The GCBC Research Grant Competition 3 (RGC3) is now officially open for Concept Note applications!

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The GCBC Research Grant Competition 3 (RGC3) is now officially open for Concept Note applications!

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The GCBC Research Grant Competition 3 (RGC3) is now officially open for Concept Note applications!

Published 04 Feb 2025

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Agriculture Agroforestry Coastal Ecosystems Conservation and Restoration Food Systems Improving livelihoods Indigenous Peoples Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Natural Resource Management Nature based solutions Partnership Small Island Developing States Social Inclusion

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The GCBC Opportunities Portal is now open to receive Concept Note submissions for projects that address either one (or both) of the Third Research Grant Competition (RGC3) themes.  

The Opportunities Portal provides applicants with access to the Invitation to Apply Pack, a comprehensive range of resources to assist applications for RGC3 grant funding. Only applicants registered on the portal via www.gcbc.org.uk can access these essential documents and submit Concept Notes.   

Register Here  

The two research themes of this RGC3 are:  

  • Theme 1: Using biodiversity to improve the climate resilience of agricultural, food and bioeconomy value chains – Transforming agrifood systems at scale to incorporate nature-based solutions that build biodiversity back into production landscapes to boost climate resilience and reduce poverty (open to all GCBC focus regions). 
  • Theme 2: Biodiversity hotspots in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) – Building sustainable businesses from nature to adapt to climate change, protect biodiversity, and tackle poverty (focused in SIDS). 

The Concept Note application window closes on Sunday 16 March, 2025 at 23:00 hrs, UTC.  

Following the assessment of Concept Notes, successful applicants from this first round will then be invited to submit Full Proposals for their proposed projects which align with the RGC3 themes.  

The GCBC, a UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), aims to fund a mixed portfolio of up to twenty grants in RGC3, covering a range of topics and geographies across both themes. Grants sums of between £100,000 and £1 million are offered for projects of 12-36 months duration.  To be accepted for funding under the GCBC programme projects must demonstrate: 

  • Fit to GCBC: All proposals need to address poverty alleviation and climate resilience, focusing on approaches that better value, protect, restore and sustainably manage biodiversity. 
  • Fit to theme: Proposals must address research questions within one of the themes set out above. 
  • GESI: All proposals must incorporate clear plans to factor in gender, equality and social inclusion from the outset. 
  • R&D: Proposed work must meet the definition of research and development: creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge – including knowledge of humankind, culture and society – and to devise new applications of available knowledge (OECD, 2015). 

 

Resources for RGC3 Applicants

A series of webinars to provide supporting information for Concept Note applications for RGC3 were recently completed.

Watch the Webinars here:

RGC3 Themes

Concept Note Preparation

Research for Impact

If you are considering applying but have not yet registered, the GCBC has produced several resources to assist applicants for RGC3 funding: 

Download the RGC3 Theme Paper here 

Download the Invitation to Apply Overview here 

Download the GCBC Research Strategy here 

  

 

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Agriculture Agroforestry Coastal Ecosystems Conservation and Restoration Food Systems Improving livelihoods Indigenous Peoples Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Natural Resource Management Nature based solutions Partnership Small Island Developing States Social Inclusion

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Research Grant Competition 2 (RGC2): The GCBC awards £13.4 million in UK ODA grants for research to find nature-based solutions to climate change and poverty reduction   

Published 14 Jan 2025

GCBC

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Agriculture Agroforestry Capacity Building Coastal Ecosystems Conservation and Restoration Food Systems Governance and Policy Improving livelihoods Indigenous Peoples Natural Resource Management Nature based solutions

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RGC2 awards 18 new project grants worth £13.4 million based on the theme: “Driving innovation in how biodiversity can support climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods through practice and governance”. 

Initial concept note applications for the second GCBC research grant competition (RGC2) numbered 507 from lead delivery partners in 60 UK-ODA eligible countries. This response more than trebled the 155 applications submitted for the first round of grants in 2023. From the initial concept notes, 56 applications were selected to submit full proposals.    

Grant awards were made using several criteria, including applications’ contribution to the context of the RGC2 theme. These involved assessing applicants’ understanding of how addressing evidence gaps in the potential of nature-based solutions using less utilised species (plants, animals, insects, fungi, trees etc.) can contribute to:   

  • improving poor livelihoods through more resilience to climate change;  
  • meeting resource or service demands; and  
  • protecting and conserving traditional knowledge and biodiversity.  

