NOFO: Wildlife Trafficking and Natural Resource Crime Global

NOFO: Wildlife Trafficking and Natural Resource Crime Global

Deadline: 24-Jun-24

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out projects to counter wildlife and timber trafficking in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

This program seeks to enhance law enforcement and justice sector efforts to counter wildlife and timber trafficking, ultimately helping to disrupt trafficking operations and removing opportunities for criminal organizations to profit from illicit proceeds derived from these illegal trades.

Goals and Objectives

• To strengthen national criminal justice institutions and regional or international coordination in Africa, Asia, and Latin America by supporting successful enforcement, investigative, and prosecutorial functions for wildlife and other natural resource crime. Proposed projects should be designed to strengthen the capacity of organizations that combat natural resource crime and actors in countries most affected by wildlife trafficking and other natural resource crime in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Strategic goals and objectives are listed below.
  • Zimbabwe
    • Goal 1: Zimbabwe law enforcement is properly trained and equipped to better interdict, investigate, and combat wildlife trafficking in national parks and protected areas.
      • Objective 1.1: Increase the ability of enforcement authorities to coordinate park-level responses to wildlife trafficking and poaching.
      • Objective 1.2: Build investigative and enforcement functions to target the transit of wildlife products.
      • Objective 1.3: Strengthen cross-border cooperation and interdiction efforts between Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and/or Namibia.
  • South Africa
    • Goal 2: Strengthen law enforcement and judicial capacity in South Africa to effectively tackle wildlife crimes by improving transparency, coordination, and prosecution capabilities at national and provincial levels.
      • Objective 2.1: Increase the ability of provincial or park level enforcement authorities to coordinate responses to wildlife trafficking and poaching. Activities may be localized to one protected area or several within a province. Private game reserves are not eligible.
      • Objective 2.2: Improve national or provincial capabilities to prosecute and adjudicate cases and related offenses through training, case monitoring, watching briefs, and legal reform.
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
    • Goal 3: To improve DRC’s ICCN and other park law enforcement’s capacity to combat wildlife trafficking by enhancing training, equipment, collaboration, and regional coordination.
      • Objective 3.1: Increase the ability of ICCN and park level enforcement authorities to prevent, detect, and investigate wildlife traffickers and their broader networks through specialized training and equipment.
      • Objective 3.2: Improve capabilities to prosecute and adjudicate cases and related offenses through training, mentoring, and case monitoring.
      • Objective 3.3: Strengthen cross-border cooperation and interdiction efforts between DRC and Angola and/or Zambia.
  • Malawi
    • Goal 4: Provide Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) rangers with thorough training and resources to effectively combat wildlife trafficking in protected areas and enhance collaboration with the judicial system to ensure successful prosecutions of wildlife criminals.
      • Objective 4.1: Increase the skills and knowledge of DNPW rangers to better investigate,interdict, and combat wildlife trafficking in protected areas through the provision ofequipment and specialized training.
      • Objective 4.2: Improve the capabilities to prosecute and adjudicate cases and related offences through trainings, use of forensic analysis, mentoring, case mentoring, and legislative reform.
      • Objective 4.3: Strengthen cross-border cooperation and interdiction efforts between Malawi and Zambia and/or Tanzania and Mozambique.
  • Western Indian Ocean
    • Target Countries/Areas: Comoros, Mauritius, and Seychelles.
      • Goal 5: Enhance the capacity of Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) member states to better investigate, interdict, and combat wildlife trafficking at the national and regional level.
        • Objective 5.1: Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the maritime security landscape in the Western Indian Ocean region on the illegal wildlife trade, trafficking routes, legal frameworks, law enforcement capabilities, and regional cooperation of IOC member states.
  • Evidence Security
    • Target Countries/Area: Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Malawi, DRC, Angola, Mozambique and/or other African countries.
      • Goal 6: Governments in Africa are able to maintain security and chain of custody of evidence during and following investigations of wildlife trafficking cases.
        • Objective 6.1: Establish formal protocols, guidelines, and systems regarding evidence security and chain of custody of seized wildlife products.
        • Objective 6.2: Provide training and mentorship on evidence management, chain of custody, etc. to wildlife law enforcement officers, customs, prosecutors, police, evidence custodian, and other relevant stakeholders.
        • Objective 6.3: Provide equipment assistance and support to relevant agencies to upgrade evidence lockers/storage.
        • Objective 6.4: Promote responsible maintenance of limited seized evidence following investigations and prosecutions, and destruction of seized wildlife product stockpiles no longer of evidentiary value.
  • Illegal Logging and Associated Trade in the Miombo Woodlands Range
    • Target Countries: Miombo woodlands range inclusive of Angola, southern DRC, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, and/or Burundi.
      • Goal 7: To reduce the ability of criminal groups to carry out and profit from illegal logging and trafficking of timber from the Miombo Woodlands Range.
        • Objective 7.1: Increase the capacity of law enforcement to detect, interdict, seize, and transfer to investigatory agencies, illegal timber products, through raising awareness, training, and equipment.
        • Objective 7.2: Improve national and regional law enforcement capacity to prevent, detect, and investigate timber trafficking through specialized training and equipment.
        • Objective 7.3: Improve national and regional capabilities to prosecute and adjudicate cases against timber crimes and related offenses to result in appropriate sentencing outcomes.
        • Objective 7.4: Strengthen anti-corruption efforts within relevant agencies to enhance government response, improve government accountability, and strengthen transparency as it relates to timber crime.
  • Illegal Logging and Associated Trade in West and Central Africa
    • Target Countries: Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Republic of Congo.
