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 News
Contents
The Darwin Initiative was announced by the UK Government at the Rio Earth
Summit in 1992. The aim of the Initiative is to assist those countries
which are rich in biodiversity but poor in financial resources to implement
the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) through the funding of collaborative
projects which draw on UK biodiversity expertise.
An Advisory Committee (currently chaired by Professor David Ingram)
advises Ministers on the principles of the Initiative and on the project
areas it should target. The Committee also advises on the applications
for project funding received in an open annual competition. There have
been eleven rounds of competition since 1993.
A new phase of the Darwin Initiative was announced (see this News
Release) at the World Summit on
Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in September 2002. Phase II
aims to build on the strengths of the scheme by:
New Darwin Initiative Funding Schemes
As part of this new phase, the Darwin Initiative introduced three new
types of Darwin funding, which aim to enhance the legacy and impact of
the Darwin Initiative. These are:
- Darwin Scholarships
- Pre-project funding
- Post-project funding
Darwin Scholarships
Darwin Scholarships are targeted at promising members of recent or current
Darwin Initiative projects who are from countries rich in biodiversity
but poor in financial resources. Drawing on UK expertise in biodiversity,
the programme aims to give Scholars the opportunity to broaden their professional
knowledge and experience in biodiversity, typically through work experience
in UK organisations. Scholarships are provided for up to one year in length.
The first Scholarship awards were announced on 21 May 2003. The next
call for applications will be on 9 January 2004. Further information,
guidance and application forms will be available at http://www.darwin.gov.uk.
Pre-Project Funding
The Darwin Initiative is offering one-off funding for travel costs to
a host country to enable UK institutions to develop a Darwin project application
in collaboration with host country partners. The purpose is to ensure
that more UK organisations with biodiversity expertise have the chance
to apply for Darwin project funding, by enabling less well-resourced organisations
to develop project applications.
- The first awards for pre-project funding were announced on 15 July
2003. The next call for applications will be on 9 January 2004. Further
information, guidance and applications forms will be available at http://www.darwin.gov.uk
Post-Project Funding
The Darwin Initiative is offering post-project funding to a small number
of selected, successful Darwin Initiative projects, in order to maximise
the results of these projects and strengthen their long term impact and
legacy. Selected projects will receive funding to follow-up their work
for up to two years after the original project has been completed. Funding
will be considered where additional and lasting impacts are likely from
further embedding or consolidating the results of a successful and completed
Darwin project. It will not be provided for project slippage.
- Applications for post-project funding are strictly by invitation
only. Invitations are issued to projects in their penultimate or final
years on the basis of promising project work and reviews to date,
- It is expected that the first post-project awards will be announced
in late September 2003.
Darwin Projects
The latest funding round for Darwin projects (Round 12) opened on 18
August 2003. The application process will be carried out in two stages.
Only those applicants successful in Stage 1 will be asked to continue
to Stage 2. The closing date for Stage 1 applications is 15 October 2003.
Applicants successful at Stage 2 will be asked to submit full applications
for Stage 2 by 19 January 2004..
Darwin Scholarships and Pre-Project Funding
The application period for Darwin Scholarships and Pre-project funding
will be from 9 January to 12 March 2004. Further information is available
above.
Post-Project Funding
Applications for post-project funding are strictly by invitation only.
Further information is available above.
Over 80 UK institutions have been involved in setting up collaborative
projects. They range from big biodiversity institutions in the UK like
The Natural History Museum, the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and WWF UK to
academic institutions to small organisations or groups. Their partners
in developing countries may come from government departments, universities,
non-governmental organisations, local groups and may be scientists, policy
makers, forestry workers, lawyers, teachers, or ordinary local people
Now in its twelfth year the programme has already committed over £30
million to more than 300 biodiversity projects in nearly 100 countries.
The amount of funding available under Phase II will increase by £3m
over the next two years, to £7 million a year from 2005/6
A typical project lasts for up to three years and has Darwin funded costs
of about £35,000 to £70,000 a year. The projects are all collaborative
and involve partnerships between UK institutions and developing country
bodies. They in turn seek matching funding from a variety of bodies, businesses
and trusts.
The projects help the developing countries cover their commitments under
the Convention on Biological Diversity (also known as the Biodiversity
Convention). This Convention is wide ranging and there are many responsibilities
for those countries that have ratified it. These responsibilities include
drawing up and implementing national biodiversity strategies and plans
which cover all sectors of policy, setting in place training and research
as well as education and public awareness measures. It also covers other
issues such as action to encourage commercial interests to use sustainable
policies by creating incentive measures and using environmental impact
assessments. For further information visit the Convention Secretariat
website at www.biodiv.org/ or the
UK Clearing House Mechanism site set up under the Convention at www.chm.org.uk/
(see also www.defra.gov.uk/environment/internat/cbd).
The projects have been diverse. They have produced strategies and management
plans for specific areas and species with the help of localstakeholders.
Some have sought to deliver good practice in producing field guides, local
keys or database management, in research methods and fieldwork training
or in carrying out environmental impact assessments. Others have tackled
issues such as access to repatriation of data, and sharing of the benefits.
They have brought training and education to people at all levels and ages
from school children to village elders and government representatives.
Many have concentrated on work and training in the host country but some
have enabled students to come to the UK for formal courses and access
to expertise and facilities in some of the best biodiversity institutions.
Others have covered monitoring and evaluation of biodiversity, education
and training and raising public awareness as well as seeking good practice
on access and benefit sharing. For examples, see Darwin Initiative: grants
for 34 new conservation projects (News Release, 24 March 2003).
About half of the projects funded so far have focused on countries within
Africa and Asia that have considerable biodiversity and endemism and huge
problems of loss of habitats and species. South America is another region
that has attracted a large number of projects for similar reasons. The
large number of eligible countries and subjects, gives rise to a wide
distribution of projects throughout the world, including the oceans, UK
Overseas Territories and Central and Eastern Europe.
The Department has published five annual reports so far and these are
available free of charge by contacting darwin@defra.gsi.gov.uk.
The latest reports are available electronically via this web site as follows:
- Fifth Report - published 17 June
2002
- Fourth Report - published 31 July
2001
This News Release also confirming
the re-appointment of Professor David Ingram as Chair of the Darwin
Advisory Committee.
Further information is available from the Edinburgh Centre for Tropical
Forests who currently monitor and evaluate projects for the Initiative
and have set up a website at: www.darwin.gov.uk.
Texts of the annual Darwin lecture address are available as follows:
Defra is not responsible for the contents or reliability
of the linked web sites and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed
within them. Listing should not be taken as endorsement of any kind. We
cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time and we have
no control over the availability of the linked pages. |
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