Bonn, 15 March 2012 - The CMS Secretariat is delighted to announce a new call for proposals as part of the Small Grants Programme (SGP) of the Convention. The Programme has played a crucial role in conserving animals on the move since its inception in 1994 by the fourth Conference of the Parties. Projects in more than 30 countries have been supported to date with a total volume exceeding € 1.2 million.

The overall goal of the programme is to strengthen the implementation of the Convention on Migratory Species and to act as a catalyst for further action beyond the project period. In the 2012-2014 triennium the SGP is foreseen to disburse at least € 75,000 annually thanks to a generous contribution by UNEP made at the Tenth Conference of the Parties (November 2011, Bergen, Norway). CMS Parties and other donors are strongly encouraged to provide financial resources to further strengthen the support for grass-roots funds where they are most needed.

A dedicated webpage has been created for the SGP, where the SGP guidelines, application templates and other relevant information is available (click here for the page in English – version française – versión español).