      • Goal 8: To reduce the ability of criminal groups to carry out and profit from illegal logging and trafficking of timber in West and Central Africa.
        • Objective 8.1: Increase the capacity of law enforcement to detect, interdict, seize, and transfer to investigatory agencies, illegal timber products, through raising awareness, training, and equipment.
        • Objective 8.2: Improve national and regional law enforcement capacity to prevent, detect, and investigate timber trafficking through specialized training and equipment.
        • Objective 8.3: Improve national and regional capabilities to prosecute and adjudicate cases against timber crimes and related offenses to result in appropriate sentencing outcomes.
        • Objective 8.4: Strengthen anti-corruption efforts within relevant agencies to enhance government response, improve government accountability, and strengthen transparency as it relates to timber crime.
  • Indonesia
    • Goal 9: To increase Indonesia’s will and ability to counter wildlife trafficking and the domestic and transnational actors, including organized transnational criminal organizations, that perpetrate this heinous crime through increased prosecutorial capacity.
      • Objective 9.1: Enhance investigative capabilities to counter wildlife trafficking to present stronger cases at the local, provincial. national., and/or regional level.
      • Objective 9.2: Improve Indonesia’s capabilities to prosecute and adjudicate cases against wildlife crimes and related offenses with appropriate sentencing structures.
  • Pakistan
    • Goal 10: Pakistan is better equipped with resources, tools, and training needed to combat wildlife trafficking.
      • Objective 10.1: Improve awareness, skills, and the ability of front-line law enforcement (including rangers and protected area managers) to enforce, intercept and investigate wildlife trafficking. Where appropriate, this may include local community groups.
      • Objective 10.2: Improve awareness, skills and the ability of prosecutors and judges to successfully prosecute and convict perpetrators of illegal wildlife trafficking.
      • Objective 10.3: Improve inter-provincial and regional coordination among front-line law enforcement agencies (including rangers and protected area managers), prosecutors, and judges to improve Pakistan’s ability to combat wildlife trafficking at a national and regional level.
  • Mongolia
    • Goal 11: Mongolia is better equipped to counter natural resource crimes at the landscape level.
      • Objective 11.1: Increase the ability and effectiveness of conservation law enforcement (including rangers), government decision makers and/or communities to combat natural resource crimes.
      • Objective 11.2: Improve legal foundations, skills, and the ability of prosecutors and judges to successfully prosecute and convict perpetrators of natural resource crimes.
      • Objective 11.3: Improve the capacity of law enforcement officials to detect, investigate, and combat corruption, and financial crime in connection with natural resource crimes.
  • India/Nepal
    • Goal 12: India and Nepal are no-longer used as major illicit transit corridors for the movement of illegal wildlife and wildlife parts.
      • Objective 12.1: Support the CWT efforts of rangers, protected area managers, and local law enforcement through engagement with communities living in priority illicit trade corridors.
      • Objective 12.2: Improve the ability of local law enforcement, rangers, protected area managers, judiciary and/or communities to disrupt priority illicit trade corridors.
      • Objective 12.3: Apply innovative technologies and unique approaches to dismantle illicit trade routes.
      • Objective 12.4: Deepen the understanding of the illicit trade in wildlife and/or the criminal networks responsible and identify national and/or regional level interventions to combat them.
  • Rangers and Protected Areas
    • Priority Countries/Areas: Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines.
      • Goal 13: Safeguard wildlife within Asia’s protected and priority non-protected areas from poaching and trafficking.
        • Objective 13.1: Provide rangers and conservation law enforcement with equipment the and resources required to improve their ability to effectively safeguard wildlife across Asia’s protected and priority non-protected areas. Where appropriate, this may include local community groups.
        • Objective 13.2: Provide tools and equipment to support efforts to prevent the poaching and trafficking of wildlife from Asia’s protected and priority non-protected areas.
  • Illegal Logging and Associated Trade in Southeast Asia
    • Target Countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and/or Vietnam.
      • Goal 14: To reduce the ability of criminal groups to carry out and profit from illegal logging and trafficking of timber in Southeast Asia.
        • Objective 14.1: Increase the capacity of law enforcement to detect, interdict, seize, and transfer to investigatory agencies, illegal timber products, through raising awareness, training, and equipment.
        • Objective 14.2: Improve national, regional, provincial, and district-level law enforcement capacity to prevent, detect, and investigate timber trafficking through specialized training and equipment.
        • Objective 14.3: Improve national and regional capabilities to prosecute and adjudicate cases against timber crimes and related offenses to result in appropriate sentencing outcomes.
        • Objective 14.4: Strengthen anti-corruption efforts within relevant agencies to enhance government response, improve government accountability, and strengthen transparency as it relates to timber crime.
  • Natural Resource Crimes in Latin America
    • Goal 15: To reduce the ability of criminal groups to carry out and profit from illegal logging and trafficking of timber and/or gold mining in Latin America.
      • Objective 15.1: Improve national and regional law enforcement capacity to prevent, detect, and investigate timber trafficking and/or gold mining through specialized training and equipment.
      • Objective 15.2: Improve national and regional capabilities to prosecute and adjudicate cases against timber crimes and/or gold mining, and related offenses to result in appropriate sentencing outcomes.
  • Counter Wildlife Trafficking Latin America
    • Goal 16: Reduce poaching and trafficking of protected wildlife and their parts originating from, transiting through, and/or sold in Latin America as a transnational crime.
      • Objective 16.1: Enhance and promote legislative and regulatory frameworks.
      • Objective 16.2: Improve law enforcement capabilities to deter, detect, investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate cases of wildlife trafficking and related facilitative crimes.
      • Objective 16.3: Develop international cooperation among law enforcement and prosecutors in source, transit, and destination countries to detect, investigate, and prosecute criminal organizations involved in wildlife trafficking by implementing collaborative, sub-regional investigations on IWT.

