B I O D I V E R S I T Y
What do fire salamanders and Hungarian soap operas have in common? The connection may not be obvious. But during a recent episode of the Szabo Family, one of Hungary's most popular radio soap operas, the endangered amphibian became one of the main stars.
So did a biodiversity project which is focused on the salamander. Coordinated by the Hungarian Toad Action Group in cooperation with NGOs from Croatia, Slovenia and Yugoslavia, the collaborative project was a recipient of a Cooperative Grant in 1997 from the REC, and was later featured on the Szabo Family. The project's aim is to educate people about the beauty and importance of typically "unpopular" animals and their habitats. Apparently, the salamander has increased in popularity as a result of the work of this team and that of the soap opera.
In an effort to encourage other NGOs to work on biodiversity issues, the REC announces a Call for Tender on People and Nature in South Central and Eastern Europe. Supported by the Swiss Ministry of the Environment, this grant program will focus on conserving and improving biodiversity in the Balkan countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia and Yugoslavia by supporting NGO projects that help re-establish ties between people and their surrounding environments. Another goal of the program is to bring people together across country borders to learn about and appreciate their shared natural heritage. The REC has a total of ECU 105,000 to distribute to registered NGOs and the maximum grant will be ECU 25,000 per project.
The application process is in two parts. First, NGOs working in one of the countries listed above will identify a partner (or partners) in other Balkan countries with which to work and together they will submit a project outline or concept paper. The NGOs which write the most promising concept papers will be awarded a small grant, up to ECU 1,000, to meet with their partners to prepare a full project proposal. Full proposals will be due two months after the NGOs are notified that they have been awarded the preliminary grant.
Hungarian NGOs will also be eligible to apply for "People in Nature" grants due to the generosity of the Dutch Ministry of the Environment. The process to apply will be exactly the same as for the other countries. ECU 20,000 is available for grants in Hungary, and again, grant awards for concept papers will be limited to ECU 1,000.
In January, the full text of the Call for Tender will be available from REC Local Offices, REC Head Office and on the REC's website. For further info, please contact Entela Pinguli.