After receiving 177 concept notes, 120 ACP submissions progressed to the next evaluation stage to undergo a rigorous assessment and review process.

Concurrently, we received 44 concept notes from the French Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs): New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna.  These are being assessed for technical quality and full proposals will be invited in the coming weeks.

The Kiwa Local Projects Component would like to thank the 177 local or national authorities, public institutions, civil society organisations, community organisations and local and international NGOs for submitting concept notes for this first call for local projects into the Kiwa Initiative.

We are pleased to announce that we are now on the final review stage of those that have submitted their full proposals for ACP countries. We will keep you updated on the announcement of the 2^nd call for local projects.

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^{The Kiwa Initiative is a multi-donor program with an EUR 41M budget, is the product of a unique commitment by European Union, France, Canada, Australia and New Zealand that aims to build resilience to climate change through Nature-based Solutions (NbS). It is based on simplified access to climate change adaptation and NbS financing for local and national authorities, civil society and regional organizations in the Pacific Countries and Territories, including the three French Overseas. The Kiwa Initiative aims to strengthen the resilience of Pacific Islands ecosystems, economies and communities in Oceania by supporting projects that promote nature-based solutions via grants and technical assistance.}

^{Local Projects Component: The IUCN Oceania Regional Office (ORO) is managing the Local Projects Component for very small, small, and medium grants ranging from €25,000 to €400,000.  The other two components of the overall Kiwa Initiative are regional projects between €1.5 to 5 million managed by the AFD Secretariat with technical assistance from SPREP and SPC.}

^{The Local Projects Component is a 5-year programme that started in December 2020 and will end in June 2025. The programme commenced with the establishment of the grants mechanism which included the hiring of three staff, development of the grants operation manual and internal grant-making systems such as the establishment of Local Projects Component Steering Committee and a Technical Review Committee. In June the first call for proposal was opened for three months which then closed in September.}

^{The Local Projects Component is open to countries and territories throughout the Pacific.  This includes the Pacific Island Countries defined under the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP).  The Kiwa Initiative is also open to French Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT).}