Convocatoria a Proyectos – 2025

General objective

To support traditional marine conservation and civil society organizations to develop and implement initiatives that address and provides solutions to sustainable resources use and management issues; while working to achieve “market readiness” for the capitalization of market-based investments.

Broad funding priorities include: 1) Improved management effectiveness of marine protected areas across the national seascape; 2) Reduced pressures on the marine resources; and 3) Effective marketing of Belize’s reef at national and international levels to build awareness and support for its protection and sustainable use.

Specific Objectives

• 1. To support the identification and development of a portfolio/pipeline of potentially “marketable” initiatives and support the evolution of these projects to investable opportunities.
  2. To support improved management effectiveness of MPAs across the national seascape and support for effective monitoring and conservation of fish replenishment sites and fish spawning aggregations sites (FSAs).
  3. To address the need for sustainable financing in marine resources management by working with key stakeholders to integrate financial planning into areas of conservation planning.

We are delighted to extend a special invitation to marine conservation NGOs in Belize to submit proposals, within the scope of the established objectives and funding priorities. A list of examples of potential projects follows:

1. Improved management effectiveness of MPAs across the national seascape (for example, investments that improve seascape management and collaboration; protection, monitoring and surveillance of FSAs; effective management practices of the network of coastal and marine protected areas; investments in capacity building for MPA personnel; investments in initiatives that result in strengthened, engaged and functional MPA stakeholder groups; projects that promotes enabling environment for improved transparency and strengthened surveillance and enforcement; and efforts that contribute towards ensuring MPAs meet critical operational, equipment and infrastructure costs).
2. Effective implementation of managed access (for example, support for the established package of fish replenishment zones, expansion and operationalization of replenishment zones; continued engagement of fishers towards support of managed access and functional managed access committees; projects that contribute towards multi-year monitoring programmes/research to inform management and adaptive management; and support for fishers in moving towards value-added fishing and product traceability).
3. Sustainable income diversification opportunities for fishers/fishing communities (for example, strategic investments in income diversification initiatives based on sound investment strategies and successful models; and investment in adding value / follow-on funding for expansion of successful income diversification investments).
4. Improved stewardship and support for enhanced and effective marine resources management, and effective marketing of Belize’s reef at local and national levels (for example, revised valuation of the ecosystem services provided by Belize’s reef, mangroves and seagrass; support for initiatives/actions that result in improved prioritization of marine resource management on the national agenda; enhanced protection of flagship and keystone species for ecosystems health; investments in effort to improve local and national awareness and stewardship of Belize’s reef and coastal ecosystems; support for improved engagement of tourism sector / private sector as active stewards of Belize’s reef and coastal ecosystems; support for professional international marketing campaigns promoting Belize’s reef; and support for engaging the next generation in good stewardship for Belize’s reef and coastal ecosystems/resource conservation).
5. Reduced watershed impact (for example, support for river to reef strategies that address watershed impact, solid waste and sewage management; and support for improved water quality monitoring at the site level and across the MPA system).
6. Improved financial sustainability of MPA co-management organizations (for example, investments in NGO financial sustainability mechanisms based on sound business plans; and investments in the provision of an enabling environment and portfolio of projects for piloting impact investment in Belize).
7. Increased climate change resilience (for example, investments in climate smart approach to reef and mangrove restoration and resilience; efforts towards risk reduction and ocean resilience; and investment in efforts for increased environmental sustainability and climate smarting of coastal/caye development).

The following are considered eligible applicants for the request for proposals:

• Not-for-profit organizations,
• Community-based organizations, including fisher’s groups,
• Education/academia, or scientific organizations

Potential grantee organizations must be:

• Legally recognized or registered in Belize;
• In compliance and good standing with any or all requirements for operation as a legal local entity;
• Guided by an operational Board of Directors;
• Have a sound financial management system and structure in place (annual audits etc.);
• Have a good history as a grantee (i.e. effective grant/project implementation); and
• Credible in the field of marine resources management.

The Belize Marine Fund (BMF) also seeks eligible organizations with project interests that meet the following criteria:

• Can demonstrate measurable results on progress of at least one of the stated RfP objectives;
• Coordinate their implementation across multiple stakeholders;
• Strengthen local management capacity of professionals and institutions;
• Have transferable or replicable outcomes for other communities/protected areas;
• Work to address (root causes of) some of Belize’s and the region’s most pressing environmental and marine resources management challenges;
• Can be replicated locally, nationally and across broad geographical locations;
• Incorporate plans (considerations) for long-term sustainability of the work;
• Are of a collaborative nature;
• Build on broader national/regional projects and initiatives for Mesoamerican Reef management and conservation;
• Have secured other sources of matching funds from entities not affiliated with the Belize Marine Fund;
• Respond to national, regional or global conservation plans/goals;
• Have activities that are closely aligned with the applicant organization’s mission and/or are otherwise sustainable beyond the project period; and
• Build on current work in the area or successful model projects in the region.

The maximum grant amount will be US$30,000, based on project needs and absorptive capacity of the implementing institution.

For this RfP, at least 25% of the total project budget must come from other sources, as a match to the requested funds. The maximum amount allowed for administrative costs cannot exceed 15% of the total amount requested. Administration expenses refer exclusively to the fixed operating costs of the organization.

The maximum project period is 24 months.

Proposals must be submitted through the on-line format on the MAR Fund webpage. For community organizations or groups that can demonstrate lack of Internet availability, proposals can be submitted by email to the Belize Marine Fund Project Officer, Angeline Valentine at avalentine@marfund.org. Attached you will find the proposal format and its annexes in Word/Excel.

Proposals and proposal ideas can be discussed with the BMF Project Officer and/or the MAR Fund Executive Director by email or phone if presented at least three weeks prior to the deadline (by September 27, 2019). The Project Officer can provide guidance in relation to the pertinence of the project idea, coherence and structure of the proposal and elements included in the document. It is important to emphasize, however, that the approval of proposals is the exclusive responsibility of the Belize Marine Fund Steering Committee.

Project proposals will be reviewed by the Belize Marine Fund’s Grants and Evaluation Committee, which will make recommendations to the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee is responsible for final determination of the proposals.

Applicants will be notified of the selection process results by the end of February 2020 through email.

For further questions on this request for proposals and the grant process, please contact:

Angeline Valentine
Project Officer
Belize Marine Fund
avalentine@marfund.org
Tel: (501) 615-9645

Download the proposal format and annexes

1. Proposal Format – 2019
2. Project Budget – 2019
3. Project Development Table – 2019

Proposals must be submitted (except in particular cases) through the MAR Fund on-line Small Grants Program system. As a first step to follow, each organization must register in the following link (https://sgp.marfund.org/forms/en/), completing the organization form. We recommend registering as soon as possible. Upon registration, you will receive a notification email with your on-line access credentials.