Community-nominated priority places for species at risk

Overview

Community-Nominated Priority Places (CNPP) for Species at Risk is part of Canada’s Nature Fund. CNPP will support multi-partner initiatives in priority places where there are opportunities to protect and recover species at risk and their habitat through multi-species and ecosystem-based conservation action.

The application submission period for projects commencing in 2021-22 is now closed.

Contact email: lpdc-cnpp@ec.gc.ca

Objectives

CNPP is a 4-year (2019 to 2020 through 2022 to 2023) funding initiative administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

CNPP is seeking joint proposals (lead applicant plus one or more partners) for the second two-year period of the initiative (2021 to 2023) for projects in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, or the Yukon that:

• identify defined priority places where there are opportunities to protect and recover multiple terrestrial species at risk listed under the Species at Risk Act and their habitat and
• implement coordinated, multi-partner conservation actions in these identified community-nominated priority places

Projects should result in a high return on investment and benefits to multiple species.

Federal, provincial, and territorial governments have already selected 11 priority places to focus collaborative conservation action, following the concept outlined in the Pan-Canadian Approach to Transforming Species at Risk Conservation in Canada ^{Footnote 1} (“Pan-Canadian Approach”). Through the first CNPP call for proposals, ECCC expanded on this initiative to fund 15 projects in additional areas that were not included in these 11 priority places. The second call for proposals targets projects in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, or the Yukon, excluding the South Beringia priority place in the Yukon.

Expected results

Priorities of CNPP will include:

• contributes towards recovery of species at risk
• advances partnerships and collaboration, including with Indigenous peoples
• contributes to priority co-benefits (e.g. contribution to achieving Pathway to Canada Target 1^{Footnote 2} , provision of ecosystem services, climate change adaptation and mitigation, socio-economic benefits)

Eligible applicants

Eligible recipients include:

• domestic or international not-for-profit organizations, such as charitable and volunteer organizations, professional associations, and non-governmental organizations
• domestic or international Indigenous organizations, governments, individuals, boards, commissions, communities, associations and authorities, including
  • Indigenous not-for-profit organizations
  • district councils, Chiefs councils and Tribal councils
  • Indigenous research, academic and educational institutions
  • Indigenous for-profit organizations
• domestic or international research, academic and educational institutions
• Canadian individuals
• domestic or international for-profit organizations, such as small businesses with less than 500 employees, companies, corporations, and industry associations
• local organizations such as community associations and groups, seniors’ and youth groups, and service clubs
• municipal and local governments and their agencies

In cases where recipients further distribute funds, the ultimate recipients must be the same as those listed above.

Geographic location

Community-nominated priority places in the second call for proposals must be located in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, or the Yukon and have multiple species at risk residing within them. They must be located outside of the 11 Federal-Provincial-Territorial Priority Places established under the Pan-Canadian Approach. In the territories, there is only one priority place: South Beringia in the Yukon. 

The map below highlights the location of the South Beringia priority place in the territories. If you have a proposed project that overlaps with one or a few of the very small areas at the edge of the South Beringia priority place, please contact your northern regional coordinator, Dawn Andrews (dawn.andrews@canada.ca), to discuss whether it is appropriate to apply to CNPP.

Eligible projects

Joint proposals (i.e. lead applicant plus one or more partners) are required.

In general, activities that could be implemented in an identified priority place could include the following:

1. cooperative multi-species, ecosystem/area-based action planning
   • develop goals, objectives, strategies, and project monitoring and implementation plans for selected conservation targets
   • activities could include data collection including Indigenous Knowledge,  mapping, governance-building, stakeholder engagement, capacity building for the use of adaptive management tools
2. implementation of planned actions
   • implement on the ground recovery and protection actions  (e.g. species management and restoration, species and habitat protection, habitat improvement, threat reduction)
3. monitoring, analysis and evaluation
   • gather and analyze project monitoring data and update monitoring plan (e.g. Are threats reduced? Are strategies effective?); adapt actions as needed

In cases where applicants have already completed initial stages, such as action planning, proposals can focus on implementation and other subsequent stages. In order to achieve conservation action on the ground quickly, it is recommended that projects do not allocate more than 50% of all funds requested to planning activities.

Range of funding

Federal contributions will be no more than $500,000 per recipient per fiscal year of the funding agreement.

In all applications, the applicant will detail the total costs of proposed activities and identify other sources of funds. Matching funding of at least 0.2:1 for Indigenous recipients from non-federal sources ($0.20 confirmed match for each $1 of federal funding) and at least 1:1 for other recipients from non-federal sources ($1 confirmed match for each $1 of federal funding). Match may include cash and in-kind sources.

Frequently asked questions

Contact information

For more information, please contact us at lpdc-cnpp@ec.gc.ca