Deadline: July 14, 2017
“PRO NATURA FUND” is a conservation grant program mangaed by Pro Natura Foundation Japan (PNFJ). This program is focused on the scientific research and enlightening activities concerning the conservation of biodiversity and the relationship between human and the environment. The overseas grant program supports investigation and research aiming at conservation of ecosystem, and education and enlightenment activities aiming at the improvement of conservation awareness, in areas other than Japan. The project needs to contribute to local nature conservation. PNFJ welcomes applications for the fiscal year 2017 (October 2017 – Seoptember 2018) that meets the requirements they have set out.
Grant
- The maximum limit of fund per project is 1,500,000 YEN. The total amount of remittance is likely to change depending on the current exchange rate.
Eligibility
For Projects
All projects to be granted must satisfy the following requirements:
- The research and/or activity should contribute to the conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources in local area;
- Outcome of the project should be published effectively in the countries concerned, and should not bring any benefit or disadvantage to specific political parties, religions, races, tribes, social hierarchy, etc;
- Project results should not be used to secure profits for commercial purposes;
- Accounting procedures must be properly carried out and accurately reported to the secretariat of PNFJ;
- The grantee must respond quickly when PNFJ asked about the status of project implementation;
- Project proposals should not be made simultaneously to any other organizations in Japan.
For Applicants
The grant is applicable for groups only. The applicant group needs to meet the following criteria:
- The applicant group must be capable of doing research and/or conservation activities in a local field;
- The applicant group should have an excellent achievement in the field of nature conservation and/or environmental education;
- The applicant group must include a project leader, a sub-leader, and an accountant;
- The representative applicant (project leader) should live in the country where the project will be implemented, and should have a deep understanding of the field and the community in the area;
- A person living in Japan can be a group member, but cannot be the representative applicant;
- The applicant group must include at least one Japanese member, who knows the group members well, understands the details of the project, and is capable of being a liaison between the group and PNFJ. The Japanese member needs not necessarily to be a resident in the country or the region concerned.
Selection Criteria
All applications are to be reviewed fairly by the review committee. The judging criteria are as follows:
- Importance and urgency: Does the project deal with important objects and/or place in terms of nature conservation in the area? Is the project urgent to implement?
- Validity of the plan: Are the final goal, methods to achieve the goal, budget and term reasonable?
- Efficacy of the outcome: Will the data and outcomes gained in the project be useful for further research and/or activities for the conservation?
After the final decision made by the board of trustees, applicants will be notified the result by e-mail in September. The secretariat of PNFJ will not answer any questions regarding the process of selections.
Application Process
- The applicant needs to download the application documents from the PNFJ website: http://www.pronaturajapan.com/foundation/pronaturafund/28pnfbosyu; or https://sites.google.com/a/pronaturajapan.com/eng/foundation
- Applicants must complete Application Form and Expenditure Schedule sheet in English or Japanese. If written in English, the completed documents should be sent to the Japanese member, and the Japanese member needs to make a translated version;
- The Japanese member is responsible to send all application documents to the secretariat of PNFJ. The following documents must be included:
- Application Form (A4×7 pages, written by applicant)
- Expenditure Schedule (A4x7 pages, Excel sheet, written by applicant)
- Japanese translation of the application form (A4×6 pages, written by Japanese member)
- Japanese translation of the expenditure schedule (A4x2 pages, Excel sheet, written by Japanese member)
- Please send all documents by PDF format.
Timeline
- Application start: May 29, 2017
- Application close: 12:00pm, July 14, 2017 by email. In case of postal service, application must arrive on the day.
- Announcement of the result: September 30, 2017
- Funding term: October 1, 2017 – September 30, 2018
- First remittance of the grant: Early in October 2017
- Interim report: March 31, 2018
- Second remittance of the grant: Early in April 2018
- Submission of final report: November 30 2018
- Result presentation session: Late in November or early in December 2018
For more information, visit Pro Natura Foundation Conservation Grant Program.
