Both ENDS Donor Newsletter # 1-2003

The information in this donornews-series is based on data from the Both ENDS database of donor- and organisation profiles. Maintenance of this database is part of  the ongoing services of Both ENDS to environmental organisations in the South and in CEE-countries.

The emphasis of this Donor Newsletter is on funders in the fields of desertification, and related fields like arid lands, drylands, land degradation and soil erosion. (Some of the organisations also feature in previous donor newsletters of Both ENDS but most information has been made up-to-date, as far as possible).

INDEX

Action for Greening Sahel

Aktionsgemeinschaft Solidarische Welt

Australian Baptist World Aid  

Canadian Hunger Foundation - Partners in Rural Development

CARE Denmark

Conserve Africa Foundation

Deutsche Welthungerhilfe/German Agro Action

Development Fund

Drylands Coordination Group

Earth Preservation Fund

Evangelischer EntwicklungsDienst

FARM-Africa

Harvest Help

Heifer Project International

Heinrich Böll Foundation  

IFAD/NGO Extented Cooperation Programme

Intercooperation

Japan International Volunteer Center

Nouvelle Planète

Siemenpuu Foundation

Swissaid

TREE AID

Trees for the Future

UNDP/GEF-Small Grants Program

USC-Canada

Background:

Action for Greening Sahel is a Japanese NGO which concentrates its activities on the Sahel region in Africa. AGS, together with the people of the Sahel, is working to stop desertification, the loss of any more green, and then to restore the natural ecology, allowing the people of the region to again be self-sufficient in their production of food. Its purpose is to improve the people's standard of living, environment protection and restoration of the ecosystem in Sahel area, through the prevention of desertification, and the promotion of food supply self-sufficiency.

Activities:

The growing and distribution of seedlings, vegetable and grains, the provision of nursing advice and the installation of nursery facilities; stabilizing dunes by reforestation and stonework; prototype clay and metal ovens, propagation; installation of wells, management organisation, hygiene-management; workshops.

Project examples:

Chad: Chari Baguirmi State; Afforestation to conserve forestry, provision of seedling nurseries, and training in agricultural techniques for farmers. Burkina Faso: Project for environmental improvement with the local trees and the traditional techniques of the Sahel region. Enforcing forestation through a local kind of tree in an area gradually becoming desert, and activities of reclamation of agricultural land together with environment improvement.

Back to Index

Other themes:

Afforestation; agricultural infrastructure; appropiate technology; drinking water & sanitation; ecological restoration; environmental education & technology; food security; natural resources management; seedlings.

Other activities: Volunteers

Geographical concentration: 

Africa: Burkina Faso, Chad

Grant information:

Total Project Expenses 2000: ¥ 32.930.740 (appr. € 254.000)

(information collected 02/2003)

Background:

The ASW is a independent development organisation, established in 1957 under the name Solidarity with the Hungry and as such one of the oldest German development organisations. In 1973 the organisation changed its name in Action for World Solidarity. ASW supports groups in the South which want to ameliorate their living conditions based on alternative concepts and (small-scale) local initiatives. ASW supports them in their struggle for social, cultural and political emancipation through implementation of projects.

Activities:

The projects run by the partners are mainly in the field of rural development, with special attention paid to women's projects. The main emphasis of the projects is on the areas of education and training; legal assistance; health service; watershed development and other ecological projects; awareness-raising and self-organisation.

Project examples:

Brazil: Women against hunger: Initiative of the agricultural workers movement MMTR in the Sertão region (Northeast Brazil). Drinking Water, Soil Conservation, Sustainable Agriculture, Landrights. West-Africa: Life in the Sahel: Soil Conservation, Sustainable Agriculture

Back to Index

Other themes:

Afforestation; dams; environmental education; human & land rights; indigenous people; non-timber forest products; pesticides; rural development; sustainable farming; vocational training; women; youth

Other activities:

Emergency Aid, Campaigning and Advocacy, Information

Geographic concentration:

Africa: Burkina Faso, Senegal, South Africa, Western Sahara, Zimbabwe Asia: India (Andra Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Tamil Nadu) South America: Brazil, Chile, Peru

Grant information:

Average grant € 11.000 (total budget for projects in 2002 € 660.000)

(information collected in 01/2002)

Background: 

In 1959, the Australian Baptist World Aid and Relief Committee (ABWARC), ABWAid's predecessor, was created. In 1993, ABWAid became an incorporated association. Since then, it has continued to evolve an effective holistic approach, using the resources contributed by Australian Baptists and supplemented by the Australian Government. The approach has been based around true partnership with church networks in the countries where ABWAid works. ABWAid's vision is to share resources with the oppressed and powerless to enable them to lift themselves out of poverty and to live with dignity in communities of justice and peace. 

Activities: 

ABWAid, working with overseas partners, is involved in a variety of Community Development Projects. Community Development helps people in third world countries move from absolute poverty to self-sustaining independence. ABWAid is committed to: justice and equality for the powerless, especially women and children; working in partnership with the powerless; careful use of resources, transparency, accountability and integrity in all their dealings; ecological sustainability in all its activities. 