Filling these evidence gaps is critical to finding innovative approaches to guide practice and governance.  

Climate change, biodiversity loss and poverty are three of the most pressing challenges facing the world today and are fundamentally inter-linked. Climate change, driven by human activity, is increasingly and negatively affecting people and the natural environment. Biodiversity loss, which also results from human activity, is causing degraded landscapes and soil and increasing food insecurity. This exacerbates climate risk by reducing the resilience of natural and managed ecosystems. Unfortunately, those living in poverty are often the most vulnerable and the least able to respond to the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss. 

By working in partnership with scientists, research institutions and practitioners around the world, the GCBC seeks to develop innovative research and scalable approaches to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. This will have an impact on ecosystem resilience to climate change, halting and reversing biodiversity loss, contributing to poverty alleviation and helping countries to achieve a nature-positive future. The GCBC is funded by the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs working in partnership with DAI as the Fund Manager Lead and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew as the Strategic Science Lead.  

The 18 projects awarded under RGC2 will be implemented in 16 UK ODA-eligible countries in the Global South; seven countries from Latin America (including Central America) and the Caribbean (Brazil; Colombia; Ecuador; Dominican Republic; Guatemala; Panama; Peru); six from Sub-Saharan Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo; Ethiopia; Ghana; Kenya; Tanzania; Republic of Congo); and three from South East Asia and the Pacific (Cambodia; Indonesia; Vietnam).  

Eleven of the RGC2 projects cover broad thematic areas: Agroforestry; Community led approaches; Integrated land / water management; and Forest restoration. Seven of the projects cover more uniquely focused research areas: Seagrass restoration; Carbon markets; Biodiverse seed bank; Mangrove restoration; Peatlands; Land use (landscape level); and Underutilised species for soil restoration.  

“This new round of 18 diverse and innovative projects represents a consolidation of the ‘Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate’ as Defra’s flagship ODA R&D programme.  These new projects will continue GCBC’s growing reputation for delivery of high-quality evidence about the effective and sustainable use of biodiversity for climate resilience and to improve livelihoods.” said Professor Gideon Henderson, Chief Scientific Adviser, UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

“As fund management lead, DAI is delighted to continue our relationship with Defra and especially to welcome the successful applicants who are joining the GCBC’s project portfolio for the next phase of the programme’s development. Through this project round, we will continue to support scientists, academics and research institutions working to build stronger capacity, increase collaboration, deliver high-impact projects and share learning on the biodiversity-climate-livelihoods nexus that will have an impact on ecosystem resilience to climate change, halting and reversing biodiversity loss and contributing to poverty alleviation,” said Luqman Ahmad, Senior Vice President, DAI.  

“As strategic science lead, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew also welcomes the new projects to the growing portfolio. The new evidence, data and knowledge across pressures/drivers, solutions and enablers for the different themes of the grant competitions will support the adoption of systems approaches in tackling the nexus of climate, biodiversity and livelihoods. By understanding and managing the complex interactions between science, society and the multiple interacting systems through temporal and spatial scales it will be possible to recommend solutions – orientated approaches for transformative change across different sectors and regions,” said Professor Monique Simmonds, Deputy Director, Science (Partnerships), The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.    

The 18 Projects funded by RGC2:

Assessing Carbon Credits as a Sustainable Funding Mechanism for Participatory Forest Management in Tanzania – Lead Grantee: Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania (Country: Tanzania)

Biodiversity for climate and social resilience: Empowerment of coastal communities in sustainable production practices in Ecuador – Lead Grantee: Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral – ESPOL, Ecuador (Country: Ecuador)

Biodiversity science in support of community-led conservation of threatened local forests in Tompotika, Central Sulawesi: Protecting biodiversity, ecosystem services and climate resilient local livelihoods – Lead Grantee: Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG), USA (Country: Indonesia)

Biodiversity potential for resilient livelihoods in the Lower Omo, Ethiopia – Lead Grantee: University of Leeds, UK (Country: Ethiopia)

BREL-Borneo: Benefits of Biodiverse Restoration for Ecosystems and Livelihoods in Borneo – Lead Grantee: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, UK (Country: Indonesia)

