The Kiwa Initiative is calling for regional projects implementing Nature-based Solutions for climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation in the Pacific.
With grants from 1.5 to 5 million euros to successful applicants, the Kiwa Initiative seeks to support collaborative efforts in the region to address this dual crisis, through projects bringing together local and national authorities, public institutions, NGOs and regional organisations from at least two of the 19 Pacific Island Countries and Territories eligible to the Kiwa Initiative.
Applicants must submit a detailed concept note of their project to the Kiwa Secretariat by 4 April 2022.
As partners of the Kiwa Initiative, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the Pacific Community (SPC) co-organised two regional webinars on 15 and 17 December 2021 to present the Kiwa 2022 Call for regional projects and the technical assistance the two CROP Agencies can provide to project proponents.
Over one hundred participants attended the webinars, including representatives of local and national authorities, NGOs and regional organisations from 14 Pacific Island Countries and Territories eligible to the Kiwa Initiative.
The webinars were an opportunity to present the Initiative and detail the eligibility criteria for the call for regional projects, as well as to discuss the concept of Nature-based solutions with concrete examples, and how they can contribute to the resilience of Pacific communities and ecosystems.
“Without the Kiwa Technical Assistance support, we wouldn’t even have had the experience of working with a network of like-minded NGOs, government partners, regional and international partners to put something together as extensive as the document we submitted to the 2021 round,” said Ms Vaine Wichman, of the Cook Islands National Council of Women. She provided feedback from the technical assistance received in their application to the 2021 call.
“We know that capacity levels vary amongst NGOs in the region, but the main thing is the intent and the wish to try and progress through activities that will preserve our biodiversity and environment, and I think this is what we benefitted the most from the Kiwa Technical Assistance.”
Mr Espen Ronneberg, Climate Change Advisor at SPC, reflected on the particular echo Nature-based Solutions and ecosystem-based approaches had at the UNFCCC COP26 in November 2021 held in Glasgow.
“It was the first-time world leaders recognised the interlinked relationships between the global biodiversity and climate change crises, and the critical role nature plays in both adaptation and mitigation,” he said.
Mr Ronneberg highlighted the opportunities that number of pledges and commitments made in Glasgow could represent “to take Kiwa initiative projects into a larger phase after completion, (…) to scale up and replicate Kiwa project activities and results in the region.”
SPREP and SPC are making their complementary expertise available for a tailor-made assistance to their eligible members and civil society organisations in developing their concept note.
In the framework of their technical assistance to the Kiwa Initiative, SPREP and SPC will continue to support grantees in the development and implementation of their Kiwa regional projects.
Capacity-building activities will also be offered to the local and national authorities, public institutions, and civil society organisations of their eligible members to support them in designing and implementing rights-based, gender-sensitive and socially-inclusive small to large-scale projects on Nature-based Solutions for climate change adaptation.
Interested project proponents can contact the Kiwa Secretariat [email protected] , and the Kiwa coordinators at SPREP Ms Mathilde Kraft [email protected] and SPC Mr Ludovic Branlant [email protected] for support.
More information on the call, as well as the webinars presentation and the recordings of the sessions are available on the Kiwa website: https://kiwainitiative.org/en/submit-your-project/a-new-call-for-ideas-for-regional-project-is-open
As a reminder, the deadline for submitting a regional project is April 4, 2022.
About the Kiwa Initiative
The Kiwa Initiative – Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for Climate Resilience aims to strengthen the climate change resilience of Pacific Islands ecosystems, communities and economies through Nature-based Solutions (NbS), by protecting, sustainably managing and restoring biodiversity. It is based on an easier access to funding for climate change adaptation and NbS for local, national authorities, civil society and regional organisations of Pacific Island Countries and Territories including the three French overseas territories.
The Initiative is funded by the European Union, Agence Française de Développement, Global Affairs Canada, Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and (DFAT) and New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).
The Kiwa Initiative has established partnerships with the Pacific Community (SPC), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the regional office of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
For more information about the Kiwa Initiative and eligibility criteria for the regional projects call, please visit the Initiative website: https://kiwainitiative.org/en/
For more information about SPREP’s Technical Assistance to the Kiwa Initiative and to regional project leaders, please contact Ms Mathilde Kraft, Kiwa Project Development Coordinator, at [email protected]
Photo: Forestiere du sud, Marc Le Chélard