Detailed guide: Darwin Plus: environment funding for the UK Overseas Territories

Updated: Added the documents for Round 7 applications.

What funding is available

Darwin Plus (also known as The Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund) provides funding for:

  • environmental projects in UK Overseas Territories
  • fellowships for UK Overseas Territories (OT) Nationals to increase their knowledge and ability to meet long-term strategic outcomes for the natural environment in UK Overseas Territories

How to apply

You need to apply online for Round 7 Darwin Plus projects and fellowships through the Flexigrant Application Portal.

Before applying, you should first read:

Darwin Plus projects

Once you have read the guidance, complete the Darwin Plus Round 7 application form on the Flexigrant application portal.

For drafting purposes, you may find the
Darwin Plus Round 7: Darwin Plus Projects application form (for drafting only)
(MS Word Document, 337KB)

useful.

You will also need to complete and upload:

Darwin Plus fellowships

Once you have read the guidance, complete the Darwin Plus Round 7 Fellowship application form on the Flexigrant application portal.

For drafting purposes, you may find the
Darwin Plus Round 7: Darwin Plus Fellowship application form
(MS Word Document, 248KB)

useful.

You will also need to complete and upload:

When to apply

Darwin Plus applications opened on 10 July 2018.

Applications must be received by Monday 3 September 2018.

We expect to notify successful applicants by mid-November. Successful projects will start from April 2019.

Who can apply

Darwin Plus projects

Funding is open to any organisation as long as the proposed project will benefit one or more of the UK OTs (listed below) by to protecting and enhancing their biodiversity or addressing wider environment or climate-related issues.

Applicants can include:

  • OT governments
  • non-governmental organisations
  • research institutions
  • the private sector
  • other stakeholders

Darwin Plus Fellowships

The applicant organisation will usually be UK-based and the proposed Fellow must be an OT national who has worked or is working on environmental issues in the UK OTs.

The 14 UK Overseas Territories are:

Level of funding

There is no specific minimum or maximum level for a Darwin Plus project or Darwin Plus Fellowship. The funding pot is however limited. Further information on the size of Darwin Plus awards can be found in the
Darwin Plus Round 7: project guidance
(PDF, 646KB, 30 pages)

.

How projects/fellowships are selected

The Darwin Plus Advisory Group (DPAG) is made up of policy experts from UK Government Departments and external experts who have experience or knowledge of running biodiversity and environmental projects in UK Overseas Territories. The group assesses all applications to the fund and will produce a prioritised list of Darwin Plus projects and fellowships recommended for funding. Defra ministers approve the final list.

Darwin Plus Advisory Group membership

Professor Stephen Blackmore (Chair)

UK Government policy advisers from:

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
  • Department for International Development (DFID)

Members with OT knowledge or experience:

  • Martin Brasher
  • Jonathan Hall
  • John R Turner
  • Professor Brendan Godley

Other external advisers:

  • Martin Collins – Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
  • Dr Colin Clubbe – Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
  • Tony Weighell – Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)

Darwin Plus Contact details

For questions about Darwin Plus policy, contact the Darwin Secretariat at the Department for Food and Rural Affairs. Email: darwin@defra.gsi.gov.uk

For queries about Darwin Plus project applications, contact the applications team. Email: darwin-applications@ltsi.co.uk

For specific queries on applying through the Flexi-Grant applications, contact the Flexi-Grant support team. Email: Flexigrant@ltsi.co.uk

For queries relating to new and existing projects, contact the project administrators.
Email: darwin-projects@ltsi.co.uk

Telephone: Eilidh Young on 0131 440 5181

For queries about project finance, contact the finance section.
Email: darwin-finance@ltsi.co.uk

Darwin Initiative

LTS International

Pentlands Science Park

Bush Loan

Penicuik

EH26 0PL

Case Study

Before completing the application form, you might like to take a look at a case study showing an example of a successful Darwin Plus project.



Detailed guide: Darwin Plus: environment funding for the UK Overseas Territories

Updated: Added a link to the Penguins in the Southern Ocean case study.

What funding is available

Darwin Plus (also known as The Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund) provides funding for:

  • environmental projects in UK Overseas Territories
  • fellowships for UK Overseas Territories (OT) Nationals to increase their knowledge and ability to meet long-term strategic outcomes for the natural environment in UK Overseas Territories

How to apply

You need to apply online for Round 7 Darwin Plus projects and fellowships through the Flexigrant Application Portal.

