Wildlife Without Borders-Mexico
Published on AidPage by
IDILOGIC on Jun 24, 2005
Purpose of this program:
To address the conservation and sustainable use of Mexico's wildlife and plant resources by providing financial resources for projects of organizations working to strengthen Mexico's capacity to conserve and use sustainably it's biological resources.
Possible uses and use restrictions...
Funds may be used for approved Wildlife Without Borders-Mexico projects. Project work should be conducted in Mexico and must address one or more of the following: academic and technical training in the conservation and management of biological resources; training in management of nature reserves and other protected areas; applied research and monitoring in support of natural resource management activities; community-level conservation education; technology transfer and information exchange; and the promotion of networks, partnerships and coalitions that assist in the implementation of conventions, treaties, protocols and other international activities for the conservation and management of Mexico's biological resources. If project work is to be conducted in the United States the proposal should show a clear Mexican component to be eligible for funding. Funds provided under this program will not be used for the following activities: the purchase of firearms or ammunitions; buying of intelligence information or paying informants; gathering information by persons who conceal their true identity; law enforcement operations that prompt suspects to carry out illegal activities so they may be arrested (entrapment); or any activity that would circumvent sanctions, treaties, laws or regulations of either the U.S. or Mexico.
Who is eligible to apply...
Participation is limited to Federal, State and local governments, nonprofit, non-governmental organizations; and public and private institutions of higher education.
Credentials/Documentation
None.
Note:This is a brief description of the credentials or documentation required prior to, or along with, an application for assistance.
About this section:
This section indicates who can apply to the Federal government for assistance and the criteria the potential applicant must satisfy.
For example, individuals may be eligible for research grants, and the criteria to be satisfied may be that they have a professional or scientific degree,
3 years of research experience, and be a citizen of the United States. Universities, medical schools, hospitals, or State and local governments may also be eligible.
Where State governments are eligible, the type of State agency will be indicated (State welfare agency or State agency on aging) and the criteria that they
must satisfy.
Certain federal programs (e.g., the Pell Grant program which provides grants to students) involve intermediate levels of application processing, i.e., applications
are transmitted through colleges or universities that are neither the direct applicant nor the ultimate beneficiary. For these programs,
the criteria that the intermediaries must satisfy are also indicated, along with intermediaries who are not eligible.
How to apply...
Application Procedure:
Complete application information can be found at http://international.fws.gov/grants/grants.html, or, if unable to access the website, by request from the Branch of Latin America & the Caribbean, Division of International Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 730, Arlington, VA 22203-1622.
Note: Each program will indicate whether applications are to be submitted to the Federal headquarters, regional or local office, or to a State or local government office.
Award Procedure:
Projects are simultaneously reviewed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wildlife Without Borders-Mexico review panel and the Mexican Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, Wildlife Without Borders-Mexico review panel (SEMARNAT). Once internal reviews are completed, the Service and SEMARNAT select the projects jointly. After projects are selected for funding, an Assistance Award agreement is drafted by the Division of International Conservation, which is then finalized by the Division of Contracting. Assistance Awards are mailed to fund recipients for signature. Once all required documents are returned to the Service the FWS Contracting Officer signs to fully execute the Award. Fully executed documents are mailed back to the Recipient. From this point forward, the Division of International Conservation administers the Assistance Award.
Note: Grant payments may be made by a letter of credit, advance by Treasury check, or reimbursement by Treasury check.
Awards may be made by the headquarters office directly to the applicant, an agency field office, a regional office,
or by an authorized county office. The assistance may pass through the initial applicant for further distribution by
intermediate level applicants to groups or individuals in the private sector.
Deadlines and process...
Deadlines
Proposals must be submitted to both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and SEMARNAT on or before October 1 each year.
Note:
When available, this section indicates the deadlines for applications to the funding agency which will
be stated in terms of the date(s) or between what dates the application should be received.
When not available, applicants should contact the funding agency for deadline information.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
Decisions on funding of project proposals are normally made no later than 120 days after the receipt of the project proposals.
Preapplication Coordination
None. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Note:
This section indicates whether any prior coordination or approval is required with governmental or nongovernmental units
prior to the submission of a formal application to the federal funding agency.
Appeals
Not applicable.
Note:
In some cases, there are no provisions for appeal. Where applicable, this section discusses appeal procedures or allowable rework time for resubmission
of applications to be processed by the funding agency. Appeal procedures vary with individual programs and are either listed in this section or
applicants are referred to appeal procedures documented in the relevant Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
Renewals
None. However, at the discretion of the Division of International Conservation awards can be modified, e.g.; extended for time or budget changes made.
Note:
In some instances, renewal procedures may be the same as for the application procedure, e.g., for projects of a non-continuing nature renewals will be treated as new, competing applications; for projects of an ongoing nature, renewals may be given annually.
Who can benefit...
Federal, State and local government; public nonprofit institution/organizations, and public and private institutions of higher education.
Beneficiaries
About this section:
This section lists the ultimate beneficiaries of a program, the criteria they must satisfy and who specifically is not eligible. The applicant and beneficiary will generally be the same for programs that provide assistance directly from a Federal agency. However, financial assistance that passes through State or local governments will have different applicants and beneficiaries since the assistance is transmitted to private sector beneficiaries who are not obligated to request or apply for the assistance.
What types of assistance...
How much financial aid...
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
Variable amounts. In FY 03 the awards ranged from $8,630 to $75,000, with an average of about $27,000. For FY 04, the awards will range from $20,000 to $65,000, with an average of about $34,000.
Note:
This section lists the representative range (smallest to largest) of the amount of financial assistance available. These figures are based upon funds awarded in the past fiscal year and the current fiscal year to date. Also indicated is an approximate average amount of awards which were made in the past and current fiscal years.