Project examples: 

Malawi: Jalasi Food Relief and Security: seeds, fertiliser, tools and training to enable 600 families to survive the drought on a sustainable basis. 30,000 Papua New Guinea: Ecology Training: training of leaders and communities in permaculture and drought preparedness. Zambia: Lamba Rural Development: Agricultural extension and nutrition training to improve health and living stan dards and prepare for drought.

Back to Index

Other themes:

Agroforestry; capacity building; community development; drinking water and sanitation; environmental education; education and vocational training; healthcare; indigenous people; micro-credits; micro-enterprises; natural resources management; urban issues

Other activities:

Child Sponsorship; Emergency Aid, Training & Education

Geographic concentration:

Africa: Kenya, Malawi, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia

Asia & Pacific: Bangladesh, East-Timor, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam

Grant information:

Grants range between AUS$ 1,500 and 200,000 (average appr. 50,000)

(information collected in 01/2003)

Background:
The Canadian Hunger Foundation - Partners in Rural Development was founded in 1961 and is an international non-profit organization that addresses poverty at the village level in developing countries. CHF helps villagers become self-reliant with food production, water supplies and energy. Furthermore CHF helps communities use new technology and blend it with traditional practices.

Activities:
CHF food programmes help by: building capacity of farmers, organizations and co-operatives to exchange knowledge, information and improve food production; teaching farmers to grow more food and better crops; working directly with people to improve their farming techniques and expertise; helping women farmers to start small businesses and add to the family income.
CHF water programmes help by: teaching village people how to secure their own clean water supply; financing the building of wells and small dams; training village people to maintain and protect their own water sources; establishing water users associations; helping communities to form committees to better manage and share water.
CHF energy programs help by: introducing renewable energy options to rural communities; educating villagers to use renewable energy technologies; organizing communities to find their own funding for equipment.

Project examples:
Southern Africa Drought Technology Network Project (SADNET), Zambia and Zimbabwe, in collaboration SAFIRE (Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources).
To share, from community to community, information on how to combat drought. CHF is helping farmers and local scientists gather information on traditional methods of water collection and use for crop production.

Back to Index

Other themes:
agricultural development; agroforestry; alternative energy; capacity building; community development; drinking water & sanitation; environmental education; food security; horticulture; income-generating activities; land-rights; micro-credits; natural resources management

Other activities:
Information dissemination; institutional support

Geographical concentration:
Africa: Ghana, Kenya, Sudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Asia: India, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam
Latin America: El Salvador, Guyana

Grant information:
From US$ 50.000 onwards (one-year projects) till over US$ 4.5 million (five-year projects).

(information collected in 02/2003)

Background:

CARE Danmark is an independent, private Danish organization for development aid. The projects are focused on agriculture, forestry and natural resource management. CARE Danmark is a member of CARE International. Its aim is to support sustainable, long-term and realistic projects, to help improve the livelihood security of rural households in the development countries without disturbing the surrounding ecological balance.

Activities:

Projects are based on locally defined needs and these are highlighted through participatory field methods. The total needs assessment is combined with the overall strategy for CARE Danmark's work in the different countries. In the individual country the project activities are carried out by national CARE workers, who work in close cooperation with the local project participants.

Since 1999 CARE Danmark has been the focal point for UN's Convention to Combat Desertification. The overall objective is to contribute to the implementation of the CCD by improving the involvement of Danish NGOs in the promotion and implementation of the CCD primarily through their support to Southern NGO partners.

Back to Index

Other themes:
Agroforestry; animal husbandry; capacity building; community development; education; food security; healthcare; horticulture; indigenous people; micro-credits; natural resources management; non-timber forest products; women

Other activities: Information dissemination

Geographical concentration:
Africa: Egypt, Ghana, Niger, Rwanda, Uganda
Asia: Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam
Latin America: Bolivia, Nicaragua

(information collected in 01/2002)

Background:
Conserve Africa Foundation is a registered non-profit environmental organisation set up in 1998 by a group of NGOs, public institutions and individuals in Africa and in the North, who are involved in the issues pertaining to sustainable development and conservation in Africa.
It works to promote a healthy, safe, fair and sustainable future for all the people of Africa, improving the quality of their life through the advancement of environmental protection and conservation; enhancing the development of natural resources and environmental friendly tourism.

Activities:
The EcoFund supports a wide range of community-based initiatives that protect the environment in the most undeserved and threatened regions in Africa. Grants are given to grassroots groups with well-organised local campaigns where a small amount can make a significant difference.
Activities to combat desertification will focus on three main areas:
advocacy to ensure that dryland communities are supported, especially in poverty reduction strategies; dissemination of information for helping countries deal with the current effects of climate variability, especially droughts, and prepare them for future effects of future climate change; and, addressing vital local issues affecting the use of resources, such as access to water and land tenure, which have a great impact on the livelihoods of communities.
This will include training workshops and seminars on agro ecology, organic farming, regenerative agriculture and the promotion of indigenous food crops.

Back to Index

Other activities:
Advocacy, Awareness raising, Information dissemination, Training & education

Other themes:
Afforestation; agroforestry; biodiversity; capacity building; community development; eco-tourism; environmental education; food security; natural resources management; sustainable farming; water management

Geographic concentration:
Africa: De. Rep. Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda

Grant information:
CAF makes small grants of about US$ 500 to US$ 5000. Note
Grants are made to pre-selected organizations recommended by national advisory committees comprised of local environmental leaders.

(information collected in 01/2002)

Background:
The Deutsche Welthungerhilfe was founded in 1962 as the German National Committee of the Freedom from Hunger Campaign of the FAO. The name Welthungerhilfe was introduced in 1969. Nowadays it is one of the largest non-governmental development organisations in Germany. Deutsche Welthungerhilfe / German Agro Action fights poverty in developing countries in order to improve living conditions and secure a dignified existence. In crisis situations they supply emergency aid

Activities:
Projects are aimed at rural areas and agricultural activities, furthermore ecology programmes, and projects concentrating on the strengthening of self-support and grass-roots organisations

Project examples:
Burkina Faso: Walls against the Desert
Burkina Faso: Soil protection and environmental education

Back to Index

Other themes:
capacity building; food security; poverty reduction; small-scale enterprises; youth issues.

Other activities:
Campaigning; Emergency Aid, Reconstruction Support

Geographic concentration:
Africa: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Madagascar, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Asia (incl. Central Asia): Afghanistan, Bangladesh, East-Timor, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, North Korea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan
Latin America & Caribbean: Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua , Peru

Grant information:
Total annual projectbudget 2001: DM 154,50 million (appr. € 7,9 million)

(information collected in 02/2003)

Background:
The Development Fund (Utviklingsfondet) is an independent development cooperation organization, founded in 1978, with its roots in "The Future in Our Hands"-movement. Helping people to help themselves is the core of the Development Fund's work.
The fund supports partners in their efforts to combat poverty and safeguard the environment. Active participation by those affected by the projects is an important criterion for the choice of projects and partners. Furthermore partners should be planning their work in a long-term ecological time-frame, realizing that the fight against poverty must be based on sustainable management of natural resources.

Activities:
Supporting local organizations that mobilize poor people, thereby enabling them to
secure their basic needs and alleviate poverty on a permanent basis; the fight against poverty must be based on sustainable management of natural resources;
Concrete measures to improve their everyday lives are associated with work to eliminate the causes of poverty and environmental degradation.

Project examples:
Eritrea: Support for farmer cooperatives: Partner organization: National Confederation of Eritrean Workers (NCEW)
Ethiopia: Support for nomads in Afar: Partner organizations: Local agricultural authorities in the Afar region and Mekelle University.

Back to Index

Other themes:
Agricultural issues; biodiversity; capacity building; civic society; community development; conservation; food security; indigenous people; micro-credits; natural resources management; women

Other activities:
Training & Education, Information

Geographic concentration:
Africa: Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Zimbabwe
Asia: Bhutan, India, Laos, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam
Latin America: Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Nicaragua

Grant information:
The annual budget is approximately 30 mill. NOK (appr. € 3.8 million).

(information collected in 12/2002)

Background:
The Drylands Coordination Group is a cooperation forum of six Norwegian NGOs (ADRA Norway, CARE Norway, Norwegian Church Aid, Norwegian People's Aid, The Stromme Foundation and The Development Fund) involved in development cooperation in dryland areas in Africa. Noragric, the Centre for International Environment and Development Studies at the Agricultural University of Norway provides the secretariat as a facilitating and implementing body for the DCG. DCG's main financial source is NORAD. The DCG acts as the national focal point for RIOD. DCG's vision is to improve the livelihood security of vulnerable households in drought-prone and marginal areas, especially in Africa.
The group's objectives are: increased food security; sustainable management and use of natural resources; increased access to community based services such as health, education and clean water; competence building and institutional strengthening at local and regional levels.

Activities:
The DCG promotes the quality assurance of development projects dealing with food security and natural resource management in the African drylands.

Project examples:
Study of problems of salinity in relation to irrigation agriculture in Gash Barka, Eritrea; Indigenous coping strategies of pastoralist communities in drylands of Ethiopia

Back to Index

Other Themes:
Capacity building; community development; drinking water; education; food security; healthcare; micro-credits; pastoral issues; sustainable farming

Other activities:
Training & Education, Information, Meetings, workshops etc., Technical Assistance

Geographic Concentration:
Africa: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Sudan

(information collected in 01/2003)

Background:
The nonprofit EPF was founded in 1978 by the travel organisation JOURNEYS. This organisation has accepted a responsibility to preserve the resources we enjoy and over the years has supported numerous projects and ongoing programs. The Earth Preservation Fund works to preserve local cultures and natural habitats around the globe. The Fund especially supports international community-based projects focused on environmental conservation, cultural preservation and public health and education.

Activities:
Promoting international understanding and education about the problems of environmental management and conservation; Supporting scientific research on natural and cultural conservation problems; Encouraging ecological awareness as an integral requirement for environmental development in all counties of the world; Supporting these efforts with financial donations which make these goals a reality

Project examples:
Tanzania: Soil Erosion Control
Ghana: Mpohor Wassa Campaign against Deforestation

Back to Index

Other themes:
Acquisition of lands; afforestation; capacity building; community development; conservation; cultural issues; eco-tourism; education; healthcare; rural development

Other activities:
Awareness raising; Information, Research, Volunteers

Geographic concentration:
Africa: Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Tanzania
Asia & Pacific: India (Ladakh), Indonesia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea
Latin America: Belize, Costa Rica, Peru

Grant information:
Support from EPF can take the form of one or more of the following.
1. Promotion of projects on the EPF website, EPF ONLINE, in e-mail and print newsletters, and information sharing with partner agencies.
2. Small grants to specific project components typically less than $500 US.
3. The EPF also works with partnering eco-tourism companies that can provide a mechanism though which travelers and interested parties can make contributions to EPF projects.

(information collected in 04/2002)

Background:
On the initiative of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), the established Protestant Churches as well as the Free Churches decided to found the EED during the second half of 1999 including also the Old Catholic Church, the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Association of Missions and Churches (EMW). At present, there is a total of 28 members. The EED assists those who live in abject poverty and need, whose dignity is violated or whose lives are threatened by war or other natural disasters.
EED supports the development work of the churches, (Christian) organisations and private agencies through funding, seconding qualified personnel and by offering consultancy services.

Activities:
Land for Small Farmers Projects: Strenghtening community rights and landrights, access to resources and natural resources management, and food security.
Biodiversity Projects: Preservation of variety and just distribution of benefits. Access to land, credit and education are some of the necessary pre-requisites for development aiming at the reduction of poverty.

Project examples:
In Togo, the Young Men's Christians Association (YMCA), implements a forest conservation and reforestation programme combined with soil conservation and sustainable agriculture, supported by the EED.

Back to Index

Other themes:
Afforestation; biodiversity; capacity building; environmental education; food security; gene-technology; health-care; human rights; land-rights; natural resources management; peace issues; poverty reduction; rural development; sustainable agriculture

Other activities:
Advocacy, consultancy, experts & personnel, information dissemination, (facilitation of) meetings

Geographic concentration:
Africa: Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Zimbabwe
Asia & Pacific: Bangladesh, China, Fiji Islands, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines
Latin America: Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru
Newly Independent States: Georgia

(information collected in 04-2002)

Background:
FARM-Africa was founded in 1985. It is a registered charity committed to working with the small farmers and pastoralists of Africa. FARM is supported by the UK's agricultural industry and has a national supporters network - 'Friends of FARM'. FARM-Africa aims to make a lasting difference to very poor rural African farmers and herders by providing practical help to enable them to provide more food for their families and ensure future generations do not have to depend on handouts of aid.

Activities:
In all its projects FARM places emphasis on working in partnership with the local people and organisations. FARM also supports government Ministries of Agriculture and provides training for their field staff.

Project examples:
Ethiopia: In Konso, in the southwest, FARM has been working on projects with the local farmers; projects designed to enable the local farming families to cope with the inevitable droughts that regularly parch the land.
Kenya: Pastoralists Development Project
Tanzania: Terracing and Soil Erosion Project.

Back to Index

Other activities:
Information, Training & Education, Emergency Aid

Other themes:
Afforestation; agroforestry; animal husbandry; capacity building; environmental education; food security; natural resources management; micro-credits; pastoral issues

Geographic concentration:
Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania

(information collected in 10/2002)

Background:
Harvest Help is an independent development agency founded in 1985. Harvest Help has provided assistance to over 30,000 people living in some of the poorest villages in Africa. Supporter base: 3,000 individuals, churches and schools, statutory donors and grant making trusts and many volunteers. Harvest Help provides practical support to rural communities, helping them improve their livelihoods through sustainable farming and increased self-reliance. Awareness raising about sustainable development in the UK.

Activities:
HH supports gives practical support to rural communities in Africa with an emphasis on food production, community organisation and self-help initiatives. The main area of work is supporting farmers to adopt sustainable farming practices. Harvest Help projects encourage farmers to: diversify - planting a greater variety of crops makes farmers less vulnerable to crop failure; look after the soil - using crop rotation, organic manure and agro-forestry improves soil fertility and reduces vulnerability to pests and low rainfall; establish farmers' clubs - working together, farmers can set up loan schemes, gain access to seeds and improve their crop storage. The aim is to ensure that farmers have the skills and resources to feed their families throughout the year, every year.

Project examples:
Zambia: Rural Foundation for Afforestation (RUFA); 16 villages in Rumphi District will be supported to promote tree planting, soil conservation and small livestock production.

Back to Index

Other themes:
afforestation; alternative energy; animal husbandry; community development; drinking water and sanitation; education; fisheries; food security; income generating activities; micro-credits; permaculture; rural infrastructure; vocational training

Other activities:
Training & education, Information, Emergency Aid

Geographical concentration:
Africa: Malawi, Zambia
Central America (only emergency relief): Honduras

Grant information:
Average grant appr. $ 10,000

(information collected in 11/2002)

Background:
Heifer International was founded in the 1930s and combats hunger, alleviates poverty, and restores the environment by providing appropriate livestock, training, and related services to small-scale farmers worldwide. Heifer Project helps people utilize livestock as an integral component of sustainable agriculture and holistic development. Heifer Project's projects strengthen rural families and communities through improved nourishment, increased production and the dissemination of skills and knowledge for self-reliance. Care for the earth's natural resources is emphasized through training in livestock management, pasture improvement, soil conservation, forestation and water harvesting.

Activities:
Heifer Project works at the grassroots level by providing animals and training to organized local groups that request assistance. The organization's work is driven by the expressed needs of the people participating in the project.
Typically, a project consists of three essential components:
- livestock and other material goods;
- training and extension work; and
- organizational development, which includes planning, management, record keeping, passing on the gift, and reporting and evaluation

Project examples:
Cameroon: Bukubi Women's Group (1997-2000) The environment will improve through the use of fodder trees to control soil erosion.

Back to Index

Other themes:
Animal husbandry; capacity building; community development; conservation; education; food security; natural resources management; small-scale enterprises;

Other activities:
Equipment & Materials, Training & Education

Geographic concentration:
Africa: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam
Latin America: Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru
Newly Independent States: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia

Grant information:
Grants range between US$ 1.500 and US$ 85.000 p/a. Grants are given for 3 to 4 years periods.

(information collected in 02/2003)

Background:
The Foundation's policy is closely related to the "Green" Movement in Germany (The Rainbow Group of Foundations was unified under the name Heinrich Boll Foundation in June 1997). The Foundation's work is oriented towards the fundamental political principles of ecology, democracy, solidarity and non-violence. Its work as a federal national foundation is characterised by legal autonomy and a spirit of intellectual openness.

Activities:
East & Horn of Africa Environmental Programme:
The aim of the environmental programme is the support of forward-looking, sustainable regional development including the protection of natural resources, and strengthening the role of environmental NGOs, state organisations, and academia as stakeholders in the decision making process. The second programme objective is to encourage individual network member organisations by providing financial, training, and information support to help them implement their projects.
Brazil Programme:
The main focus is on sustainable development, democratisation, human rights, and the promotion of women.

Project examples:
Brazil: Adapted land use in the arid area of north-eastern Brazil. Courses provide grassroots movements with information about ecologically adapted methods of coexisting with the drought . The emphasis here is on simple methods of obtaining drinking and utility water, dry field cultivation, and goat herding.
Mali: Ecologically sustainable development. The main focus is on the struggle against the expanding deserts. A fund to support small projects enables course participants to make the necessary investment to put their training to practical use within their villages.

Back to Index

Other activities:
Campaigning & Advocacy, Training & Education, Information, Institutional Support, Fellowships, Meetings & Conferences, Monitoring

Other themes:
Appropiate technology; capacity building; community development; democratisation; environmental education; human rights; natural resources management; permaculture; population issues; rehabilitation; urban agriculture; waste; women

Geographical Concentration:
Africa: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritius, Nigeria, Niger, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Asia: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines,
Far East: China-Tibet, Mongolia, Russia=Siberia, South Korea
Middle East/North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordania, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia
Latin America & Caribbean: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Peru, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay

(information collected in 11/2002)

Background:
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the UN, was established as an international financial institution in 1977. The IFAD/NGO Extended Cooperation Programme was created in 1987. Its purpose is to enhance IFAD's direct collaboration with NGOs in the promotion of participatory and community-based rural development and poverty alleviation and to encourage recipient governments to build upon the experience and know-how accumulated from the activities of NGOs.

Activities:
ECP-supported activities by NGOs focus primarily on three major areas:
Identifying, testing and disseminating appropriate/innovative technologies for application to the agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions of IFAD's beneficiaries;
Identifying and testing appropriate/innovative institutional approaches and mechanisms in various sectors and subsectors of interest to IFAD to ascertain their relevance, acceptability and sustainability;
Carrying out knowledge gathering and dissemination activities and training programmes or improved management of resources through the creation of more effective systems of organization, based on viable grass-roots organizations.

Back to Index

Other activities:
Education & training, Institutional support, Research, Technical assistance

Other themes:
Capacity building; community development; drinking water & sanitation, food security; indigenous people; information technology; micro-enterprise development; natural resources management; rehabilitation activities; rural development; water management

Geographic concentration:
Africa: Chad, Djibouti, Dem. Rep. Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauretania, Nigeria, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Middle East & North Africa: Jordan, Morocco, Yemen
Asia: China, East-Timor, India, Indonesia, Laos, Mongolia, Philippines
Latin America & Caribbean: Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Dominica, Grenada, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Saint-Lucia, Saint-Vincent
Central & Eastern Europe: Moldova

Grant information:
The ceiling for each grant has been set at US$ 100.000 with the exception of the coverage of the IFAD/NGO consultations, which may exceed this amount.
Note: The recipient NGO must also contribute appropriate material or financial support for the effective and successful implementation of the project.

(information collected in 02/2003)

Background:
Intercooperation is a Swiss foundation for international development cooperation. The aim is to alleviate poverty through rural development. The focus is on improving rural livelihoods through the sustainable management, harvesting and processing of natural resources in order to promote ecologically, economically and socially sustainable development. IC's professional capacity ranges from providing advisory support and backstopping, to undertaking project implementation and policy.

Activities:
Intercooperation's main tool is the planning, implementation and supervision of development programmes and mandates. The experience it gains is being actively used for the support of institutional and policy change.
Within its core competence of Natural Resource Management (NRM), IC assists underprivileged rural populations in developing countries to manage their natural resources, soil, water, vegetation, livestock, bio-diversity and renewable sources of energy in a sustainable way. IC has specific forestry expertise (afforestation, soil protection, water conservation and watershed development) as well as in the field of agriculture and livestock (appropriate and sustainable farming systems and methods, sustainable soil management, hill farming, watershed management, agro-forestry and silvo-pastoral systems and organic farming);
Human and Institutional Development (HID) through capacity building in managerial, technical, methodological, and social aspects; promoting organisational development processes aiming institutional strengthening; institutional reform and devolution of constitutional power;
Promotion of the private sector in rural economy through promotion of small and medium-size enterprises; development of financial systems (savings and credit).

Project examples:
Madagascar: IC works in three different agro-ecological zones: the Highlands around the capital Antananarivo, the region of Fianarantsoa and Morondava on the West Coast. What was originally a forestry programme with multiple components evolved gradually into a land use programme with strong institution building elements.
Nepal: Sustainable Soil Management Programme (SSMP)
Latin America: Several projects with elements of soil and water conservation.

Back to Index

Other activities:
Advisory services, Information dissemination, Institutional support, Technical

Other themes:
Afforestation; agro-forestry; animal husbandry; appropiate technology; capacity building; micro-credits; natural resources management; renewable energy; rural development; sustainable farming; water management

Geographic concentration:
Africa: Madagascar, Mali, Rwanda, Tanzania, Tunisia
Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
Latin America: Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru
Newly Independent States: Kyrgyzstan

(information collected in 04/2002)

Background:
In the mid 80s JVC shifted its focus from 'emergency relief' to 'developmental cooperation' and 'environment protection'. Presently, based on the concept of 'Resident-Lead Village Development.' JVC considers rural self-sufficiency and environmental restoration as the path of choice towards stabilization of living conditions preserving the global environment and local resources.

Activities:
JVC is engaged in various activities including natural farming, mutual aid and environmental protection. 

One of the cornerstones of JVC's project-activities is a grass-roots style of developmental cooperation called Resident-Lead Village Development which means that the people themselves must understand the cause of the problems they are facing and actively work towards their solution. JVC's present policy, therefore, is mainly to give support from the sidelines. 

The other priority is Environmental Conservation and Protection.  JVC emphasizes the importance of 'life in harmony with nature and respect for local culture'. By promoting the restoration and preservation of the natural environment, mutual aid and people' s existence in accordance with nature, it wants to enable the people to lead permanently stable lives in their villages and rural areas.

Back to Index

Other themes:
Afforestation; agroforestry; animal husbandry; capacity building; conservation; drinking water; environmental education; natural resources management; rural infrastructure; sanitation; sustainable farming; vocational training

Other activities:
Emergency Aid, Training & Education, Personnel & Volunteers, Technical Assistance

Geographical concentration:
Africa: Ethiopia, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania
Asia: Cambodia, East-Timor, Laos, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Vietnam

Grant information:
The expenditures for foreign project in 2000 were 267 million YEN (€ 2.2 million)

(information collected in 10/2002)

Background:
Nouvelle Planète is a Swiss non-profit organization founded in 1985 on Albert Schweitzer's example and ethic. It works with local organizations and grassroots groups to design and implement community development projects.

Activities:
Agriculture:
Organization of ecological agriculture courses; construction of wells, dams, dykes and irrigation canals; to fight desertification; creation of tree nurseries and orchards in villages, and of reforested areas; enhancing the sustainable exploitation of natural
Appropiate technology:
Organizing training courses and local production of appropriate technology for villages and farmers; promoting solar energy and other renewable energy sources.

Back to Index

Other themes:
Afforestation; animal husbandry; appropiate technology; capacity building; building activities; education; food-security; health-care; indigenous people; land-rights; micro-enterprises; non-timber forest products; renewable energy; women issues

Other activities:
Training and education, Volunteers

Geographical concentration:
Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Senegal
Asia: India, Philippines, Vietnam
Latin America: Brazil, Peru

(information collected in 12/2002)

Background:
The Siemenpuu Foundation was founded by 15 Finnish NGOs or Foundations working with environment and development questions. It offers support for civil society organisations, community groups and research institutes in developing countries working for environment and the promotion of human rights.
First and foremost, the Siemenpuu Foundation wants to support people in the South to get their voices heard and at the same time to support their work in advancing citizen´s political and other decision-making powers locally and globally; in protecting biological and cultural diversity; in securing the safety of their environment and in furthering ecologically sustainable production and consumption.

Activities:
Primarily, the Foundation gives support directly to civil society organisations and networks of organisations, NGOs, community groups and research institutes operating and based in developing countries. The nature of the activities supported can be diverse. It gives funding for projects, research, publications, training, environmental and human rights advocacy work both locally and globally, support for communities in getting organised and politically empowered etc.

Projects examples:
Mali: Center for Renewable Energy: The jatropha plant as a tool for fighting
desertification, poverty alleviation & provision of clean energy services to rural women.

Back to Index

Other themes:
Capacity building; democratisation; environmental education; human rights; income generating activities; natural resources management; rural issues

Other activities:
Training & Education, Individual Assistance, Research Grants

Geographical concentration:
Africa: Cameroon, Dem. Rep. Congo, Mali, Uganda, Zambia
Asia: India, Indonesia
Latin America: Mexico, Paraguay

Grant information:
Average grant 2002: € 21 320

(information collected in 12/2002)

Background:
SwissAid is a non-for-profit, independant NGO, it supports financially and consultive the development initiatives of its local partnerorganisations, mostly in direct contact with grassroots organisations and movements, and -to a lesser degree- with NGOs, without the use of experts. Partners and projects are visited, supported and adviced on a regular basis by representatives and coordinators of SwissAid. SwissAid works in rural areas. Its support aims at promoting the autonomy of local populations', and it encourages people to develop sustainable solutions to their problems on the basis of their own knowledge, creativity, resources and traditions. This implies promotion of the full participation of women as well as support for the access to, and the conservation of, natural resources like land and water.

Activities:
SwissAid neither proposes nor carries out projects of its own. It reacts to requests made by local organisations in need of support to implement their own plans. What determines SwissAid to enter upon a partnership is not the question what, but how and with whom. SwissAid backs self-initiative, self-responsibility and the use of locally available resources (material, intellectual or technological). It does not send external experts. Local co-ordinators are in charge of the follow-up.

Back to Index

Other themes:
Afforestation; animal husbandry; aquaculture & fisheries; biodiversity; community development; conservation; democratisation; drinking water; education; environmental education; food security; gene-technology; healthcare; human rights; indigenous people; land rights; medicinal plants; micro credits; permaculture; vocational training

Other activities:
Information, Training & Education

Geographical Concentration:
Africa: Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Niger, Tanzania
Asia: India, Myanmar
Latin America: Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua

Grant information:
The average grant is around SFr 95.000 (appr. € 64.500)

(information collected in 12/2002)

Background:
TREE AID is a registered charity, working to alleviate poverty and reverse environmental degradation through community forest projects in arid Africa. Since 1987, TREE AID has funded over 70 projects in 14 of Africa's poorest countries. TREE AID aims to strengthen the long-term self-reliance of people in Africa's drylands, so that they can meet their basic needs, earn an income, and increase the stability of their communities through the regeneration of their woodlands.

Activities:
TREE AID supports projects that are working to reverse environmental degradation and poverty in Africa's drylands by transferring forestry development skills. Through these projects, local people are: being trained in the skills to establish and manage tree nurseries, planting and caring for trees, conserving soil and crucial supplies of water, carrying out activities which use less wood (such as adopting wood fuel efficient stoves), improving farming and forestry techniques, using tree products to generate income. TREE AID funds community tree projects that involve people and the benefits trees can bring to them:
- The management of natural forests and shrublands/rangelands
- The creation and management of tree nurseries, woodlots and plantations
- Agroforestry including shelterbelts, windbreaks or livefencing

All the projects have a strong training component, giving villagers the skills and knowledge with which to continue the work long after TREE AID's funding ceases.

Project examples:
Mali: "Timbuk-tree" (ARDIL); The project aims to allow groups and individuals to realise their tree-planting and agro-forestry ambitions. TREE AID money is supplying the training, the seedlings and the tools to allow people to participate in the fight against the encroaching desert.
Burkina Faso: Women's Participation in Desertification Combat Project, a scarcity of wood and decreasing soil productivity caused by overuse by humans and bush fires has affected women and girls' lives heavily, and it is females that this project works with in particular.

Back to Index

Other themes:
Afforestation; agroforestry; animal husbandry; appropiate technology; capacity building; conservation; drinking water; environmental education; horticulture; income generating activities; natural resources management; non-timber forest products

Other activities:
Training & Education; Technical assistance

Geographic concentration:
Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe

(information collected in 05/2002)

Background:
Trees for the Future is a people-to-people action program helping people bring trees, and eventually forests, back to the world's most degraded lands. The program improves living standards and the quality of life for the participants while addressing critical global issues including climate change, supplies of safe drinking water and protection of endangered species. Trees for the Future helps people plant fast growing, beneficial, permanent trees to protect the fragile uplands and ecosystems vital to participating families in developing countries in the world. The projects not only restore deforested areas, they help bring back the livilihood, health and harmony of the people who need it most.

Activities:
Trees for the Future promotes and supports reforestation and environmentally sustainable land use, in cooperation with local groups and individuals in their own communities around the world. Their aim is to reverse forest decline, improve the quality of life for those who are dependent upon forests, and ensure healthy forests for future generations. They work with subsistence farmers and promote projects that make use of low-technology.

Project examples:
Ethiopia: Greener Ethiopia in Qatburi and Butajara, was formed in 2000 by local community leaders and farmers to heal the drought stricken lands.
Tanzania: In cooperation with the ICRAF, and Caritas-Tabora an outreach program is developed, providing resources and educational support enabling farmers to propagate and plant fast-growing trees to fulfill their wood needs.
Indonesia: a project started by cattle raisers, in Madura, East Java, planted more than 22 million trees in three years. The leaves of these trees provide high-protein forage for the livestock, plus a continuous supply of firewood.
Vietnam: project to improve tree cultivars to establish natural terraces on steep slopes that maximize the lands productive capability.

Back to Index

Other themes:
Afforestation; agroforestry; appropite technology; biodiversity; climate; environmental education; indigenous people; permaculture

Other activities:
Information, Advocacy, Training & Education

Geographical concentration:
Africa: Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia
Asia: Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam
Latin America:

Grant information:
Budget 2000 for Program Services US$ 245,578

(information collected in 12/2002)

Background:
The GEF Small Grants Programme [SGP] was established in 1992, the year of the Rio Earth Summit. The principle objectives of the SGP are to:
Demonstrate community-level strategies and technologies that could reduce threats to the global environment if they are replicated over time;
Draw lessons from community-level experience, and support the spread of successful community-level strategies and innovations among CBOs and NGOs, host governments, development aid agencies, the GEF, and others working on a larger scale;
Build partnerships and networks of local stakeholders to support and strengthen community, CBO, and NGO capacity to address environmental problems and promote sustainable development.

Activities:
Providing financial and technical support to projects in developing countries that conserve and restore the natural world while enhancing well-being and livelihoods. GEF/SGP grants are awarded for activities which support community-level action in the biodiversity, climate change, and international waters focal areas. Activities that address land degradation issues - primarily concerning desertification and deforestation - can be supported if they relate to one or more of these focal areas.
Regarding biodiversity: activities must promote the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources in arid and semi-arid ecosystems; coastal, marine and freshwater ecosystems; forest ecosystems; or mountain ecosystems.

Back to Index

Other themes:
Alternative & renewable energy; awareness-raising; biodiversity; capacity building; climate; conservation; water issues

Geographical concentration:
Africa: Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Ghana, Mali, Mauretania, Mauritius, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Middle East & Northern Africa: Egypt, Jordania, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Tunisia
Asia & Pacific: Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam
Latin America: Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru
Newly Independent States: Kazachstan, Kyrgystan

Grant information:
Community-based assessment and planning (planning grants):
Small amounts of grant funds (typically no more than US$2,000) are available to support pre-project participatory assessment and planning activities designed to strengthen community participation in project identification and development.
Pilot demonstration activities:
Capacity development: grants may be awarded for targeted technical assistance and training activities.
Monitoring and analysis:
Grants funds may also be made available to intermediary NGOs and research centers (including universities) to support programme monitoring; to help identify, assess, and document best practices; and to prepare case studies of UNDP/GEF/SGP-supported projects.
Dissemination, networking, and policy dialogue:
In order to leverage UNDP/GEF/SGP project experience, grant funds are available to support dissemination of innovations and best practices, relevant networking activities, and policy dialogue efforts aimed at promoting a supportive policy environment for community-level action in the GEF focal areas. Maximum grant amount per project: US$50,000.

(information collected in 02/2003)

Background:
USC-Canada is a non-profit voluntary organization committed to the enhancement of human development through an international partnership of people linked in the challenge to eradicate poverty to effect long term solutions to poverty.
USC's overall goal is to contribute to reducing poverty in a selected number of least developed countries. USC aims to promote the development of civil society through enhancing the capacity and independence of local organizations and their beneficiaries.

Activities:
Projects focus on: improved food and income security, improved access to basic social services and increased use of agricultural practices which promote environmental sustainability and enhanced biodiversity.
USC Canada's overseas partners work directly with local communities to strengthen their capacity to manage and utilize their local resources with the aim of sustaining long term development. This approach combines new technologies with the wisdom of traditional cultures. USC Canada is also a strong voice for the role of women to ensure equal progress for all.

Project examples:
Mali: desertification projects in the Douentza-region and other parts of Northern Mali
Lesotho: partnership with the Machobane Agricultural Development Foundation (MADF) in using traditional methods of crop-rotation.

Back to Index

Other themes:
appropiate & environmental technology; biodiversity; capacity building; drinking water; education; food security; natural resources management

Other activities:
Training & education

Geographical Concentration:
Africa: Ethiopia, Lesotho, Mali, South Africa
Asia : Bagladesh, Indonesia, Nepal

Grant information:
Total expences for projects 2001 $ 3,9 million.

(information collected in 01/2003)

Please Note: All information in this publication has been gathered from public sources, Both ENDS has no control over the content of these sources and can therefore accept no liability over any actions taken as a result of the contents of these sources. If however organisations have objections against publication in the donor newsletter please notify the editor.