Opportunity Information: Apply for F23AS00467
Funding opportunity F23AS00467 is a discretionary grant competition run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (International Affairs, Division of International Conservation) through the Great Ape Conservation Fund - Africa (CFDA 15.629). It is aimed at supporting on-the-ground conservation projects that strengthen the long-term survival of four highly threatened African great ape taxa: Cross River gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli), Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti), Grauer's gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri), and eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). The work is focused on key landscapes in two priority regions: the Nigeria-Cameroon transboundary area and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Applications were due October 4, 2023.
The program is organized around two distinct focus areas, and applicants must align their proposal with one of them. The first focus area targets the transboundary Nigeria-Cameroon landscape, with the goal of promoting the long-term conservation of Cross River gorillas and Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees. Under this track, the agency anticipates making one award, with a project budget of up to USD 1.5 million spread over a three-year period. The second focus area targets eastern DRC, emphasizing securing and maintaining habitat to support Grauer's gorillas and eastern chimpanzees. For this track, the agency anticipates two awards, each up to USD 1.5 million over three years. Across both focus areas, the total funding available is USD 4.5 million, reflecting a landscape-scale approach rather than small, isolated interventions.
Projects funded under this opportunity are expected to contribute to three broad conservation objectives, with applicants proposing activities and measurable outcomes that fit the local context. The first objective is reducing threats to wildlife and habitat. Examples of desired results include bringing more ape habitat under some form of legal management status, improving connectivity between existing ape strongholds (so populations are less isolated), and reducing illegal and destructive extractive practices occurring inside ape habitat. The threat-reduction emphasis also explicitly includes lowering the killing or capture of apes for bushmeat and the live animal trade, as well as reducing infectious disease risks to ape populations, which can be significant where humans, livestock, and wildlife interact.
The second objective is generating scientific information that directly improves conservation decision-making. The notice highlights the value of applied research and monitoring that clarifies where apes are found, how many there are, and how their distribution or abundance is changing. It also encourages evaluation of which conservation actions are actually working in the field, rather than assuming effectiveness. Disease-related research is also called out as a relevant and important area, particularly where it can inform practical interventions to reduce transmission or outbreaks affecting great apes.
The third objective is strengthening conservation capacity at both individual and organizational levels, with an emphasis on durable, locally grounded capability rather than short-term project outputs. Desired results in this area include improved capacity to manage community lands within ape habitat, and deliberate attention to how project activities affect local communities, both positively and negatively, with those impacts reflected in project design and implementation. The notice also stresses the importance of building a robust monitoring and evaluation system and improving landscape-wide coordination and communication, which is especially relevant in transboundary settings or large, multi-stakeholder landscapes where fragmented efforts can undermine conservation outcomes.
Eligible applicants are broad and include multi-national secretariats, U.S. and foreign nonprofit organizations and NGOs, community and Indigenous organizations, and U.S. and foreign colleges and universities (public or private). Overall, the opportunity is structured to fund a small number of relatively substantial, three-year projects that combine threat reduction, applied science, and capacity building to produce long-term conservation gains for some of Africa's most imperiled great ape populations in two globally important regions.Apply for F23AS00467
- The Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F23AS00467-Promoting the long-term conservation of gorillas and chimpanzees in key landscapes in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Nigeria-Cameroon transboundary region." and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.629.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2023-08-07.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-10-04. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,500,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: Others.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is funding opportunity F23AS00467?
F23AS00467 is a discretionary grant competition administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (International Affairs, Division of International Conservation) through the Great Ape Conservation Fund - Africa (CFDA 15.629). It supports on-the-ground conservation projects designed to strengthen the long-term survival of certain highly threatened African great apes.
Which great ape taxa are targeted by this grant?
The opportunity targets four African great ape taxa:
- Cross River gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli)
- Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti)
- Grauer's gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri)
- Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)
Where is the work expected to take place?
Projects are focused on key landscapes in two priority regions:
- The Nigeria-Cameroon transboundary area
- Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Are there separate focus areas, and do applicants need to choose one?
Yes. The program is organized around two distinct focus areas, and proposals must align with one of them (not both).
What is Focus Area 1 and what does it aim to conserve?
Focus Area 1 targets the transboundary Nigeria-Cameroon landscape. Its goal is to promote the long-term conservation of Cross River gorillas and Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees.
What is Focus Area 2 and what does it aim to conserve?
Focus Area 2 targets eastern DRC. It emphasizes securing and maintaining habitat to support Grauer's gorillas and eastern chimpanzees.
How many awards are expected under each focus area?
The agency anticipates:
- Focus Area 1 (Nigeria-Cameroon): one award
- Focus Area 2 (eastern DRC): two awards
How much funding is available in total?
Total funding available across both focus areas is USD 4.5 million.
What is the maximum project budget per award?
For each award, the anticipated project budget is up to USD 1.5 million.
What is the expected project period?
The expected project period is three years.
What scale of projects is this opportunity designed to support?
The opportunity is structured to fund a small number of relatively substantial, landscape-scale projects rather than small, isolated interventions.
What are the main conservation objectives applicants are expected to address?
Funded projects are expected to contribute to three broad objectives:
- Reducing threats to wildlife and habitat
- Generating scientific information that improves conservation decision-making
- Strengthening conservation capacity at individual and organizational levels
What kinds of outcomes fit under the threat-reduction objective?
Examples of desired threat-reduction results include:
- Bringing more ape habitat under some form of legal management status
- Improving connectivity between existing ape strongholds so populations are less isolated
- Reducing illegal and destructive extractive practices inside ape habitat
- Lowering killing or capture of apes for bushmeat and the live animal trade
- Reducing infectious disease risks to ape populations, particularly where humans, livestock, and wildlife interact
What types of scientific activities does the notice encourage?
The opportunity highlights applied research and monitoring that can directly improve decisions in the field, including work that clarifies:
- Where apes are found
- How many apes there are
- How distribution or abundance is changing over time
- Which conservation actions are effective based on evaluation in real conditions
Is disease-related work considered relevant under this grant?
Yes. The notice explicitly calls out disease-related research as relevant, especially where it can inform practical interventions to reduce transmission or outbreaks affecting great apes.
What does "strengthening conservation capacity" mean in the context of this opportunity?
Capacity strengthening is described as building durable, locally grounded capability rather than focusing only on short-term outputs. Desired results include improved capacity to manage community lands within ape habitat, along with strengthened organizational and individual skills that support long-term conservation.
How should projects address local community impacts?
The notice emphasizes deliberate attention to how project activities affect local communities, both positively and negatively, and expects those impacts to be reflected in project design and implementation.
Are monitoring, evaluation, and coordination important components?
Yes. The notice stresses the importance of building a robust monitoring and evaluation system and improving landscape-wide coordination and communication, particularly in large or transboundary settings where fragmented efforts can undermine conservation outcomes.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants include:
- Multi-national secretariats
- U.S. and foreign nonprofit organizations and NGOs
- Community and Indigenous organizations
- U.S. and foreign colleges and universities (public or private)
Which U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office runs this competition?
The competition is run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, International Affairs, Division of International Conservation.
What is the CFDA number associated with this program?
The program is listed under CFDA 15.629 (Great Ape Conservation Fund - Africa).
What was the application deadline?
Applications were due October 4, 2023.
What kind of project approach seems to be preferred?
Based on the notice, a strong fit would be a landscape-scale project in one of the two priority regions that combines threat reduction, applied science/monitoring, and capacity building, with measurable outcomes grounded in local context.
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