Guidance

Terms of reference: piloting gender-transformative interventions to tackle environmental crime and biodiversity loss

Published 11 July 2022

1. Objective

The Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) is a unique cross-government fund that tackles conflict, stability and security challenges overseas, which pose the greatest threat to UK national security.

Since its inception in 2015, CSSF programmes have addressed threats arising through conflict, serious and organised crime, terrorism and violent extremism in more than 85 countries and territories.  It has been a catalyst for a more integrated UK government response to fragility and conflict, including delivering our commitments under UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace & Security (WPS) 2018-2022, and the Integrated Review.

The UK has a domestic commitment to reach net zero by 2050, and the Integrated Review highlights climate change and biodiversity loss as the number one international priority for Her Majesty’s Government due to the impacts on global resilience. This Terms of Reference focuses on global biodiversity, which is in unprecedented decline with 75% of the world’s land surface and 66% of the ocean significantly altered and degraded by human activity, which has particularly severe consequences for the world’s poor and vulnerable[footnote 1]. Over-exploitation of nature, the illegal wildlife trade, deforestation, and habitat loss are amongst the key drivers of this decline[footnote 2]. Environmental crime is expanding and increasingly endangering not only wildlife populations but also entire ecosystems and sustainable[footnote 3].

Gender influences and changes the way people interact with the environment. Women in many parts of the world, especially in indigenous communities, are among the first to experience the impact of species extinction[footnote 4]. Indigenous Peoples safeguard around 80% of the world’s biodiversity, and women within these communities represent powerful agents for change through their unique implementation of local knowledge and practices[footnote 5][footnote 6]. Despite this, our understanding of the intersection between gender, biodiversity loss and environmental crime, remains limited. Gender professionals often have insufficient knowledge and experience on conservation strategies, while biodiversity specialists often do not have the awareness of national policies and priorities for gender equality[footnote 7]. Disregarding gender dynamics in environmental crime and implementing ‘gender-blind’ approaches to conservation have resulted in a lack of understanding of real-world activities, processes and reducing the effectiveness of interventions[footnote 8].

The Gender, Peace and Security (GPS) Portfolio funds innovative projects to address emerging trends. The team are seeking bids that pilot research or gender-transformative interventions that improve gender equality and secure the rights of women, girls and marginalised groups whilst reduce environmental crime and/or biodiversity loss in Fragile and Conflict-Affected State (FCAS). All projects should reflect our values and aim to protect the planet for future generations.

2. Project Content Requirements

Any project must focus on the nexus of biodiversity loss, conflict/criminality and gender. The implementer may pilot interventions under the following suggested sub-themes:

  • support for communities and environmental defenders in FCAS that have the most at stake in the climate and biodiversity crisis to own development discourse on preventing biodiversity loss
  • local and context specific manifestations of gendered violence, corruption and militarisation of environmental crime
  • developing strategic partnerships and improving capacity and capability of climate organisations integrating gender analysis and mainstreaming gender
  • intersecting identities and environmental crime (sexual orientation, race, class
  • mainstreaming gender into policies and conventions, such as CITES
  • gendered research into consumer markets of illegal goods, development and analysis of gender-targeted behaviour-change campaigns
  • advocacy and awareness campaigns to leverage support for gendered awareness and activities between civil society organisations focussed on climate and biodiversity
  • ecosystem-centred or species-specific research into gendered roles from poaching to consumption and examination of gendered ecosystem-wide effects of removing or reducing a single species

If the implementer considers additional sub-themes to be relevant, we would welcome new and innovative ideas where they align with policy objectives.

Although there is no focus country for this work, we are particularly interested in bids from states with critical areas of biodiversity that are currently under threat (for example, rainforest in the DRC and Amazon; Wetlands and Peatlands). Activities should take an inclusive, multi-stakeholder approach, working with local partners to either address gaps in programming and research or demonstrate how the pilot builds on existing research.

3. Bidding guidance

  • projects will be funded initially between October 2022 to March 2023
  • multiyear funding to March 2025 will be considered in exceptional cases, each project will be subject to annual break clauses in March each year
  • successful implementers must receive project funding in GBP
  • maximum budget limit: £200,000 (2 hundred thousand pounds sterling)
  • proposals should not be crafted to reach the budget ceiling, but to specifically meet the objectives in pursuit of demonstrable impact and value for money
  • the funding will be available as a mixture of Official Development Assistance and non-Official Development Assistance
  • bids where possible should not exceed 30 pages
  • bids must be in English

Read guidance for partners on the FCDO International Programme guidance page.

4. Process

The deadline for project proposals is 11.59pm (GMT) on 14 August 2022. Late proposals will not be considered.

  • include “Gender-Transformative Interventions to Tackle Environmental Crime and Biodiversity Loss” and organisation name in the subject line
  • proposals must be submitted using the forms listed in the documentation section below
  • bidders must submit documents in standard Microsoft Office formats
  • proposals must be submitted to CSSFGender.PeaceSecurity@fcdo.gov.uk
  • the selected bidder/s will undergo a Due Diligence Assessment
  • the team seeks to finalise grant agreements with successful project implementers by 16 September 2022

5. Assessment

This is a competitive process and the following criteria will be used to assess each proposal:

  • alignment with the above mentioned thematic priorities and policy
  • project design that demonstrates the ability to deliver outputs
  • evidence of sustainability and continuation of benefits after the funding ends
  • alignment with the Paris Agreement, demonstrating that climate and environmental risk have been considered and no harm will be done
  • suitable monitoring, evaluation and learning processes
  • risk identification and management
  • stakeholder and beneficiary identification
  • budget that outlines a sufficient details and overall value for money and aligns with the guidance activity-based budget template

6. Essential skills and competencies of the implementer

The implementer will have:

  • experience and familiarity of gender and environmental programming
  • strong operational experience of working in the country or region in which the project is based
  • the ability to source appropriate expertise to support any capacity building and advocacy components, both in-country and if necessary, from outside
  • project and budget management skills
  • appropriate cyber security controls to protect participants, the organisation and U.K. funding
  • robust approaches to risk management, conflict sensitivity, and safeguarding policies and implementation plans in place that ensure the protection of beneficiaries and to safeguard against sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH). The project must be in line with UK equalities legislation, including International Development (Gender Equality Act) and Public Sector Equality Duty

7. Documentation

You must include the following documents with your submission:

You can also read value for money guidance.

8. Additional information

The FCDO is moving away from using a flat NPAC rate. Read further guidance. However, for the majority of projects, admin costs are unlikely to exceed 10% of the total project budget, but 10% is not a target or a cap. There will be circumstances where admin costs over 10% may still represent value for money and we will review these costs during the review process.

All successful implementers will sign a standard FCDO grant agreement. The terms of the contract or agreement are not negotiable.

Projects should aim to achieve 85% spend by 31 December 2022 and activities should be avoided in the final month of the project; however, we recognise this may not be possible with a short implementation period. Activity Based Budgets should reflect this where possible.

9. Contacts

For further queries, contact the CSSF Programme Team:

CSSFGender.PeaceSecurity@fcdo.gov.uk