Before applying, you should first read:

Darwin Plus projects

Once you have read the guidance, complete the Darwin Plus Round 7 application form on the Flexigrant application portal.

For drafting purposes, you may find the
Darwin Plus Round 7: Darwin Plus Projects application form (for drafting only)
(MS Word Document, 337KB)

useful.

You will also need to complete and upload:

Darwin Plus fellowships

Once you have read the guidance, complete the Darwin Plus Round 7 Fellowship application form on the Flexigrant application portal.

For drafting purposes, you may find the
Darwin Plus Round 7: Darwin Plus Fellowship application form
(MS Word Document, 248KB)

useful.

You will also need to complete and upload:

When to apply

Applications closed on 3 September 2018. We expect to notify successful applicants by mid-November. Successful projects will start from April 2019.

Who can apply

Darwin Plus projects

Funding is open to any organisation as long as the proposed project will benefit one or more of the UK OTs (listed below) by to protecting and enhancing their biodiversity or addressing wider environment or climate-related issues.

Applicants can include:

  • OT governments
  • non-governmental organisations
  • research institutions
  • the private sector
  • other stakeholders

Darwin Plus Fellowships

The applicant organisation will usually be UK-based and the proposed Fellow must be an OT national who has worked or is working on environmental issues in the UK OTs.

The 14 UK Overseas Territories are:

Level of funding

There is no specific minimum or maximum level for a Darwin Plus project or Darwin Plus Fellowship. The funding pot is however limited. Further information on the size of Darwin Plus awards can be found in the
Darwin Plus Round 7: project guidance
(PDF, 646KB, 30 pages)

.

How projects/fellowships are selected

The Darwin Plus Advisory Group (DPAG) is made up of policy experts from UK Government Departments and external experts who have experience or knowledge of running biodiversity and environmental projects in UK Overseas Territories. The group assesses all applications to the fund and will produce a prioritised list of Darwin Plus projects and fellowships recommended for funding. Defra ministers approve the final list.

Darwin Plus Advisory Group membership

Professor Stephen Blackmore (Chair)

UK Government policy advisers from:

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
  • Department for International Development (DFID)

Members with OT knowledge or experience:

  • Martin Brasher
  • Jonathan Hall
  • John R Turner
  • Professor Brendan Godley

Other external advisers:

  • Martin Collins – Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
  • Dr Colin Clubbe – Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
  • Tony Weighell – Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)

Darwin Plus Contact details

For questions about Darwin Plus policy, contact the Darwin Secretariat at the Department for Food and Rural Affairs. Email: darwin@defra.gsi.gov.uk

For queries about Darwin Plus project applications, contact the applications team. Email: darwin-applications@ltsi.co.uk

For specific queries on applying through the Flexi-Grant applications, contact the Flexi-Grant support team. Email: Flexigrant@ltsi.co.uk

For queries relating to new and existing projects, contact the project administrators.
Email: darwin-projects@ltsi.co.uk

Telephone: Eilidh Young on 0131 440 5181

For queries about project finance, contact the finance section.
Email: darwin-finance@ltsi.co.uk

Darwin Initiative

LTS International

Pentlands Science Park

Bush Loan

Penicuik

EH26 0PL

Case study

Before completing the application form, you might like to take a look at these case studies showing examples of successful Darwin Plus projects:



Detailed guide: Darwin Initiative: applying for main project funding

Updated: Updated the guidance under the ‘How to apply’ heading to make it clear applications need to be submitted through the Flexigrant application portal.

How to apply

You will need to apply online for Round 25 Darwin Initiative main projects through the Flexigrant application portal.

Before applying, please read the following guidance:

Once you have read the guidance, complete the Darwin Initiative round 25 – stage 1 application form on the Flexigrant application portal. For drafting purposes, you may find the
Darwin Initiative round 25 – stage 1 application form
(MS Word Document, 172KB)

useful.

If you are invited to Stage 2, please complete the
Darwin Initiative round 25 – stage 2 application form
(MS Word Document, 253KB)

[by invitation only].

