Grant proposals under NAFEC's second round due in late September

The North American Fund for Environmental Cooperation (NAFEC) has announced the first 14 projects to receive grants of between C $10,000 and $100,000. The projects focus on sustainable development efforts in local communities (see insert).

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) announced the 14 grant recipients during the August 1-2 session of the CEC's Council, which is made up of the environment ministers from nacec.Mexico, the United States and Canada.

NAFEC, a C $2 million fund created in 1995 to support community-based projects in the three North American countries, received some 450 proposals in response to its first call for proposals. The 14 grant recipients were selected by a special review committee that included two representatives from nacec.each country.

Grants were awarded according to NAFEC's guidelines for proposals, which seek projects that:

• follow the objectives of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), including promoting cooperation on environmental protection and improvement and development of sustainable economic and environmental policies;
• have clear management plans;
• show clear community support;
• seek additional financial support through a variety of sources for the life of the project;
• include a strategy to carry out regular project evaluations; and
• demonstrate a clear leadership and management structure.

According to Fund Manager Janice Astbury, NAFEC received more proposals than expected. Although the proposals covered many areas, Astbury said the best projects combined specific objectives such as environmental protection, community income generation, capacity strengthening and the pursuit of research in order to achieve the general goal of sustainable development.

In addition, solid projects incorporated collaboration among organizations from nacec.NAFTA countries, thereby demonstrating that the projects' results can be shared and replicated across the region.

Astbury said that for the second call for proposals issued in August, the review committee will look for community-based projects. Projects should be grassroots initiatives that are "for the community and by the community." NAFEC uses a broad definition for what constitutes a community. Astbury added that projects must be clearly defined and include specific objectives that allow for measurement of results.

Detailed information on submitting proposals to NAFEC, including the deadline for the second round of grants, is available on the CEC's home page at http://www.cec.org. Questions may be directed to NAFEC at (514) 350-4357.