The PNG Biodiversity and Climate Fund is an independent Conservation Trust Fund whose mission is to catalyze financial and technical resources to enable present and future generations of Papua New Guineans to restore, protect, and enhance the country’s biodiversity and build resilience in the face of climate change. It is a grant-making institution rather than a project implementer. Its role is to raise funds from diverse sources and channel these resources to conserve biodiversity and address climate change by making grants to communities, nongovernmental organizations, and other implementing organizations. You can read more on the About Us – Who We Are page.

CTFs are private, legally independent institutions that provide sustainable financing for biodiversity conservation (and in the case of the BCF, climate mitigation and adaptation as well). The core business of CTFs is to mobilize resources from diverse sources – including international donors, national governments and the private sector – and to direct them, primarily through grants, to a diverse range of environmental programs and projects through non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations (CBOs) and other implementing organizations. You can learn more about CTFs in the Practice Standards for Conservation Trust Funds published by the Conservation Finance Alliance.

BCF’s long term priorities (its “purposes”) were the result of two main analyses: in depth analysis of threats and opportunities in PNG, conducted between 2017 and 2019 in support of UNDP’s application to the Global Environment Facility (GEF)’s 2016 funding cycle, and in-depth interviews with PNG stakeholders conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society in 2020-2021.  BCF’s overall long term priorities are guided by the Fund’s Purposes, which aim to ensure the protection of the country’s biodiversity; build climate resilience by supporting efforts to reduce the effects of climate change and funding nature-based solutions; and support sustainable and regenerative economic development. 

You can learn more about the BCF’s five key programmatic areas for grant-making on the About Us – What We Do page.

At present, BCF is primarily funded by UNDP Papua New Guinea under the terms of the GEF-6 Grant “Sustainable Financing of Papua New Guinea’s Protected Area Network.” Additional funding will be sought from other international donors, development partners, foundations, ecosystem service payments or other fees, and private sector contributors.

Over the long term, BCF is focused on securing significant additional revenue streams to invest and manage in support of biodiversity and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The BCF Board will be responsible for reviewing applications and selecting successful grant applicants, on the basis of both general criteria and criteria specific to each Call for Proposals.  In some cases, the Board may organize a technical review committee to provide additional input into the grant review process. No individual, on the Board or on the staff, has authority to award a grant or make changes to a grant award.

The precise eligibility for grants will vary depending on the specific focus of the Call for Proposals, so it is important to carefully review the Calls to ensure your organization is eligible, before applying.

In general, organizations that are legally registered to operate in Papua New Guinea, and that have not-for-profit status within PNG, will be eligible for grants. This includes Community Based Organizations (CBOs) within PNG as well as other non-governmental organizations. National and provincial governments may be eligible in some cases. Again, please carefully read each Call for Proposal for specific eligibility requirements.

The current plan is to issue a Call for Proposals in the fourth quarter of 2022, for projects that will start in 2023. We anticipate that BCF will in general issue one or two calls in any given year.

Not at present; BCF funding is currently fully committed to its open Calls for Proposals.  As additional funding becomes available, BCF may determine that it will accept unsolicited proposals from institutions with demonstrated competence and experience, responding to immediate threats and opportunities.  Interested parties should visit the website and sign up for the BCF newsletter to get updates on grant procedures and new Calls for Proposals.

In general, BCF will not fund private sector companies or initiatives, nor activities designed to generate a profit for owners or shareholders.  BCF may on occasion fund initiatives whose aim is to generate surpluses for communities linked to areas of critical biodiversity, surpluses which are likely to be invested in activities that further protect biodiversity or foster climate change resilience.  In some cases BCF may provide grant funding to communities or for technical assistance to complement funding that supports for-profit or business-related activities.   Any such funding will need to be consistent with meeting the BCF’s mission. 

You may be eligible for some future Call for Proposals, whose conditions may be different than those which apply to the current Call. Please visit the website and sign up for the BCF newsletter to get updates on new Calls for Proposals.

If you believe BCF’s decision shows clear evidence of bias, you are welcome to use BCF’s grievance mechanism.  We suggest before doing so that you:

a) review the eligibility criteria; and,

b) remember that BCF will in general receive more applications than it can fund and will of necessity select some applicants and reject others which are otherwise eligible.

BCF is not generally able to assist in the preparation of applications in response to an open Call for Proposals, since this might lead to favoritism.  BCF staff will clarify uncertainties that arise, making these clarifications available to all applicants.  If your proposal is selected, BCF staff may be able to assist you in finalizing matters such as deliverables, time frames, or budget allocations, where it is concerned that a grantee has, for example, underestimated the level of effort required to deliver the promised results.

As part of its capacity building program, BCF will occasionally fund or directly deliver training for potential applicants on how to develop strong proposals, how to manage projects, how to assess progress and prepare reports, how to prepare budgets, how to track and report on project finances, and similar necessary competencies.  

The initial Call for Proposals is expected to cover a one-year period.  Subsequent calls could provide multi-year funding, with the maximum grant period potentially limited by donor stipulations arounds the use of funds. 

Although it is no guarantee of funding, some recommendations for improving the quality of your proposal include:

• Carefully reading the Call for Proposals to be clear on eligibility and desired outcomes;

• Writing a well organized application with clear outcomes/objectives and activities which are clearly structured to deliver these outcomes;

• Ensuring your proposed budget clearly supports the proposed activities;

• Ensuring the scope of your proposed project is specific and realistic;

• Demonstrating that your project has buy-in from relevant stakeholders (e.g. members of the community, local government, etc.).

Please send us a message and we’ll get back to you. Please be aware that we have a small team so we will get to you as quickly as we can.