Latin America Regional Program | F22AS00273

Opportunity Information: Apply for F22AS00273

The Latin America Regional Program is a grant opportunity from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) International Affairs Program that funds on-the-ground conservation projects across high-biodiversity landscapes in Latin America. The program is built around the idea that conservation outcomes in the region matter not only for local ecosystems and communities, but also for the United States, since many species are shared across borders and depend on Latin American habitats for survival. FWS is looking for projects that produce measurable results for priority species, habitats, and ecological processes, while also strengthening the long-term ability of local people and institutions to sustain conservation gains.

At its core, the program solicits proposals that directly reduce threats to key wildlife and ecosystems and that translate activities into clear conservation action. Competitive proposals typically include practical, implementable interventions that foster sustainable resource use, address wildlife trafficking and poaching, and/or reduce human-wildlife conflict. A strong emphasis is placed on working with local communities in ways that improve rural stability, security, and health for both people and wildlife. Examples of the kinds of approaches the program highlights include conservation incentive agreements, alternative and sustainable livelihood activities, land-use stewardship plans, and efforts that reduce the day-to-day costs of living alongside wildlife (for instance, measures that prevent crop loss or livestock depredation, which can otherwise drive retaliation killing or enable poaching and trafficking).

Projects must fit within one or more of three thematic priorities: (1) Sustainable Resource Use, (2) Wildlife Trafficking, and (3) Human-Wildlife Conflict. Within those themes, FWS is especially interested in activities that can be shown to measurably: curb the drivers of deforestation and habitat degradation; strengthen management of protected areas, community forests, and indigenous territories; restore habitat; promote alternative livelihoods; reduce COVID-19-related setbacks to conservation; support climate change adaptation and resilience; and mitigate direct threats to priority wildlife. Proposals that focus heavily on data collection or status assessments are only considered competitive if they clearly explain how the information will be used for near-term management decisions and why missing data has previously prevented effective action. Applications that do not explain how the work will reduce threats, or that collect data without a strong management linkage, are subject to rejection.

Geographic eligibility is limited to specific countries and landscapes across Mexico, Central America, and South America, with priority given to projects in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. In Mexico, the program calls out focal geographies and species of special concern including: Northern Mexico (jaguar, ocelot, Mexican gray wolf, Mexican prairie dog, and migratory bat species), Central Mexico (monarch butterfly and migratory bat species), the Mayan Forest area (Yucatan peninsula and Greater Lacandon system; jaguar, macaws, tapir, peccary), and Western Mexico (jaguar and migratory bat species). In Central America, eligible landscapes include the Maya Forest (Guatemala and Belize), Rio Platano-Tawahka-Patuca-Bosawas (Honduras and Nicaragua), Rio Indio Maiz (Nicaragua), La Amistad (Costa Rica and Panama), and the Darien Gap (Panama), with El Salvador explicitly identified as an underserved region needing conservation action. In South America, eligible regions include the Gran Chaco (eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina), Patagonia (southern Argentina and Chile), and the Tropical Andes including Amazon regions (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru).

The program requires that project activities occur in Latin America within the eligible geographies. Work conducted in the United States is only allowable if the proposal clearly demonstrates a direct, tangible conservation benefit for biodiversity in Latin America. Another important requirement is that all proposals must have local government endorsement prior to an award, and applicants are strongly encouraged to consult the relevant government authorities early, before submitting an application, to ensure alignment and obtain the necessary support.

In terms of who can apply, eligibility includes a wide range of organizational applicants such as multinational secretariats, foreign governments, U.S. and foreign nonprofits and NGOs, community and indigenous organizations, and U.S. and foreign colleges and universities (public or private). Individuals are not eligible to apply under this funding notice. The program also excludes certain costs and uses: it does not fund tuition for individuals, and it does not fund field expenses for projects carried out in support of masters, doctoral, or post-doctoral research. Additionally, because FWS administers other targeted grant programs, this regional program will not fund projects focused on marine turtles or tortoises and freshwater turtles (covered under the Marine Turtle Conservation Fund) or neotropical migratory birds (covered under the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Fund).

Administratively, this opportunity is a discretionary grant (FWS; CFDA 15.640) with an award ceiling of $200,000. The funding opportunity number is F22AS00273, and the original closing date listed for the notice was 2022-05-02.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Latin America Regional Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.640.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-03-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-05-02. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for F22AS00273

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