FREE MONEY FOR ESWATINI WETLANDS

MBABANE – Eswatini is a few steps from grabbing an opportunity of getting up to E500 000 to take care of its wetlands.
The country is already preparing its proposal to be filed before the deadline, which is May 6, 2019.

The money is part of E1.9 million (CHF134 000) offered by a Wetlands Conservation Fund which was established in 1990 to assist developing countries in implementing the Convention and to enable the conservation and wise use of wetland resources.

Funds for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have extended a call for proposals from countries which may want to benefit from the Small Grants Fund which was established by the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention at its 4th meeting (COP4, 1990). 

apply

For now only stakeholders of that country can apply and not individuals.
“As its name indicates, the SGF is intended for small-scale projects and does not replace the need for most developing countries and countries in transition to have access to much more substantial levels of funding in order to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of their wetland resources.

The SGF offers a maximum of CHF35 000 per project and is intended to play a catalytic role,” the organisation states.

grant

Eswatini National Trust Commission (ENTC) Acting National Environmental Education Programme (NEEP) Coordinator Bhekithemba Thusi said this was the second time they were applying for the grant.

“We got it the first time and we used it to host a workshop among other projects,” he said.
He said this time around the money would be directed to activities such as establishing a National Wetlands Policy and the identification and mapping of wetlands in the country.

recognised

“At the moment we have only three wetlands that have been recognised and registered as Ramsar sites and these are the Hawane Dam and National Resort, the Sand River Dam and the Van Eck Dam,” he said.

When asked about the features of a wetland that qualified as a Ramsar site, Thusi said elements that counted included the size of the sites, how the water was used and how the people in the surrounding benefitted from it.

pursuant

The SGF is administered by the Ramsar Secretariat under the supervision of the Standing Committee, pursuant to the Terms of Reference for the Financial Administration of the Convention.

“Resolution XIII.2 instructed the Secretariat to phase out the Small Grants Fund Programme upon exhaustion of currently available resources. The total amount available for projects funded under this call for proposals is CHF 134,000 (E1.9m).”

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