Obligations
(Grants) FY 03 $466,322; FY 04 est $439,326; and FY 05 est $386,000.
Note:
The dollar amounts listed in this section represent obligations for the past fiscal year (PY), estimates for the current fiscal year (CY), and estimates for the budget fiscal year (BY) as reported by the Federal agencies. Obligations for non-financial assistance programs indicate the administrative expenses involved in the operation of a program.
Account Identification
14-1611-0-1-303.
Note:
Note: This 11-digit budget account identification code represents the account which funds a particular program.
This code should be consistent with the code given for the program area as specified in Appendix III of the Budget of the United States Government.
Examples of funded projects...
Conservation projects that have as their focus capacity-building through academic and technical training in the conservation and management of biological resources; training in management of nature reserves and other protected areas; applied research and monitoring in support of natural resource management activities; community-level conservation education; technology transfer and information exchange; and the promotion of networks, partnerships and coalitions that assist in the implementation of conventions, treaties, protocols and other international activities for the conservation and management of Mexico's biological resources.
About this section
This section indicates the different types of projects which have been funded in the past. Only projects funded under Project Grants or Direct Payments for Specified Use should be listed here. The examples give potential applicants an idea of the types of projects that may be accepted for funding. The agency should list at least five examples of the most recently funded projects.
Program accomplishments...
In FY 03, 49 proposals were received and 18 of those were funded. In FY 04, 41 proposals were received and 13 of those have been selected for funding. It is estimated that 45 proposals will be received and 15 awards will be granted in FY 05. Historically 25-30% of this program's funds have been awarded to U.S. organizations, with the remaining funds going to non-domestic organizations.
Criteria for selecting proposals...
A complete list of the criteria used to select projects under this program can be found in the Wildlife Without Borders-Mexico Request for Proposals, located on-line at http://international.fws.gov/grants/grants.html. Hard copies can be obtained by contacting the Division of International Conservation at (703) 358-1754.
Assistance considerations...
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
Upon approval, the project may be extended or the agreement modified. Awarded funds must be spent during the period of performance indicated on the Assistance Award, and in accordance with the financial and performance reporting procedures specified in the Assistance Award document.
Formula and Matching Requirements
Applicants and/or other project partners must contribute funds to the project, which may include cash or in-kind contributions.
Note:
A formula may be based on population, per capita income, and other statistical factors. Applicants are informed whether there are any matching requirements to be met when participating in the cost of a project. In general, the matching share represents that portion of the project costs not borne by the Federal government. Attachment F of OMB Circular No. A-102 (Office of Management and Budget) sets forth the criteria and procedures for the evaluation of matching share requirements which may be cash or in-kind contributions made by State and local governments or other agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals to satisfy matching requirements of Federal grants or loans.
Cash contributions represent the grantees' cash outlay, including the outlay of money contributed to the grantee by other public agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals. When authorized by Federal regulation, Federal funds received from other grants may be considered as the grantees' cash contribution.
In-kind contributions represent the value of noncash contributions provided by the grantee, other public agencies and institutions, private organizations or individuals. In-kind contributions may consist of charges for real property and equipment, and value of goods and services directly benefiting and specifically identifiable to the grant program. When authorized by Federal legislation, property purchased with Federal funds may be considered as grantees' in-kind contribution.
Maintenance of effort (MOE) is a requirement contained in certain legislation, regulations, or administrative policies stating that a grantee must maintain a specified level of financial effort in a specific area in order to receive Federal grant funds, and that the Federal grant funds may be used only to supplement, not supplant, the level of grantee funds.
Post assistance requirements...
Reports
Financial and performance reports are to be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions listed in the Assistance Award.
Note:
This section indicates whether program reports, expenditure reports, cash reports or performance monitoring are required by the Federal funding agency, and specifies at what time intervals (monthly, annually, etc.) this must be accomplished.
Audits
In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular A-133 (Revised June 27, 2003), ?Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations?, non-federal entities that expend $500,000 or more in Federal awards shall have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Non-Federal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in OMB Circular A-133.
Note:
This section discusses audits required by the Federal agency.
The procedures and requirements for State and local governments and nonprofit entities are set forth in OMB Circular No. A-133.
These requirements pertain to awards made within the respective State's fiscal year - not the Federal fiscal year,
as some State and local governments may use the calendar year or other variation of time span designated as the fiscal year period,
rather than that commonly known as the Federal fiscal year (from October 1st through September 30th).
Records
Recipient will maintain records in accordance with the provisions of 43 CFR part 12, Subpart C, "Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments" and 43 CFR Part 12, Subpart F, "Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and other Nonprofit Organizations."
Note:
This section indicates the record retention requirements and the type of records the Federal agency may require.
Not included are the normally imposed requirements of the General Accounting Office.
For programs falling under the purview of OMB Circular No. A-102, record retention is set forth in Attachment C.
For other programs, record retention is governed by the funding agency's requirements.
Regulations...
Authorization
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531-43).
Note:
This section lists the legal authority upon which a program is based (acts, amendments to acts, Public Law numbers, titles, sections, Statute Codes, citations to the U.S. Code, Executive Orders, Presidential Reorganization Plans, and Memoranda from an agency head).
Regulations, Guidelines, And Literature
Grants will be administered in conformance with the "Assistance Award Guidelines" established by the Division of International Conservation, which uses as its sources the regulations found at 43 CFR Part 12 and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Administration Manual. The "Assistance Award Guidelines" can be found on-line at http://international.fws.gov/grants/grants.html or in hard copy by contacting the Division of International Conservation at (703) 358-1754.