BEST 2.0 Update 9th EU Overseas Roundtable 09/02/2017 BEST 2.0 Overview • Grant-making facility • Targeting the 25 EU Overseas Countries and Territories located in 5 regions • Objective: to promote the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of ecosystem services, including ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation and mitigation, as a basis for sustainable development in OCTs • 4 calls for proposals launched to date: Type of call for Regions Targeted proposals 2015 2016 Indian Ocean Caribbean Small grant Polar/Sub-polar Pacific South Atlantic Indian Ocean Caribbean Medium grant Polar/Sub-polar Pacific South Atlantic 2016 Calls for Proposals Small Grants (launched April 2016) Medium Grants (launched May 2016) Another Positive Response! Small Grant Call Medium Grant Call Indicative Financial Envelope: Indicative Financial Envelope: 1,800,000 1,200,000 69 Eligible Concept Notes 16 Eligible Proposals Requesting > 5.8 million euros Requesting > 5.2 million euros More than 3x the indicative More than 4x the indicative financial envelope financial envelope 35 Eligible Full Proposals Requesting > 2.6 million euros Support to Applicants Provided by the BEST 2.0 Secretariat and Regional Hubs 1. Regional Capacity Building Workshops 2. Remote Support by Email and Phone Topics: • Ensuring Policy Relevance • Logical Frameworks • Budgets • Cost Eligibility • Etc. Positive Feedback BEST 2.0 Grant Portfolio Caribbean: 16 Projects Indian Ocean: 4 Projects Pacific: 15 Projects South Atlantic: 5 Projects Polar/Subpolar: 3 Projects BEST 2.0 Grant Portfolio 43 Projects Lead Organisations 3 18 2 2 22 6 19 9 3 2 Marine Projects Terrestrial Projects Coastal and Mixed Projects Local NGO/CSO Local SME 6 Municipality/Local Government Territorial Government Department/Service 37 EU Member State Organisation Organisation based in the region of an Uninhabited Territory Regional Organisation Single Territorial Projects Regional Projects International Organisation Progress on the ground (1) Project: Restoration of Peak Dale’s St Helena Gumwood Forest Location: Saint Helena • Using the “Bradley Method” technique to guide work to control invasive plant species • 2x 50m2 rabbit-proof fenced compartments have been setup • Control of rats using poisoned bait has been completed • Planting has commenced in in 3x 100m2 restoration planting areas Progress on the ground (2) Project: Trails and interpretation improvements in the Peaks National Park, St Helena Location: Saint Helena The upgrading of the trails is approximately 50% complete (Total planned = 242 metres of boardwalk; 393 metres of stairs; 32m2 lookouts) Progress on the ground (3) Project: BIOT Environmental Interpretation and Education Project Location: British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) 2 forest trail routes on Diego Garcia have been cleared and woodchip pathways have been laid Progress on the ground (4) Project: RESCQ: Restoration of Ecosystem Services and Coral reef Quality Locations: Sint Maarten, St. Eustatius, Saba, Turks and Caicos • Coral ladders nurseries have been established in each of the 4 territories St. Eustatius - 5 Sint Maarten – 5 Saba – 2 Turks and Caicos – 5 • Very low mortality of coral fragments to date Coral ladder nurseries in Turks and Caicos (left) and Sint Maarten (right) Progress on the ground (5) Project: Securing pockets of paradise in the Caribbean Locations: British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Workshop on advancing alien invasive species management in the Caribbean UKOTs – October 2016 7 key recommendations for UK and UK Overseas Territory Governments which included: • Develop National Alien Invasive Species Plans • Develop National Biosecurity Plans • Invest in biosecurity capacity training • Consider firearm exemptions for conservation • Improve coordination between the various actors • Include long-term public consultation and awareness raising • Develop an Caribbean Invasive Alien Species Strategic Framework Progress on the ground (6) Project: Protect and Restore the Dry Forest of the Coast of New Caledonia Location: New Caledonia • 1st restoration site – more than 5330 seedlings of dry forest tree species were planted. • Very low mortality rate (~2.3%) • 4.8 km of protective fencing has been constructed Progress on the ground (7) Project: Saving the Two Most Threatened Birds of French Polynesia from Extinction Location: French Polynesia Tahiti Monarch • Currently only 58 breeding adults (26 couples) • Thanks partly to the work funded by BEST the future is looking brighter. • 13 chicks survived in 2016 – the most in the history of efforts to protect the species. New Projects Funded by BEST 2.0 2016 Small Grant (SG) Call for Proposals Caribbean: 12 SG Projects Pacific: 11 SG Projects Small Grant Projects Themes Caribbean