Key Documents of the Ramsar Convention

Diplomatic notification 2004/1: Ramsar Small Grants Fund

Notification 2004/1

Ramsar Small Grants Fund: Call for Project Proposals

The Bureau of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) presents its compliments and has the honour to refer to the following:

As announced previously, the Ramsar Bureau postponed issuing the call for project proposals for the Ramsar Small Grants Fund (SGF) 2004 cycle, pending decisions by the 30th meeting of the Convention's Standing Committee concerning revisions to the SGF Operational Guidelines 2003-2005.

The Standing Committee met on 14-16 January 2004 and has approved certain amendments to the Operational Guidelines 2003-2005.

The Bureau is now pleased to issue the call for proposals for the SGF 2004, which should be made in line with the revised Operational Guidelines accompanying this notification.

The new deadline for the submission of proposals, which must include the signed endorsement of the project by the Ramsar Administrative Authority of the country concerned, is 30 June 2004. As indicated in the Operational Guidelines, the Bureau's Advisory Service is available to assist those preparing a proposal for submission to the SGF. Those wishing to seek the advice of this service should send a draft of their project proposal to the Bureau at least two months before the deadline for submission of projects.

Those preparing a project proposal for submission to the SGF 2004 cycle should note that Section B "Format for Proposals" has been rearranged such that the "Project Summary and Endorsement Form" is now placed before the "Detailed Project Proposal" format. Both these sections must be completed and submitted to the Bureau for the proposal to be considered administratively complete.

Attention is also drawn to new paragraph 4.b) of the Operational Guidelines, which states that:

"The 30th meeting of the Convention's Standing Committee (January 2004) has authorised the Ramsar Bureau to cancel, at its discretion in consultation with the Standing Committee Chair and the Chair of its Subgroup on Finance, any project which has not complied satisfactorily with its reporting requirements within three years of the date of the signing of the project contract."

The Bureau requests all Ramsar Administrative Authorities to draw the revised SGF Operational Guidelines to the attention of all those in their countries considering submitting a project proposal for the SGF 2004 cycle.

The Bureau of the Convention on Wetlands respectfully requests that the content of the present Note be communicated to the competent national authorities and avails itself of this opportunity to renew the assurance of its highest consideration.

Gland, Switzerland, 29 January 2004

Encl: SGF Operational Guidelines 2003-2005

For further information about the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, please contact the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ramsar@ramsar.org).  Posted 3 March 2004, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.