The Ramsar
Small Grants Fund was established by Ramsar COP4 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
- since that time, it has provided funding and co-funding, up to 40,000 Swiss
francs (about US$ 32,000) per project, for something like 165 projects totaling
about 6 million francs. Funds are made available by voluntary contributions
by Contracting Parties, notably Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany,
Iran, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom, the
United States, and especially Sweden, as well as by WWF and other nongovernmental
sources.
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 2003 cycle have recently been selected by the Standing Committee, and letters and contracts are presently going out from the Secretariat. The call for proposals is now being made for the 2004 cycle, with a deadline of 30 June 2004 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 include complete information and the required forms, are 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 15 April 2004.
Readers can also find links to the Operational
Guidelines, as well as 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, on the Ramsar Web site at: ramsar.org/key_sgf_index.htm.