Call for NGO Co-Operative Environmental Projects

THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER

for Central and Eastern Europe

Call for CEE, NIS & Danish NGO Co-operative Environmental Projects

This project is financially supported by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Division for Eastern and Central Europe (DANCEE)

The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe hereby announces a Call for NGO Co-operative Environmental Project Proposals.

(Maximum available Per Project is 25,000 EUR and the total amount is 200,000 EUR only for the CEE & NIS NGOs. Danish NGOs are not beneficiaries of this granting program).

BACKGROUND

The Environment in CEE and NIS and the NGO Movement

The damage to the environment in Central and Eastern Europe presents risks to human health and the natural balance of life. Significant problems of air, water and soil pollution, traffic congestion, deforestation and more still remain to be addressed. At the same time, CEE countries are blessed with many relatively clean and pristine natural areas. Remediation of polluted zones and protection of rich biodiversity must take place simultaneously. Accession to the European Union increases the pressure on Central European governments to solve environmental problems while developing their economies.

At the same time the development of a civil society in the CEE as well as in the NIS Countries is underway. One of the key players in this development is the non-governmental organization (NGOs), established by and working for the public. Environmental NGOs form one of the biggest and most active civil sectors in the region. In many ways, the fledgling environmental movement helped to bring about the political changes in CEE and NIS. Working together on environmental activities people have been rebuilding a sense of community purpose, improving their local environment, and introducing a new generation to their responsibilities to the world around them.

Addressing environmental problems and measuring their impact is quite difficult. Governments often ignore or are unable to undertake local projects. Efficiency in tackling environmental problems at the level where they occur locally can be reached by supporting environmental NGOs. NGOs, as groups of local people, are aware of the issues and problems facing their own communities. Through their actions, they solve local problems, and begin to address national and region-wide problems, especially via cooperation. Further, NGOs serve to push and sometimes force governments to take action that people cannot take on an individual basis.

Environmental NGOs are usually in favor of establishing East-West cooperation, as long as they can find the additional necessary funds for it. Currently the biggest obstacles for establishing more and better East-West cooperation are the lack of financial resources and personal contacts among NGO activists who are working on similar environmental issues. To meet these needs of the NGOs in CEE and NIS countries, the REC developed the Cooperative Environmental Grants Program, which can be adapted for East – East, and East- West type of cooperation.

East West NGO cooperation in the CEE Region

East-West co-operation has been promoted by a number of organizations from just before the political changes in CEE and NIS. This has manifested itself in two main ways: the expansion of networks and the delivery of tailored programmes.

The programme “NGO cooperation beyond CEE borders” looks to link East and West and East and East. There is a gulf in co-operation between the NIS and CEE - mostly due to traditional donor funding divisions - this programme aims to address that. Additionally all the support is open to eligible organizations and therefore co-operation can occur where there is interest and not along existing members of a pan-European group. The opportunity is also open across the region.

This granting project primarily aims to enable the CEE and NIS environmental NGO movement. This means to support their activities through funding, assist them in developing positive co-operative ties with partner NGOs in the CEE, NIS and Danish NGOs.

To encourage NGOs to work together to solve environmental problems, the REC offers grants of up to 25,000 EUR to NGO teams. The topic of this Call for Tender is not predefined but cooperation among NGOs of the CEE and NIS countries with Danish NGOs is an important criteria. NGOs can bring to the REC any type of environmental issue but with just one limitation: it must be a problem, which faces more than one country. When two or more NGOs from two or more countries find a common problem, they are invited to meet together to prepare a proposal to address it.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

Only registered non-governmental organizations whose work focuses primarily on the environment, from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, FYR Macedonia, Moldavia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, FR Yugoslavia and Ukraine and are eligible to apply for the grant. NGOs must propose a one year long project that includes cooperation with an NGO partner in at least one other country. Especially cooperation among CEE, NIS and Danish NGOs is encouraged. Danish NGOs will be funded through another granting program run by the Danish Outdoor Council.

Applicants must: have experience in managing environmental projects, have at least one staff member who speaks English, own or have access to necessary office equipment like telephone, computer, fax, modem, etc., and be able to prove their interest in and ability to communicate with and cooperate with similar organizations from other countries. The NGOs working on a project funded by the proposed program will target their work towards the most appropriate areas, groups and partners: e.g. rural populations in and around borders when working on cross-border parks and rivers, local citizens in cities while campaigning for bike paths, schoolchildren and students while giving environmental education, the local or national government while lobbying for clean energy usage.

NGOs currently running an Earmarked or Cooperative project supported by the REC and Danish NGOs are NOT eligible for funding. Besides, if you apply as a project Leader in one concept proposal, you may only apply as a partner in ONE other concept proposal or you may apply as a partner only in two separate projects. In both cases, the NGO must appoint different project leaders or project managers for each project proposal.

WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT?

The scope of the project is to promote NGO co-operation within and beyond CEE and NIS borders. To provide solutions to cross-border or region-wide environmental problems by enabling CEE / NIS NGOs to run co-operative projects and involve the Danish NGO expertise.

Eventually NGOs from 22 CEE and NIS countries together with the interested Danish NGOs will be encouraged to work together on projects which address the following environmental region-wide problematic issues such as EU accession, air soil and water pollution, traffic congestion, deforestation, protection of biodiversity values of cross-border areas and conservation of migration species etc.

First, the grant will be given to NGOs working on co-operative projects. NGOs from at least two different countries will work together on an environmental issue that affects them both. Danish NGO involvement and cooperation in the project will be considered positively on awarding the grants. REC will facilitate cooperation by providing information about the potential NGO partners from different CEE or NIS countries as well as facilitate the NGOs to identify and cooperate with Danish NGOs through the Danish – East NGO Advising Centre established for this purpose at the REC. REC will assist the CEE/ NIS and Danish NGOs to come up with good project proposals that address these regional environmental issues and monitor the results.

