The Ramsar Convention's Small Grants Fund

The Ramsar Small Grants Fund (SGF) was established in 1990 as a mechanism to assist developing countries and those with economies in transition in implementing the Convention and to support the conservation and wise use of wetland resources, with a strong human and social dimension. From 1991 to 2008 the Fund has provided a total of 7.5 million Swiss Francs to 227 projects from 108 countries, providing up to 40,000 Swiss francs (about US$32,000) per project.

Each year a rigorous evaluation procedure is carried out by the Ramsar Secretariat to assess the project proposals according to the strength of the project design, their relevance to the Convention’s objectives, and the capacity of the proponents to complete the project successfully.

What is a suitable project proposal?

Suitable project proposals are those which contribute to the implementation of the Convention's Strategic Plan 2009-2015 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 60% 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.

 Click here to read more about last year's SGF portfolio of project funding opportunities.

Do you need help to prepare a proposal?

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 30 April 2010. Please note that our advice is intended to help to improve project proposals for re-submission to the Small Grants Fund process, but it is not a guarantee that the proposals will be approved by the Standing Committee when it makes its decisions.

Readers can also find below 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.

Advice for developing project proposals:

• Identifying, Preparing, and Drafting a Project Proposal

• Cómo identificar, preparar y redactar una propuesta de proyecto

• Identifier, préparer et rédiger une proposition de projet

The deadline for applications for the next round is 30 June 2010.The deadline for submissions of draft proposals for the SGF advisory service is 30 April 2010.

All of the required forms for applying to the Small Grants Fund are included in the Operational Guidelines.

Ramsar Small Grants Fund Allocations Reports

The Allocations Reports contain one-paragraph descriptions of each of the projects approved for each year's funding cycle.

News items on completed SGF projects

[Note: these are occasional SGF news items as they have come to hand, not a thorough survey of completed projects.]