Cataloguing and Rating of Opportunities for Side-lined Species in Restoration of Agriculturally Degraded Soils in Sub-Saharan Africa (CROSSROADS-SSA) – Lead Grantee: University of Aberdeen, UK (Country: Ethiopia)

Creation of an Intercultural biodiverse Seed Bank with the indigenous “Resguardo Puerto Naranjo” for enhancing restoration and conservation efforts in degraded areas in the Colombian Amazon – Lead Grantee: Fundación Tropenbos, Colombia (Country: Colombia)

EMBRACE: Engaging Local Communities in Minor Crop Utilisation for Biodiversity Conservation and Livelihood Enrichment – Lead Grantee: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Crops Research Institute (CSIR-CRI), Ghana (Countries: Ghana and Kenya)

Enabling large-scale and climate-resilient forest restoration in the Eastern Amazon – Lead Grantee: Lancaster University, UK (Country: Brazil)

Exploring sustainable land use pathways for ecosystems, food security and poverty alleviation: opportunities for Indonesia’s food estate programme – Lead Grantee: University of Sussex, UK (Country: Indonesia)

Forest restoration on Indigenous lands: Restoring biodiversity for multiple ecosystem services, community resilience and financial sustainability through locally informed strategies and incentives – Lead Grantee: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama (Country: Panama)

Integrated Land and Water Management of the Greater Amanzule Wetland System – Lead Grantee: University of Education, Winneba, Ghana (Country: Ghana)

NATIVE: Sustainable Riverscape Management for Resilient Riverine Communities – Lead Grantee: University of Lincoln, UK (Countries: Colombia and Dominican Republic)

Nature based solutions for climate resilience of local and Indigenous communities in Guatemala – Lead Grantee: University of Greenwich, UK (Country: Guatemala)

Realising the potential of plant bioresources as new economic opportunities for the Ecuadorian Amazon: developing climate resilient sustainable bioindustry – Lead Grantee: Universidad Tecnica Particular de Loja, Ecuador (Country: Ecuador)  

Recognising and rewarding the contribution of Indigenous knowledge for the sustainable management of biodiversity – Lead Grantee: Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), USA (Country: Cambodia)

TRIALS: Translating Research into Action for Livelihoods and Seagrass: Establishing scientific foundation for seagrass restoration and blue carbon potential, with sustainable livelihood development for coastal communities in Central Vietnam – Lead Grantee: WWF-UK, UK (Country: Vietnam)

Using biodiversity to support climate resilient livelihoods in intact tropical peatlands  – Lead Grantee: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK   (Countries: Peru, the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo)  

 

Photo Credit (Detail): Laitche

 

 

 

 

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Agriculture Agroforestry Capacity Building Coastal Ecosystems Conservation and Restoration Food Systems Governance and Policy Improving livelihoods Indigenous Peoples Natural Resource Management Nature based solutions

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Forest restoration on Indigenous lands: Restoring biodiversity for multiple ecosystem services, community resilience and financial sustainability through locally informed strategies and incentives

Published 14 Jan 2025

Project Details

Country: Panama

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Agroforestry Conservation and Restoration Governance and Policy Improving livelihoods Indigenous Peoples Nature based solutions

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Country: Panama

Lead Partner: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama

Summary: The project’s focus is on a social-ecological system with participative and linked social and biophysical research and training leading to an innovative, Indigenous forest restoration initiative. Social justice and equity principles will drive payments for ecosystem services to protect biodiversity, mitigate climate change, and improve the lives of people who rejected an extractive industry. Contextualised results from complex local to national governance provide vital information for regional scaling.

Photograph (detail): Fran Hogan

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Agroforestry Conservation and Restoration Governance and Policy Improving livelihoods Indigenous Peoples Nature based solutions

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NATIVE: Sustainable Riverscape Management for Resilient Riverine Communities

Published 14 Jan 2025

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Country: Dominican Republic

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Improving livelihoods Indigenous Peoples Natural Resource Management Nature based solutions

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Countries: Colombia, Dominican Republic

Lead Partner: University of Lincoln, UK

Summary: Tropical river floodplains host precious biodiversity but are affected by a range of human impacts at the scale of basin and river networks such as forest clearcut, excessive erosion, sediment mining, and occupancy of flood-prone areas. Floodplains tend to host deprived communities increasingly exposed to flooding risks due to climate change.

