Bonn, 30 November 2015 - The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat is pleased to announce that three projects from three AEWA Contracting Parties in Africa - Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco and Togo - have been selected for funding under the 2014 cycle of the AEWA Small Grants Fund (SGF). A total of USD 42,900 will be disbursed to support the implementation of these three projects. The evaluation of the 2014 cycle could only be concluded in 2015, due to administrative and logistics constraints.

The AEWA SGF is a funding mechanism currently operated in the framework of the AEWA African Initiative which promotes the implementation of the Agreement on the ground, in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. 

Following the call for proposals in July 2014, a total of 23 project proposals were submitted to the UNEP/AEWA Secretariat, 11 of which met all the criteria to be eligible for evaluation. Three out of the eligible proposals were assessed as feasible and the projects considered as having the potential to significantly advance the implementation of AEWA in the countries concerned:

Côte d’Ivoire: The project entitled “Strengthening national capacity for the conservation of waterbirds and their habitats” aims to improve knowledge and capacity for the management of migratory waterbirds and their habitats in the country. To this end, the Ministry of Water and Forestry, which is the project implementing agency, will organize training workshops on waterbird monitoring and site management as well as awareness-raising meetings, and develop site management plans.

Morocco: Implemented by the BirdLife affiliate in Morocco GREPOM (Groupe de Recherche pour la Protection des Oiseaux au Maroc), the project “Support for the conservation of the White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala) in Morocco” will promote the implementation, at the national level, of the International Single Species Action Plan (ISSAP) for the species. The latter was developed in the framework of AEWA. Project activities include the development of a national species action plan as well as the establishment of a multi-stakeholder species working group to guide the implementation of the plan. In addition, a training workshop on waterbird identification and monitoring will be carried out, waterbird counts in potential and known key sites conducted, and awareness-raising material in Arabic and French developed and disseminated.

Togo: The project entitled “Capacity-building for the national migratory waterbird monitoring network, towards their improved conservation in Togo” will be implemented by the Department of Forestry of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Resources. With the aim to improve bird monitoring skills at the national level, a training workshop on waterbird survey and monitoring will be organized for members of the International Waterbird Census (IWC) network and representatives of local populations in the country.

Completed SGF projects

In the period 2014 – 2015, as many as six SGF projects - funded from pervious cycles of the programme – were successfully completed. They include projects in Gambia, Uganda, Senegal, Ethiopia, Ghana and Egypt.

Call to Donors

The AEWA SGF continues to rely heavily on voluntary financial contributions. The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat would like to thank all donors who have contributed to the success of the fund so far. We would like to encourage AEWA Contracting Parties, partners and any other interested organizations or individuals to engage with us and help us raise funds in order to sustain this important programme.

Launch of the 2015 project cycle

The 2015 cycle of the AEWA Small Grants Funds will be launched shortly. Please check the AEWA website at http://www.unep-aewa.org/projects/sgf for the latest news.