Manomet Small Grants for Conservation of Neotropical Shorebirds 2024

Goals

• The Manomet Small Grants program seeks to:
  • Promote the conservation of shorebird species and populations breeding in Latin America and the Caribbean (the Neotropics).
  • Strengthen knowledge of Neotropical shorebirds to inform decision-making which contributes directly to the management of populations and/or key sites.
  • Integrate the needs of Neotropical shorebirds into other biodiversity conservation and sustainable development efforts at key sites.
  • Support the designation of WHSRN sites for Neotropical shorebird species and populations.
  • Build the capacity of early career conservationists and researchers in the Neotropics.

Funding Information

• Grants of $3,000 (US Dollars) are available subject to the Grant Guidelines.
• Proposals are assessed once a year.
• Successful applicants will have the opportunity to be mentored by one or more of the WHSRN Executive Office team during the course of their project. This will primarily be through remote interactions (meetings, e-mail), but may also include project visits (by Executive Office team members).
• Manomet expects to award up to 10 grants in 2024.

Eligibility Criteria

• Geographic Focus: Awards are only available to projects carried out by nationals and/or residents of countries and territories in the Neotropics. The Neotropics are defined as Central and South America, Mexico and the Caribbean. Priority is given to early career applicants (with five or less years of experience working with shorebirds).
• Species Focus: Applications should focus on research and/or conservation actions for species and populations of shorebirds restricted to the Neotropics. Priority is given to species of global or regional conservation concern.
  • Higher priority will be given to projects that address research or conservation needs of these species and populations within WHSRN sites  or sites with the potential to qualify for WHSRN status.
  • Research projects should focus on questions of direct relevance to the conservation of the target species or population (e.g. to better understand a population limiting factor).  Applications that lack a strong conservation focus will not be prioritized for support.
  • Projects that focus on species and populations of shorebirds that only breed in North America are not eligible (but a Neotropical-breeding population of a species which also has a population breeding in North America is eligible.
• Collaborators: Projects should be developed in close collaboration with a local conservation agency, research institution, and/or non-governmental organization. Projects that are likely to achieve constructive local engagement that benefits conservation of a species through environmental education in local communities, working with local decision-making or land-management organizations, or local/international publicity are eligible.
• Budget: Projects should have a total budget small enough for the Manomet small grant to be a significant proportion of that total.

For more information, visit WHSRN.