The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) is the agency which takes care of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park to protect it for future generations. The authority uses best available scientific information for managing the park in the best possible way. The authority reports to the Australian Government Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. The four main branches of GBRMPA include Marine Park Management, Environment and Sustainability, Communication and Policy Coordination, and Corporate Services.
GBRMPA is currently inviting applications from eligible individuals for Sea Country Partnerships Grants Program 2011-2012. This program is part of the GBRMPA’s implementation of the Caring for our Country Reef Rescue Land and Sea Country Indigenous Partnerships Program funded by the Australian Government.
Grant Provisions
The Sea Country Partnerships Grant funding will provide small grants between $5000 and $50,000 to fund projects that enable Traditional Owners to complement enhance or support new sea country management initiatives. Successful applicants might use the funding to develop sea country plans, improve management and technical skills and undertake research and management of traditional knowledge, map sea country and establish and maintain decision-making processes that are critical to the development and implementation of sea country management.
Project Priority Areas
To be eligible for a grant, projects must focus on sea country management and align with one or more the Land and Sea Country Indigenous Partnerships Program priority areas:
– Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreements (TUMRA)
– Strengthening of communications and knowledge sharing
– Enhanced compliance
– Engaging with communities
Eligibility Criteria for Applicants
To be eligible, applicants must be a Traditional Owner group. Traditional Owner groups that apply for a Sea Country Partnership Grant must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible:
– Must be a legal entity, for instance:
- an incorporated association
- a body corporate
- a company
- a cooperative society
- an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander corporation or incorporated association, or
- a trust duly constituted.
– Must be a Traditional Owner group of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) catchment (if more than one Traditional Owner group applies in a single application, at least one Traditional Owner group must be from the GBR catchment).
– Must not have received funding for the same project under the previous 2010-11 Caring for our Country Business Plan (including Reef Rescue). Can still apply if it is a different project.
Activities
Some examples of the types of eligible activities that may be included in project delivery include:
– Maintaining Traditional Knowledge about sea country
– Identification, recording and maintaining cultural values of sea country
– Natural resource management activities (these can include seagrass monitoring, turtle and dugong monitoring)
– Coastal and wetland rehabilitation and maintenance (those areas that have been affected by extreme weather will be a priority)
– Educational activities and those activities that raise community awareness
– Community projects demonstrating leadership and governance in sea country management
– Developing and implementing sea country planning around management activities
Last date for submitting the applications is February 17, 2012.
For more information, visit this link.
