Coral Reef Conservation Program International Coral Reef | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

This funding opportunity (NOAA NOS IPO 2011 2002585) is a competitive, discretionary NOAA grant and cooperative agreement program under the Department of Commerce aimed at supporting international coral reef conservation. It is offered through the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program, which is authorized by the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. A key point is that it requires cost sharing or matching funds, so applicants must be prepared to contribute non-federal resources alongside NOAA support. The total funding available was estimated at about $1,000,000, and the program falls under CFDA 11.482 (Coral Reef Conservation Program).

The main purpose of the opportunity is to fund projects that align with the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program International Strategy 2010-2015. This strategy represented a significant shift from prior years by concentrating resources on strengthening existing, on-the-ground regional efforts rather than scattering support across many unrelated sites. NOAA emphasizes work that builds on established initiatives, partnerships, and regional governance structures, especially where there are clear ecological and management connections to U.S. coral reef ecosystems. For this particular competition, NOAA focused on three priority regions: the Wider Caribbean, Micronesia, and the Southwest Pacific (a fourth priority region existed in the broader strategy but was not included in this specific funding round).

A defining feature of this program is the expectation of real regional coordination, not just isolated local activities. Applicants are expected to already have working relationships with the government authorities responsible for managing the marine areas where the work will occur. In practical terms, NOAA is looking for organizations that have demonstrated experience partnering with local, regional, and national government agencies and can show they are capable of coordinating conservation work across borders. The eligibility standard is not simply "international experience"; applicants must have experience conducting regional coordination work in two or more countries within a priority region (with an exception noted for independent Samoa, referenced in the full announcement). Proposals that effectively work in more than two countries were stated to receive priority consideration, which signals NOAA wanted projects with broader regional reach and influence.

Applicants also need to show credibility and continuity in the places they propose to work. The solicitation asks applicants to describe prior experience in the selected sites or countries and to explain whether environmental conservation agreements already exist with local partners and government authorities. This requirement reinforces that NOAA favored proposals built on existing relationships and frameworks (for example, regional networks, standing agreements, or ongoing coral reef conservation programs) rather than brand-new partnerships that might not be durable after the award period.

The program allows proposals that span multiple priority regions (for example, a project that links Micronesia and the Southwest Pacific), but it places a burden on the applicant to justify that grouping. The application must clearly demonstrate that the countries included can be legitimately treated as a coherent set based on existing regional networks, agreements, and/or established coral reef conservation activities. In other words, multi-region projects are permitted, but they must be logically organized around real coordination mechanisms and shared conservation context, not simply combined for scale.

Geographic eligibility is tightly defined and limited to non-U.S. countries and territories within the specified regions. For the Wider Caribbean, eligible locations are the non-U.S. countries and territories defined by the Cartagena Convention, including Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, plus France Caribbean Territories, Netherlands Caribbean Territories, and United Kingdom Caribbean Territories. For Micronesia, eligibility includes the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia (all having Compacts of Free Association with the U.S.), as well as the independent nations of Kiribati and Nauru. For the Southwest Pacific, eligible countries are independent Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga, and Tuvalu.

Eligible applicant types are relatively broad but exclude individuals and U.S. federal agencies. NOAA stated that institutions of higher education, U.S. and international nonprofit organizations, non-U.S. government authorities, and commercial organizations may apply (with additional eligibility nuances referenced in the full announcement). The opportunity was posted July 20, 2010, created November 3, 2010, and had a closing date in late February 2011 (with a one-day shift from February 21 to February 22 listed in the record). The award instrument types were grants and cooperative agreements, meaning NOAA may have anticipated substantial involvement or collaboration during project implementation, which is typical for cooperative agreements in federal funding.

For applicants seeking the full announcement details, NOAA directed users to the full opportunity posting via the "Full Opportunity" button on the source page, and provided a contact (Steve Drescher, Policy Advisor) specifically for electronic access or application download issues.

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