The project aims at breaking the vicious circle of unhealthy fluvial ecosystems driving livelihood losses, exacerbated by climate change that increases flooding and droughts. The project couples dialogue with local/Indigenous communities and stakeholders, advanced modelling tools, and field data collection. It will develop an evidence-based, bottom-up, and scalable new paradigm of floodplain use that reduces the impacts on the eco-geomorphological diversity of rivers while improving the use of the floodplains to increase the sustainable production of food.

The concept will be tested in two study sites where local households and stakeholders will reduce their impacts on the eco-geomorphological diversity of rivers while improving livelihood. This will be accomplished by creating pilot green gardens in safe portions of the floodplain to secure an income for households (in Colombia), and by including improved ecosystem services into water security investments (in Dominican Republic). The outcomes will profit local communities and will increase ecosystem services for the benefit of humanity.

 

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Improving livelihoods Indigenous Peoples Natural Resource Management Nature based solutions

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Nature based solutions for climate resilience of local and Indigenous communities in Guatemala

Published 14 Jan 2025

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Country: Guatemala

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Improving livelihoods Indigenous Peoples Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Natural Resource Management Nature based solutions

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Country: Guatemala

Lead Partner: University of Greenwich, UK

Summary: Scientific and traditional local and Indigenous knowledge systems will be integrated in the design and assessment of nature-based solutions (NbS) to enhance their impact on the climate resilience and just wellbeing of rural communities in two regions of Guatemala.

Local and national decision-makers will use guidelines and tools that integrate local and Indigenous Peoples’ values, knowledge and culture in the co-design of NbS for landscape climate resilience.  Individual people, households and communities will be empowered to be at the centre of NbS planning and implementation through an enhanced awareness of the current and potential role of ecosystems in their lives and of the factors required for NbS to result in just and successful outcomes.

The tools and evidence from application of this approach will be made available to inform landscape resilience planning across Central America. 

Photograph: Arjuno3

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Improving livelihoods Indigenous Peoples Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Natural Resource Management Nature based solutions

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GCBC Grantees engage at 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 16)

Published 14 Nov 2024

GCBC

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By GCBC Grantees

Several of the GCBC’s grantees took part in COP16 in Cali, Colombia between 21 October and 1 November, 2024. During this global gathering delegates discussed progress on the implementation of the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (2022) while negotiators discussed ways of preserving biodiversity and tackling the impact of climate change. 

The Nature Transition Support Programme (NTSP) – UNEP’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) hosted a side event ‘transforming economies for nature and people’ to shed light on the dependency of countries’ economies on nature, and the importance of re-thinking how they can change their development trajectories to achieve sustainable development. Featuring a panel comprising of representatives from the governments of Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana and Vietnam. The event showcased the results of the programme achieved to date and sparked a lively debate on how identified challenges can be addressed. Read more on this programme at: https://lnkd.in/dmpp2cdt 

Nature Transition Support Team
The Nature Transition Support Team at COP16

CIASE, the GCBC’s partner on the Gran Tescual Indigenous Reservation Climate Plan, hosted a side event with the Gran Tescual Indigenous Reservation, titled “Pan-Amazonian Dialogue: Intersectional Experiences on Biodiversity and Climate.” Genith Quitiaquez (former governor of the Reservation), Carola Mejía (Climate Justice Coordinator at the Latindadd Network), and Rosa Emilia Salamanca (CIASE Director) shared insights on the ways in which intersectionality, care, and transformative resilience can strengthen the bonds between biodiversity and climate action. 

CIASE also participated in the International Meeting on Women and Biodiversity in collaboration with the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Women’s Vice Ministry. This effort contributed to the Inírida Declaration, a set of recommendations aimed at including women and diverse populations in climate action and biodiversity conservation. 

In collaboration with the Government of Nariño, a department of Colombia, CIASE also presented a photographic exhibition showcasing the botanical richness of the Gran Tescual, inspired by the Illustrated Botanical Guide of the Gran Tescual Reservation. This initiative is part of the “Climate Plan of the Gran Tescual Reservation” project.  

 

CGIAR / CIP – International Potato Center, project team for ‘Harnessing Andean Crop Diversity to Weather Climate Change’ in collaboration with Agrosavia, organized an event on Integrated Conservation, which improves the linkages between in-situ and ex-situ agrobiodiversity conservation. Numerous “seed guardians” from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia attended. To find out more, the open access Spanish language factsheet, Characterizing agrobiodiversity is key to adapting Andean agricultural systems to drought and pests, is available to download here. 

