Bonn, 19 November 2012 - Despite its success, the Small Grants Programme (SGP) had been inactive for several years due to a lack of funding. Thanks to the generous pledge of US$300,000 (€235,000) made by UNEP at the Tenth Conference of the Parties (November 2011, Bergen, Norway) of CMS, this programme has been given a breath of new life and CMS was able to call for applications this year once again.

“It is a great success that the Small Grant Programme has been revived”, declared Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Acting Executive Secretary of CMS. “These projects will help to demonstrate that CMS can have a positive conservation impact on the ground in addition to the action at policy level”.

The SGP enables fast and direct support to grassroots conservation projects directed at migratory species listed on the CMS Appendices. It has thus played a crucial role in strengthening the implementation of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) since its inception in 1994 by the Fourth Conference of the Parties. These projects, in turn, have acted as a catalyst for further action in over 30 countries by providing the building blocks for CMS instruments and conservation initiatives.

The 12 winning projects come from different continents and aim at conserving a large variety of endangered species. Ranging from the conservation of costal dolphins in Congo through the empowerment of local fishing communities to the monitoring of High Andean Flamingos in Peru, the selected projects take into account geographical and taxonomic balance. The selection panel also considered the proposals on the basis of a detailed assessment of their quality, budget, project team, feasibility and conservation impact.

The popularity of the programme was reflected in the submission of 75 strong and highly professional applications for 2012-2013. The project proposals included monitoring and research programmes as well as international stakeholder cooperation, capacity building and awareness campaigns. Clearly the methods proposed by the successful proposals vary significantly. As such, this year’s round of projects is expected to yield exciting results, which CMS will be monitoring closely. Eight of the successful applications have secured significant co-funding for their projects.

The next round of small grants applications will be opened by the end of 2013. Signatories are highly recommended to do their utmost to ensure their eligibility before the next deadline for submissions. This involves paying any arrears in contributions. Furthermore, National Focal Points are encouraged to facilitate the submission of suitable proposals. For those countries not yet Party to CMS, ratification of the Convention is a requirement.

The SGP is not included in the core budget of the Convention and is therefore totally dependent on voluntary contributions. The CMS Secretariat is seeking additional funds to supplement the amount available, as well as to continue the programme beyond 2014. Financial support for the program is strongly encouraged by the Secretariat to ensure the sustainability of this cost-effective mechanism targeting conservation action where it is most needed.

An overview of the successful applications can be found here.