Region Terrestrial Habitat Restoration and Management Lionfish Control Terrestrial Protected Area Creation Lesser Antillean Coral Reef Monitoring Iguana Conservation Coral Reef Restoration Watershed Restoration Establishing Native Plant Bat Conservation Nurseries Small Grant Projects Selected by the EC to be Funded - Caribbean Title Territory(ies) Combining local ecological knowledge and ciguatera analysis to rule lionfish St Barthélemy toxicity and edibility and catalyze infestation control Enacting a new regional recovery plan for the Lesser Antillean iguana: an Anguilla, St Barthélemy, St Endangered ecological keystone species Eustatius Management of invasive lionfish hotspots: conservation of biodiversity on Bermuda mesophotic coral ecosystems in Bermuda Understanding the East Caicos KBA 's Corals and coast : A key to safeguarding Turks and Caicos TCI's future North Saba National Park Phase 1 Saba Restoration of Key Biodiversity Areas of St. Maarten (plant) Sint Maarten Capacity building and increased financing for long term monitoring programmes Turks and Caicos for coral reefs in the Turks and Caicos Islands Scaling-up efforts to rehabilitate threatened coral communities using recruits Curaçao reared from wild-caught gametes Watershed & biodiversity conservation on Bonaire Bonaire Improving the management of the invasive lionfish, Pterois volitans, by Cayman Islands determining movement patterns and depth preference Best of Bats! Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten A nursery for endemics and key native species Montserrat Project: Scaling-up efforts to rehabilitate threatened coral communities using recruits reared from wild-caught gametes Location: Curaçao Project lead: Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity Foundation (CARMABI) Aim of the project: To contribute to the persistence and recovery of coral reef ecosystems by refining a technique for ‘reseeding’ degraded reefs across large spatial scales using sexually produced coral offspring ex situ that are settled on tiles. A prototype tile that has been developed by CARMABI will improved and optimized by evaluating alternative materials and designs and testing them in the field using various coral species and under different environmental scenarios (on reef sites of different health status). The aim is to make outplanting more efficient and financially sustainable enabling larger scale coral reef restoration. © Amandine Vaslet Project: Enacting a new regional recovery plan for the Lesser Antillean iguana: an Endangered ecological keystone species Location: Anguilla, St. Barthélemy, St. Eustatius Project lead: Anguilla National Trust Partners: Agence Territoriale de l’Environnement de St. Barthélemy; St. Eustatius National Parks (STENAPA) Aim of the project: To support the conservation of the Lesser Antillean iguana Iguana delicatissima by: 1. Creating a sub-regional framework for species recovery & conservation; 2. Adding to existing regional population data for the species; 3. Reintroducing I. delicatissima to Prickly Pear East, Anguilla; 4. Implementing standardised bio-security measures targeting the common green iguana; 5. Increasing sub-regional expertise in I. delicatissima conservation; 6. Building national and sub-regional awareness and support. Project: Capacity building and increased financing for long term monitoring programmes for coral reefs in the Turks and Caicos Islands Location: Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Project lead: Coöperatie Wolfs Company U.A. Aim of the project: To contribute to the enhanced the management and conservation of coral reef ecosystems in TCI: • Building support from key stakeholders for financing and long-term monitoring of coral reefs; • Increasing the capacity of DECR and civil society partners in the monitoring of coral reefs and using sound scientific findings to guide decision making and investment; • Identifying long-term revenue streams for monitoring and assessing their feasibility; • Identifying suitable indicators for environmental ‘return on investment’. Project: North Saba National Park, Phase 1 Location: Saba Project lead: Public Entity of Saba Partners: Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF); Saba Archaeological Center (SABARC) Aim of the project: To safeguard the biodiversity and archaeology of the northern and central part of the Island of Saba by preparing the draft legislation to establish the northern part of the island as a National Park and to appoint SCF as the managing organization. Draft legislation for species protection, a management plan, and draft management agreement for the entire National Park will be developed. The potential for the sustainable use of the park area by upgrading the tourist value and accessibility of a small part of the area (Mary’s Point) will