Partner NGOs will work together to apply for the grant, implement the program, and prepare project reports. Only NGOs may receive REC funds, but NGOs are also encouraged to work closely with other institutions such as local and national governments, schools, farms, businesses, and universities.

Second, projects should address transboundary or regionwide environmental problems. The Call for Tender is very open to NGO’s ideas. Some transboundary problems may be geographical, for example: a shared river, watershed, or habitat. Other transboundary issues may involve rare or endangered species that are found in different countries. For example, NGOs might work together to save a bird species that migrates from one country into another. A third type of transboundary issue could be pollution. Global climate change — caused by changes in landscape, increase in traffic, and inefficient use of fossil fuels — is a pollution problem that threatens us all and requires strong international cooperation to solve. In general, transboundary projects work to solve physical, environmental problems or issues found in two or more countries.

Regionwide projects are slightly different from transboundary projects. Regionwide projects may deal with problems common to all CEE countries, for example, sustainable development. NGOs may also wish to co-operate to address problems of environmental education, recycling, resource use, privatisation, public participation in decision-making and implementation of environmental legislation, or the environmental implications of accession to the European Union. Educating the public about global climate change could also be a regionwide project.

ENVIRONMENTAL TOPICS

Projects may address any environmental topic which is a priority in the CEE and NIS Region !!! REC will not limit the range of topics in this Call for Tender. The only limit is that projects must be an co-operative effort, and the Danish NGO expertise is involved in the implementation of the project if possible. In past Calls for Tender, NGOs proposed projects on all different topics, including: energy, pollution, protection of species, environmental education, biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, sustainable rural development, sustainable development in general, watershed protection, environmental policy, environmental computer networks, and many more. Any topic will be considered, as long as all the partners agree upon a project.

The important point is that the environmental problem must exist in all countries involved. It should be a priority environmental topic for both countries, with impact on the region as a whole. Priority will be given to projects, which involve Danish NGOs. Projects that are local in scope are not eligible.

HOW TO APPLY FOR THE NGO CO-OPERATIVE PROJECT?

This support is available to CEE & NIS NGOs who are ready to cooperate among them and with Danish NGO partners. Therefore as a first step the CEE and NIS NGOs will have to fill out the cooperation request form which is attached to this document and return it back to the REC as soon as possible. The Danish – East NGO Partnership Service established at the REC will facilitate the identification of the partners.

The application is a two-part process. NGOs write a short Concept Paper briefly describing their projects and express their willingness to cooperate with Danish NGOs indicating the type of the assistance or expertise they need. Cooperation with among CEE, NIS and SEE NGOs is also encouraged in this phase. REC will evaluate the Concept Papers based on certain standards and criteria (described in Stage 2: Evaluation of Concept Papers) and facilitate the identification of Danish NGO partners. The top Concept Papers will be selected and made available to Danish NGOs for potential twining. The Danish – East NGO Partnership Service will facilitate the twinning process. Those selected NGOs will be asked to write a detailed Project Proposal together with the involvement of the Danish NGO partner wherever possible. Grants will be awarded to CEE/ NIS NGOs based on the detailed Project Proposals. The Danish NGOs will be funded through the Danish NGO Small Grants Facility run by the Danish Outdoor Council.

PRELIMINARY STAGE: CHOOSE YOUR PARTNERS

All NGOs are invited to fill out the Cooperation Request Form and send it to the address provided below. By submitting this Form as soon as possible your NGO is increasing its opportunity to find a Danish project partner, additional support, develop new networks to improve the transfer of skills, resources and knowledge, and possibly financial support.

Your NGO is advised to send the Co-operation Request Form as soon as possible after the Announcement of the Grants Call for Tenders by REC in order to increase the possibility of finding an appropriate project partner from Denmark.

Grants will be awarded only to organisations working together on projects. NGOs should begin by finding partners in other CEE/NIS countries eligible to this call who are working on similar topics. You may wish to find partner organisations using the following resources:

· Personal contacts, other NGOs, local universities, libraries and agencies.

· The REC NGO Directory. The REC Country Office will have a copy, and we can mail a copy to you.

· The REC Country Office should be able to help you.

With the other NGOs you should agree on a topic and a project idea. You need to have the framework of a project. At this stage, very exact details are not necessary. On this stage the NGO fills out the Cooperation Request Form expressing your willingness to cooperate with Danish NGOs and indicating the type of expertise you need to get from them

STAGE 1: NGO TWINNING (November 2000 – March 31, 2001)

Through this program REC will promote cross border and inter-sectoral co-operation with other stakeholders as being one of the most efficient ways on solving environmental problems. CEE and NIS NGOs will be encouraged to cooperate with the Danish NGOs who will show interest on working in the Region.

During this period the East – Danish NGO Partnership Service which is established to facilitate the Danish- CEE/ NIS/ SEE NGO cooperation will design and announce the Cooperation Request Form (CRF). These forms will be announced on the WWW and be attached to the announced granting programs at the regional and local level. After the selection of the most interesting CRFs together with the Cooperative Concept papers, REC will prepare the “DK – CEE/ NIS potential Cooperation areas” paper based on the CEE submitted forms and announce it on the web. Our NGO partner in Denmark “Danish Outdoor Council” will assist the REC to announce these paper of interest broadly among the Danish NGO community and we will try our best to find a Danish Partner for you.

The REC Network in the CEE countries as well as the new RECs in the NIS countries will serve as facilitators in this partnership process.