Forest Conservation Fund Grantee Application Form
Project Title:
FOREST PROFILE
Narrative related to the forest that you are proposing. Please include relevant information such as:
forest or project name, hectarage (minimum 500 contiguous hectares), the distance from the nearest city and how to get there, forest cover, type of soil (peat or mineral), ownership/tenure status, how communities / companies utilize the forest, and (if any) the name of the companies that are located near and/or overlap with the forest.
Figure 1: Location of Forest
Include a map that shows the location of forest that you are proposing in the wider landscape that shows the nearest towns and any nearby protected areas.
ABOUT YOUR ORGANISATON AND THE TENURE STATUS OF THE FOREST AREA Name of organization
Preferred language (if not English) What kind governance body is your organization (indigenous
community, local community, company, individual, NGO, research institution, university, religious entity etc.)? And how are you legally registered in the country of the project?
If a community organisation, total members from the community Mailing address
Website (if any)
Who owns the conservation area?
If you don't own the land, explain how you have management rights, and the period of time for which you have management rights (minimum of the next five years).
Legal classification of the area you protect (exact name of type of permit), and what activities are allowed on the land under that permit/classification/zoning.
How long does the conservation tenure last? (i.e. is this a
permanent protected area, temporary lease, or temporary conservation permit? If privately held land, please describe the nature of the conservation zoning or status.) FCF requires that the area has tenure/zoning status that allows for at least 20 years of conservation.
Have the local community/
communities agreed to support the conservation project? If so, please describe how you have consulted communities on the mapping and planning of the
conservation area. If not, how will you engage them to generate support?
Please describe any existing or potential land conflicts with indigenous peoples or local communities, and how you intend to resolve them.
If you are not a community-based organization, please conduct the Social Background Study and the Land Tenure and Use Study as described in the first HCS Approach Social Requirement (pages 29 and 30 here), and attach the results in an Appendix.
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Name Role Expertise and
Experience
Required training (if any – please include in
activities and budget) E.g. Coordinator E.g. two years leadership
experience as elected head of the village E.g. Lead ranger E.g. thorough knowledge
of the forest area
E.g. training in use of the SMART monitoring tool E.g. Treasurer E.g. accountancy course
ORGANIZATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND IMPACT MONITORING
Please describe your organisational experience, i.e. any other conservation activities that your organisation currently undertakes or has undertaken in the past, in the project area or elsewhere (e.g. community outreach, education, alternative sustainable businesses, restoration etc.) Include information related to your past experience in managing a budget, and the amounts.
…………
Are your rangers or other staff armed with weapons? Normally we cannot approve projects that use armed guards. If you do, please explain in full: why you feel this is necessary, the training and safeguards you have to ensure that human rights are
respected and what legal endorsement or recognition you have form authorities to able to use force or weapons in respect to your conservation activities.
……….
Please describe your current sources of funding for the conservation project (for instance donations, carbon credit sales).
…………
Do you agree to use the SMART tool to monitor biodiversity? If not, please describe the biodiversity and threat monitoring tools you will use.
………
Please explain how you will measure the social impact of the conservation project.
……….
CONSERVATION VALUES, THREATS AND OBJECTIVES
Please describe the cultural context and values of the forest (key values important to your community that you wish to protect or restore):
……..
Please describe any other conservation activities that have occurred / are occurring in the project area or connected landscape (e.g. building connectivity/wildlife corridors,
community outreach, education, alternative sustainable businesses, restoration etc.):
…………
Please provide a list of any wildlife species that are present within your forest that have a status as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered including their Red List status and Latin names.
E.g. Sunda pangolin (critically endangered)……
Please provide a list of any Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered plant species that are present within your forest including their Red List status and Latin names
………..
RISK ASSESSMENT
Risk to the project activities and objectives
Likelihood Impact on project Mitigation measure Please rank out
of 5 (1=low, 5=high)
Please rank out of 5 (1=low, 5=high)
Required:
Overlapping concessions or other tenure conflicts
e.g. we are connected with the concession management and are ensuring they are aware of the conservation area through mapping and written agreements etc…
e.g. we are aware of our rights as managers/owners of this land having sought legal advice and are prepared to escalate issues regarding overlapping concession to the relevant government and legal authorities…..
Required: Describe any fires that have occurred in the last five years within 50 km of the project site (including location, time, probable cause etc.)
e.g. training for fire-fighting, equipment purchase, collaboration with local plantation companies, community education
Required: Does the forest sit on a peatland that is being drained?
Other:
e.g. poaching, encroachment by farmers, loss of other funding sources e.g. there is a current issue with poaching in the area, we are aware of groups that hunt species illegally and sell to marketplaces etc…
e.g. bi-monthly forest patrols to seize any traps, awareness raising, regular visits to marketplaces and collaboration with police on any illegal wildlife trade etc…
CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES PROPOSED FOR FCF FUNDING (Please use the separate budget sheet to assign a quarterly budget with each of the activities)
Detailed activities (including team, person in charge, equipment/tools used etc.)
Regularity or date projected for activity
Objective of activity Goal or target Indicator of success
e.g. forest patrols using the SMART tool on an Android phone, data stored on a project computer. Currently the rangers record manually in books.
e.g. twice per month e.g. to track and prevent any poaching or encroachment and to monitor key species
e.g. Poaching stopped e.g. SMART tool shows reduction from x to zero poaching incidents per month.
e.g. restoration of 20 ha of degraded forests along a river using 500 seedlings of mixed native species from a nursery located in village [name]
e.g. Jan - June-2021 e.g. to restore the riparian area and improve water quality and regularity
e.g. 20 ha of degraded forest replanted with native tree species
e.g. water testing, photos of restoration
OTHER DOCUMENTS TO PROVIDE TO THE SECRETARIAT Link to file (if any) Budget
Shapefile of forest area (for FCF monitoring)
Letter/certificate showing
ownership. If your organization is not the land owner, please provide a copy of the management agreement between your organisation and the land owner proving you have the management rights for at least the next five years.
Proof of government recognition of conservation status/tenure.
Proof of legal registration of your organization. If you are not legally registered please provide the details of your fiscal sponsor.
Copy of latest audited financial statement (if any).
Any photographs to demonstrate that the area is natural forest (Non-native species may
constitute up to 15% of the basal area of the forest).
Social Background Study and Land Tenure Study (for applicants which are not community-based organizations)
What we ask of you once you are approved:
1. That one month after the end of each funding quarter, you provide a brief narrative of how you spent the funds in that quarter, and actual expenses against your quarterly budget. (We will provide templates).
2. That after four quarters of funding, you will provide an annual report of how you spent the FCF funding, including detailed budget information and activity narrative.
3. That your financial accounts are audited annually by a qualified third party. If you are a
community or non-profit organization, you will not need to separate out the Forest Conservation Fund support from your full accounts. However, if you are a for-profit company or private landholder, your financial auditor will need to review the Forest Conservation Fund annual expenditures separately.
4. That your conservation accounts and project may be audited (through a physical visit) from FCF staff or our designated representative.
5. That you agree to make up to 5 days per year available to visit other Forest Conservation Fund projects to engage in peer review/ knowledge-sharing. (FCF would cover travel, room, and board but you must be willing to devote up to 5 days of a key staff member's time.)
6. That you agree to share your biodiversity and social impact monitoring information with the FCF.
7. That the FCF can publish (with credit to your project) photos and stories that you provide for your project page on our website and in other FCF communications materials.
By submitting this application form, you agree to the above requirements if your project application is successful.
