Deadline: 31 January 2016

The Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong (OPCFHK) is currently inviting applications for its conservation funding projects in Asia 2016-2017. The Foundation support projects on other threatened amphibians, reptiles, birds, fishes, invertebrates and other aquatic and terrestrial mammals, as well as their habitats throughout Asia.

OPCFHK envisions a world where Asian wildlife remains biologically diverse under the stewardship of humans, corporations and governments. The Foundation supports conservation research and management, as well as community education and capacity.

Eligible Countries

• Eastern Asia: China, China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China, Macao Special Administrative Region, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Republic of Korea.
• Southern Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
• South-Eastern Asia: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam.
• Papua New Guinea, the Far East Russian.

Thematic Areas

• Effects of Climate Change on Asian Wildlife and Habitats:
  • Understanding the ecological impacts of climate change to threatened wildlife, e.g. shifts in species’ ranges and in the timing of biological activities;
  • Retaining critical habitats of wildlife affected by climate change by enhancing current protected areas or establishing new protected areas in potential areas after range shift;
  • Reducing carbon emission from deforestation, forest fire and forest or wetland degradation by adaptive and sustainable habitat management practices in wildlife habitats;
  • Sequestrating carbon through reforestation or afforestation programmes with the consideration of restoring or reconnecting critical habitats of wildlife by using native plant species;
  • Organising conservation education programmes to engage communities in order to reduce anthropogenic effects leading to climate change.
• Effects of Marine Debris on Asian Wildlife and Habitats:The Foundation encourages projects to identify, remove, reduce and prevent marine debris impacting wildlife in Asia.  Conservation projects to understand and reduce the threats on wildlife, or education programmes to engage public participation will be considered.
• Saving Asian Biodiversity:
  • Identifying habitats with rich biodiversity in Asia;
  • Retaining critical habitats or maintaining species survivorship of threaten biodiversity hotspots by eliminating or mitigating threats;
  • Developing site-based management with species action plans (e.g. IUCN) for conservation planning which focus on specific threatened species;
  • Organising conservation education programmes to engage communities or members of general public to aware of the importance of biodiversity and reduce anthropogenic effects leading to biodiversity loss or species extinction; and
  • Building professional capacity of local conservationists or researchers on field monitoring, species or habitat management, community education, etc.

Grants available & Duartion

• Majority of successful applications in 2015/16 were one-year projects averaged HK$ 184,000/year (US$23,000).
• The funding provided is to cover the relevant project expenses during the approved project period, as stated in the application.
• Multiple-year proposals last from 3 to a maximum of 5 years and limited to HK$ 1 million per year will be considered separately based on project conservation impact.

How to Apply

• Applicants must download the application form through the website.
• The Foundation will acknowledge receipt of your application through email, and please resend it if you do not receive our acknowledgement within five working days after your first submission.

For more information, please visit Conservation fund.