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Fondation Ressources et Nature (FORENA) organised a contract signing ceremony for two beneficiaries of Small Grants from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) on Tuesday 8 August 2023.
Following a call for applications launched at the end of 2022, these are the first grants approved by CEPF for Mauritius as part of its 2022-2027 funding cycle dedicated to the MADIO biodiversity hotspot (Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands).
The CEPF Small Grants amount to USD 50,000 (approximately Rs 2.2 million) for each project. The two beneficiaries are Pat Nature’s Farm and Natir, both of which have conservation projects located in CEPF-identified Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs).
Manoj Vaghjee, President of FORENA, said:
“FORENA is proud to be associated with CEPF, as the Mauritian representative in the regional implementation consortium initiated by IUCN NL. We congratulate the first two grantees of the 5-year funding programme launched end of last year in this region.”
Pat Nature’s Farm project will be dedicated to the ‘Development of agroforestry plot models in Chazal, Chamouny and O’Connor, Camp Caval and Curepipe’. NGO Natir’s project will focus on the ‘Restoration of the Plaine Sophie Forest in Mauritius’, through the planting of 72,000 endemic plants.
The CEPF is a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Conservation International, the European Union (EU), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Government of Japan, and the World Bank.
In total, the Fund has allocated a funding budget of USD 16 million for the region for the 2022-2027 period, representing approximatively Rs 723 million. The projects will be supported through Small Grants of less than USD 50,000 or Large Grants of more than USD 50,000. The beneficiary islands are Mauritius (including Rodrigues), Madagascar, Comoros, and Seychelles.
The next call for Small Grants will be launched in mid-August. Civil society organisations (CSOs) from Mauritius and Rodrigues, including NGOs, the private sector, cooperatives, universities, and research institutions, are invited to apply if their projects are in line with the strategic directions and investment priorities specified in the calls.
