Regional small-grant programmes for conservation and civil society empowerment in the Mediterranean

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Small-grants programmes are significant players in conservation in the Mediterranean. Is this good or bad? Should all funding be large, or is there value in small-scale funding? Partnerships that support small grants seem to be growing – why is this, who are they, and what approaches they take? What role do they have in the future of conservation?

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A significant part of conservation funding in Mediterranean is contributed by small-grants programmes. Their raison-d’être is directly associated with the role of civil society organizations and communities which practise hands-on conservation with limited financial inputs but often with high effectiveness and efficiency. Social inclusiveness, gender equality, bottom-up approaches, livelihood security, are salient features of conservation models supported by small grants programmes. MAVA’s partnerships with CEPF, the GEF Small Grants Programme and the PPI- OSCAN are good examples of such initiatives, but many others exist in the region – such as, Conservation Collective’s funding for grass-roots conservation actions, and the BeMed micro-initiatives. This session will showcase relevant examples of small grants programmes, will share lessons from them, and will explore their potential role in upscaling conservation impact through greater engagement of civil society and supportive funders