Alliance of Bioversity International – ’Diversity for Resilience and Livelihood’ The project manager, Dr. Dejene K. Mengistu from the Alliance of Bioversity International and Dr. Basazen Fantahun, from Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute (EBI) (a local implementation partner) presented a poster describing the drivers and lock-ins of green development pathways, a proposed research framework, project objectives, and planned activities with expected outputs to more than 250 attending participants in the blue zone of COP16. The poster presentation was well received, generating constructive comments and suggestions from experienced experts in the areas of forest restoration and management. 

 

 

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Gran Tescual Indigenous Reservation Climate Plan

Published 19 Mar 2024

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Country: Colombia

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Conservation and Restoration

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Delivery partner: CIASE

Project summary: This project has been proposed by indigenous women from an intersectional approach, this proposal aims to enhance the living conditions of the Pastos indigenous people residing in the Gran Tescual Reservation. This objective will be achieved through a comprehensive approach that involves researching biodiversity conservation and integrating indigenous knowledge to preserve their biocultural heritage. Additionally, the project will advocate for climate action, considering ethnic and gender considerations at the local, regional, and continental levels. To accomplish this, the project will focus on empowering the community by strengthening their ancestral knowledge, fostering inclusivity, and driving substantial changes in climate change policies. Ultimately, the overarching goal is to safeguard ecosystems, elevate the well-being of indigenous communities, and make a positive impact on biodiversity conservation, poverty alleviation, and the resilience of natural systems.

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Andean Crop Diversity for Climate Change

Published 19 Mar 2024

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Country: Peru

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Conservation and Restoration

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Delivery partner: International Potato Center

Project summary: This project aims to strengthen the resilience of Andean agriculture by leveraging traditional potato and mashua varieties and genebank resources. Through an integrated and interdisciplinary approach, climate adaptation will be promoted and food security improved. Applied methods will involve participatory evaluations, nutritional analyses, market appraisals, genotyping and restoration of lost biodiversity. Transformational change will be achieved through the integration of research, knowledge sharing, innovations, and enhanced market access. The project will employ a comprehensive communication strategy to share key findings and foster policy engagement. It will also create lasting benefits by endorsing diversity conservation, catalyzing transformational change, and applying advanced agricultural technologies.

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Conservation and Restoration

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Ecosystem services under climate change for Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs)

Published 19 Mar 2024

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Country: Ecuador

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Capacity Building

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Delivery partner: Birdlife International

Project summary: This project aims to inform site management and protection strategies for Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in Ecuador by generating robust knowledge on the ecosystem services delivered by these sites and their beneficiaries, as well as their exposure and resilience under climate change. This new evidence of the impacts on livelihoods of climate change and different management or protection options, and the resulting recommendations, will directly support more effective implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework ‘30×30 target’, and lead to better-informed decision-making for nature and people

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The Flourishing Landscapes Programme

Published 15 Mar 2024

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Conservation and Restoration Nature based solutions

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Countries: Ecuador, Ghana, Vietnam

Delivery Partner: University of Oxford

Summary: The Flourishing Landscapes Programme (FLP) addresses the triple challenge of livelihoods, climate change, and biodiversity loss at tropical forest frontiers. It will develop novel landscape-scale transdisciplinary research, via a new network of scientists and practitioners, to investigate strategies to both biodiversity and the climate resilience of smallholder farmers. By investigating agroforestry and community-led reforestation as nature-based solutions (NbS), the FLP addresses key knowledge gaps regarding the role of biodiversity in maximising nature’s contributions to people (NCPs) in agricultural landscapes. Building on this, via a human-centred design approach applied in Ghana, Ecuador and Viet Nam in coffee and cocoa production landscapes, the FLP will co-design, with rural communities, a citizen-led biodiversity monitoring toolkit to empower communities to utilise adaptive management to harness NCPs in their production. To showcase the value of the research data sets and citizen-science approaches, we will lead a co-design process with farmers, value chain actors and the insurance industry to explore risk sharing mechanisms that incentivise value chain investments in nature.

 

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Conservation and Restoration Nature based solutions

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