs by supporting projects that deliver measurable conservation results for priority species and their habitats around the world. Latin America is the single most biologically diverse region of the world and of critical importance to wildlife conservation efforts and global health. The United States and Latin America share a great number of species that largely depend on the region’s unique landscapes for their survival. The region’s ecosystems provide important environmental services and reduce the severity of climate change impacts. Protecting wildlife and their habitats in Latin America is critical for regional stability, security, and economic prosperity. The goal of the Service’s Latin America Regional program is to conserve priority species, habitats, and ecological processes across landscapes with high biodiversity value in the region. The Latin America Regional program is soliciting proposals to reduce threats to key wildlife and ecosystems and to strengthen local capacity to sustain conservation in the long-term. Proposals should describe specific conservation actions that will foster sustainable resource use, mitigate human-wildlife conflicts, and/or combat wildlife poaching and trafficking. The Service works with national governments, U.S. agencies, civil society organizations, and a range of other partners to ensure a results-based approach to wildlife conservation. The Latin America Regional program maintains a strong focus on working with local communities to support rural stability, greater security, and good health for both people and wildlife. For example, efforts that create local support for conserving wildlife by strengthening or creating incentives for communities to be stewards of their biodiversity (e.g., conservation incentive agreements, alternative sustainable livelihood activities, land use stewardship plans, etc.). The Service also supports efforts that decrease the costs of living with wildlife. This includes working with landowners to reduce human-wildlife conflicts that cause damage to human lives and livelihoods and can lead to poaching and/or wildlife trafficking. Project activities should take place in Latin America in eligible geographies. If work is to be conducted in the United States, the proposal must show a clear impact on biodiversity conservation in Latin America to be eligible. Project activities that emphasize data collection and status assessment should describe a direct link to management action and explain how lack of information has been a key limiting factor for management action in the past. Proposals that do not identify how actions will reduce threats or that do not demonstrate a strong link between data collection and management action will be rejected. Please note that local government endorsement is required for all proposals prior to award. Applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with relevant government authorities prior to preparing applications for Service funds. Due to other grant programs supported by the Service, the Latin America Regional program will not fund projects related to marine turtles, tortoises, and freshwater turtles (Marine Turtle Conservation Fund) or neotropical migratory birds (Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Fund). Thematic Eligibility For all countries, regions and landscapes under the Geographic Eligibility section below, proposed projects should include one or more of the following three themes, 1) Sustainable Resource Use, 2) Wildlife Trafficking, and 3) Human-Wildlife Conflict to conserve priority species and ecosystems by implementing activities that will measurably: (i) curtail the drivers of deforestation and habitat degradation, (ii) strengthen management of protected areas, community forests, and indigenous territories; (iii) foster habitat restoration, (iv) promote alternative livelihoods, (v) reduce impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on conservation goals, (vi) promote climate change adaptation and resilience, and (vii) mitigate threats to key wildlife. Geographic Eligibility* Mexico geographic eligibility and species of concern: Northern Mexico: Bison, California condor, Sonoran pronghorn, Black-footed ferret, and Black-tailed prairie dog Pacific Southwest and Greater Lacandon system: Jaguar Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve: Monarch butterfly Veracruz and Chiapas: Scarlet macaw Mayan Forest: tropical rainforest Central America geographic eligibility by country: Guatemala El Salvador Honduras South America geographic eligibility by region and country: Gran Chaco: Eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina Patagonia: Southern Argentina and Chile Andes-Amazon: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru *Priority will be given to projects from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador