F23AS00375 - Counter-Wildlife Crime Capacity Building and Policy Assessment in the Eastern Caribbean

Description

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (“Service”) mission is to work with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The International Affairs Program delivers on this mission through its financial assistance programs by supporting projects that deliver measurable conservation results for priority species and their habitats around the world.The goal of the Service’s Caribbean Program is to conserve priority species, habitats, and ecological processes across landscapes with high biodiversity value in the Caribbean Region. The objectives of the Caribbean Program are:To reduce underlying threats and address the human elements of biodiversity conservation in the Caribbean by supporting the implementation of on-the-ground projects;To conserve the flora and fauna of the Caribbean Region by strengthening the ability of local institutions, decision-makers, and civil society to deliver enduring conservation actions; andTo maximize conservation impact by developing strategic partnerships with key stakeholders at the local, national, regional and international level.Withing the Caribbean region, the Eastern Caribbean is an important hot spot for biodiversity. Each island has unique communities of endemic wildlife, making them especially vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbances, including habitat loss, invasive species, and poaching for the illegal pet trade. The last few years have seen a significant uptick in the volume of Eastern Caribbean species trafficked online and in markets of Europe and the United States. This funding opportunity would provide opportunities for source, transit, and consumer countries of Eastern Caribbean to build capacity within governments to protect wildlife from poaching and trade, strengthening their abilities to detect and prosecute wildlife crimes, improving national and international networking and coordination, and developing and communicating best practices.Through this funding opportunity, the Service, in collaboration with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation (DDI), intends to fund one 18-month cooperative agreement that addresses the root causes of illegal wildlife trade by improving the capacity of Eastern Caribbean government agencies and their personnel to protect biodiversity from poaching and trafficking.The Service is seeking an NGO capable of the design and execution of a professional-level hybrid training program for law enforcement professionals from diverse backgrounds and levels of education working in the Eastern Caribbean and experienced in identifying existing policy gaps or opportunities for the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) at the national level.The objectives of this anticipated cooperative agreement are to:Strengthen the technical capacity of law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in the Eastern Caribbean to investigate, detect, and disrupt poaching and trafficking of endemic species;Increase the capacity of targeted LEAs to integrate international anti-wildlife crime approaches and conventions into the national policies, strategies, and practices; andFacilitate inter-agency, national, and regional collaboration to combat wildlife crime in Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.Desired project outcomes include:A university-accredited course and training curricula for law enforcement professionals is implemented.National, regional, and international collaboration against wildlife crime is strengthened.Counter-wildlife policy and enforcement implementation loopholes are closed; andNational-level legislations on illegal trade of wildlife are updated.The project should be implemented in Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. If work is to be conducted in the United States, the proposal must show a clear impact on biodiversity conservation in the Caribbean Region to be eligible. Priority consideration will be given to projects in the following islands: Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

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