arrow icon International Coral Grant Program

2010 NOAA International Coral Grant Program

FULL FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT:

For all details on each priority category and application process, please refer to the full Federal Funding Opportunity announcement found at http://www.grants.gov. Search for Funding Opportunity Number NOAA-NOS-IPO-2010-2001840. Please be aware that the pre-application is NOT to be submitted through the Grants.gov web site.

DUE DATE FOR APPLICATIONS:

Pre-applications must be submitted by 5 p.m., U.S. Eastern Time, November 9, 2009, preferably by email to coral.grants@noaa.gov. Final applications, by invitation only, must be received by 5 p.m., U.S. Eastern Time, on February 17, 2010 through www.grants.gov.

SUMMARY OF PROGRAM PRIORITIES:

This Program solicits proposals under three funding categories:

1) Planning for Effective Marine Protected Area Management: The 2006-2012 Plan of Action for Marine Section of the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA-Marine) identifies the priority need to assist governmental and non-governmental organizations in the planning, development, and implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs), worldwide. In response, NOAA has launched a strategic partnership with the World Conservation Union (IUCN), WCPA-Marine, and several international conservation organizations to assist MPA managers in the management planning process. As one component of this assistance, the NOAA International Coral Grant Program is inviting project proposals aimed at creating or revising MPA management plans for coral reef ecosystems. Such projects can be aimed at creating or adapting MPA management plans for a single site, or across a national system of sites. For the purpose of this funding opportunity, a marine protected area (MPA) is defined as any area of the intertidal or subtidal terrain, together with its overlying water and associated flora, fauna, historical and cultural features, which has been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or the entire enclosed environment (IUCN).
“How is Your MPA Doing? A Guidebook of Natural and Social Indicators for Evaluating Marine Protected Area Management Effectiveness”. Click here to download the English, Spanish, Italian, and French versions in PDF format.

2) Encourage the Development of National Networks of Marine Protected Areas in the Wider Caribbean, Bermuda, Brazil, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific: Over the last decade increased recognition has been given to the contribution of national systems of marine protected areas (MPAs) to biodiversity conservation and the sustainable use of marine resources. However, most MPAs have been developed at national or sub-national levels through myriad agencies with diverse objectives, authorities, organization structures, management approaches, and capacities. While many MPAs do well to serve local needs or national programs, they do not constitute a comprehensive national MPA network planning approach nor are they integrated with other forms of coastal governance, i.e., coastal management and fisheries management. Nor do these individual sites and programs allow for ecosystem-scale priority setting planning to ensure ecological connectivity and the most efficient and effective management of important resources. For the purpose of this funding opportunity, an MPA Network is: A collection of individual marine protected areas operating cooperatively and synergistically, at various spatial scales, and with a range of protection levels, in order to fulfill ecological aims more effectively and comprehensively than individual sites could alone. The network will also display social and economic benefits, although the later may only become fully developed over long time frames.
Click here for the IUCN guidelines on Establishing Resilient Marine Protected Area Networks.

3) Promote Regional Socioeconomic Training and Monitoring in Coral Reef Management in the Wider Caribbean, Brazil, Bermuda, the Western Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the South Pacific, South Asia, and Southeast Asia: The National Action Plan highlights that the human dimension is often overlooked in developing coral reef management strategies and calls for measures to enhance understanding of stakeholder benefits and resolve important user conflicts.
Recognizing the importance of the human dimension, the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), in partnership with NOAA, World Commission on Protected Areas, and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), published The Socioeconomic Manual for Coral Reef Management, a guide to conducting socioeconomic assessments of reef user groups. As follow-up, the GCRMN and NOAA have worked with regional organizations to develop socioeconomic monitoring programs specific to Southeast Asia, the Wider Caribbean, the South Pacific, Western Indian Ocean, and Red Sea. Region-specific guidelines have been published for the South Asia, Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Western Indian Ocean and Pacific region (called SEM-Pasifika). For information about the SocMon regional initiatives, please refer to the following web site: www.reefbase.org/socmon.
For copy of the Socmon guidelines in several languages, please click here.

ELIGIBILITY:

Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education, U.S. and international non-profit organizations, and commercial organizations. U.S. federal agencies and individuals are not eligible. For specific country eligibility per category please refer to individual category descriptions in Section V of the Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO).  Eligible countries are defined in Section III.A. of the FFO. The proposed work must be conducted at a non-U.S. site.

TYPICAL AWARDS:

Up to approximately $1,000,000 may be available in FY 2010 to support grants under this program. Funding will be subject to the availability of Federal appropriations.  Each eligible applicant can apply for the following maximum amounts:

  1. Planning for Effective Marine Protected Area Management: Single sites: up to $50,000; Multiple sites: up to $80,000;
  2. MPA National Networks: $40,000-$50,000;
  3. Regional Socio-Economic Monitoring projects: $20,000 - $40,000. Funding will be subject to the availability of Federal appropriations.

COST SHARING OR MATCH REQUIREMENTS:

Coral conservation projects funded under this program require a 1:1 match. Matching funds must be from non-Federal sources and can include in-kind contributions and other non-cash support. Please refer to section III.B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement of the FFO for information on match waiver request requirements.

FOR FURTHER QUESTIONS WRITE TO: International.coral.grants@noaa.gov.

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