Funding Information

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• Length of performance period: 24 months (unless otherwise specified)
• Anticipated program start date: October 2024
• Number of awards anticipated: 16-30 awards (dependent on amounts)
• Total available funding: $30,000,000
  • Zimbabwe
    • Award Ceiling: $1,000,000 Award floor: $300,000
  • South Africa
    • Award Ceiling: $1,000,000 Award floor: $300,000
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
    • Award Ceiling: $2,000,000 Award floor: $500,000
  • Malawi
    • Award Ceiling: $1,000,000 Award floor: $500,000
  • Western Indian Ocean
    • Award Ceiling: $500,000 Award floor: $350,000
  • Evidence Security
    • Award Ceiling: $1,000,000 Award floor: $500,000
  • Illegal Logging and Associated Trade in the Miombo Woodlands Range
    • Award Ceiling: $2,000,000 Award floor: $500,000
  • Illegal Logging and Associated Trade in West and Central Africa
    • Award Ceiling: $2,000,000 Award floor: $500,000
  • Indonesia
    • Award Ceiling: $1,000,000 Award floor: $500,000
  • Pakistan
    • Award Ceiling: $500,000 Award floor: $300,000
  • Mongolia
    • Award Ceiling: $1,000,000 Award floor: $400,000
  • India/Nepal
    • Award Ceiling: $350,000 Award floor: $150,000
  • Rangers and Protected Areas
    • Award Ceiling: $2,500,000 Award Floor: $300,000
  • Illegal Logging and Associated Trade in Southeast Asia
    • Award Ceiling: $2,000,000 Award floor: $500,000
  • Natural Resource Crimes in Latin America
    • Award Ceiling: $5,000,000 Award floor: $500,000
  • Counter Wildlife Trafficking Latin America
    • Award Ceiling: $8,000,000 Award floor: $500,000

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible Applicant Types
  • The following organizations are eligible to apply:
    • U.S.-based non-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
    • U.S.-based educational institutions subject to section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code or section 26 US 115 of the US 115 of the U.S. tax code;
    • Foreign-based non-profits/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
    • Foreign-based educational institutions
    • Demonstrate host-government support and the ability to work in the target country(ies).
• Other Eligibility Requirements
  • In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a unique entity identifier (also known as UEI), as well as a valid registration on www.SAM.gov.
  • Individuals are not required to have a unique entity identifier or be registered in SAM.gov.
  • Applicants may submit multiple proposals, but each one may only address one objective. Organizations may form a consortium and submit a combined proposal, however one organization should be designated as the lead applicant and other organization(s) listed as sub-recipient partner(s).
  • To be eligible to receive a federal assistance award, organizations must have a commitment to non‐discrimination with respect to beneficiaries and adherence to equal opportunity employment practices. INL is committed to an anti-discrimination policy in all its programs and activities. INL welcomes applications irrespective of an applicant’s race, ethnicity, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or other status.
  • All applicants must provide a workplace free from harassment and bullying for all individuals, including but not limited to grant personnel and INL personnel.
  • Applicants are reminded that U.S. Executive Orders and U.S. law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. It is the legal responsibility of the recipient to ensure compliance with these Executive Orders and laws. This provision must be included in any sub‐awards issued under this grant award.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.

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