When to apply

There is a two-stage application process for main round Darwin projects. The timetable for Round 25 is set out below:

  • call for Stage 1 applications: Tuesday 22 May 2018
  • deadline for Stage 1 applications: 24 July 2018
  • expected outcome of Stage 1 and notification of applicants invited to Stage 2: Early October 2018
  • deadline for Stage 2 applications (by invitation only): Monday 3 December 2018
  • expected notification of successful projects: February 2019
  • expected start date for successful projects: From 1 April 2019

Who can apply

Please refer to the guidance for the list of countries eligible for the scheme. Organisations making the application must:

  • have experience of managing similar projects in developing countries
  • be able to demonstrate financial stability and provide audited accounts

The proposed project leader must have suitable qualifications or a minimum of around 10 years’ experience working on similar projects in developing countries.

Level of funding

There is no specific minimum or maximum level for a main round project. The funding pot is however limited. Further information on the size of Darwin Projects can be found in the
Round 25 guidance
(PDF, 1.43MB, 52 pages)

.

Case study

Before completing the application form, you might like to take a look at a case study showing an example of a successful main project.



Detailed guide: Prevent fish or shellfish diseases

Updated: List updated

Each year thousands of fish and shellfish die from disease. Recovering from an outbreak can take a long time and can be very expensive.

Serious fish and shellfish diseases

You must tell the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) if fish or shellfish:

Prevent the spread of disease in fish and shellfish

You can help control the spread of disease if you:

Control areas for notifiable disease outbreaks

If a notifiable disease is found, FHI puts controls in place to limit the spread of disease (these areas are known as confirmed designations).

If your fish or shellfish are in a control area you must:

  • comply with any conditions issued by FHI
  • get written permission from FHI to move fish or equipment (allow at least 5 working days)

Fish

Maps of areas with controls in place to limit the spread of spring viraemia of carp (SVC):

2017

Maps of areas with controls in place to limit the spread of koi herpesvirus disease (KHV):

2018

2017

2016

Shellfish

You can use an interactive map (Desktop. Mobile) to view shellfish disease controls across Great Britain.

Alternatively below are individual maps of control areas of each disease:

Bonamia ostreae

Oyster herpesvirus

Marteilia refringens

Contacts

Fish Health Inspectorate

Environment Agency

PO Box 544


Rotherham
Yorkshire
S60 1BY



Detailed guide: Darwin Initiative: Fellowship Awards

Updated: Updated the guidance under the ‘How to apply’ heading to make it clear applications need to be submitted through the Flexigrant application portal.

Fellowship funding is aimed at building capacity in developing countries.

The Fellowship programme is intended to support Fellows to draw on UK technical and scientific expertise in the fields of biodiversity and sustainable development to broaden their knowledge and experience.

You can read more about a successful fellowship award in this case study.

How to apply

You will need to apply online for Round 25 Darwin Initiative Fellowship projects through the Flexi grant application portal.

Before applying, please read the Guidance notes for applicants (round 25) and the The Darwin initiative: Fellowship award Flexi-Grant user guide.

Once you have read the guidance, complete the Darwin Fellowship Round 25 application form on the Flexigrant application portal. For drafting purposes, you may find the
Darwin Fellowship Round 25 application form
(MS Word Document, 154KB)

useful.

When to apply

The timetable for Round 25 Darwin Fellowship Awards is set out below:

  • application process opens: Tuesday 22 May 2018
  • deadline for applications: Tuesday 13 November 2018
  • expected notification of successful projects: February 2019
  • expected start date for successful projects: From July 2019

Who can apply

Applications for Fellowship funding should come from an organisation (the Lead Organisation) and not an individual. There should be a named individual within the Lead Organisation responsible for the application, called the Project Leader. The host organisation where the individual will carry out the training or research must be in the UK.

The Lead Organisation:

  • must have expertise in natural resource management
  • can be either a public or private sector organisation
  • should provide experts from within the organisation with a proven track record and at the forefront of their discipline(s) to work closely with or supervise the Fellow. This expertise is typically expected to be a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience

Darwin Fellowships will support promising individuals who:

  • have a link with a recent or current Darwin Initiative project or
  • are currently involved directly in the implementation of the key biodiversity conventions and agreements listed above

Further information is available in the guidance.

Funding available

Eligible costs (depending on the nature of the Fellowship) include a monthly subsistence, Lead organisation expenses, travel costs and fees for academic qualifications. Further information on Darwin Fellowship awards can be found in the Darwin Round 25 Guidance.

Case study

You can read more about a successful fellowship award in this case study.