HPA ASSISTANCE & GRANT – CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST : DEVELOP HIGHLY PROTECTED AREAS SUPPORTING BIODIVERSITY AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES - Together for the Med

hpa-support-small-grant-call-description-vf.pdf

This call for projects aims to support the creation or strengthening of Highly Pro tected Areas in the Mediterranean basin by providing technical assistance and small grants (up to 5,000€). The best candidates will receive both technical assistance and small grants, while the second group of successful can didates will be offered technical assis tance only. In addition to supporting the develop ment of Highly Protected Areas, this call follows two sub-objectives:

- PROMOTE COMMUNITY EN GAGEMENT AND INTEGRATION WITHIN THE PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT PLANS Our aim is to ensure that community needs are heard and met. A consensus on the implementation of the HPA will in crease its acceptability and effectiveness in yielding both ecological and socio economic benefits.

- ADDRESS THE UNBALANCED REPARTITION OF MPAs AND HPAs IN THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN Priority will be given on areas that are less advanced in the achievement of the 30x30 and 10x30 goals, where we aim to support the initial steps in setting up HPAs.

Our goal is to advance effective protection of marine biodiversity in the region, and, by supporting concrete, field-based actions, to foster local engagement and build the ca pacities to ensure long-term conservation outcomes.

This call was developed under the umbrella of Together for the Med, coordinated by BlueSeeds. A partnership born in 2017 to reduce fishing pressure and protect coastal ecosystems and communities by building bridges between field-action, science, and pol icy, and improving knowledge exchange and collaboration at the Mediterra nean level. Currently, the network contains over 50 partners across 15 Medi terranean countries.