The Program solicits proposals under four funding categories:

a) Promote Watershed Management in the Wider Caribbean, Brazil, and Bermuda;

b) Regional Enhancement of Marine Protected Area Management Effectiveness;

c) Encourage the Development of National Networks of Marine Protected Areas in the Wider Caribbean, Bermuda, Brazil, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific; and

d) Promote Regional Socio-Economic Training and Monitoring in Coral Reef Management in the Wider Caribbean, Brazil, Bermuda, the Western Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the South Pacific, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Each funding category has specific applicant and project eligibility criteria.

*Pre-applications must be received by NOAA by 11:59 p.m., U.S. Eastern Time, on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007.*

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include all international, governmental (except U.S. federal agencies), and non-governmental organizations. For specific country eligibility per category, please refer to individual category descriptions in Section V. of the Federal Funding Opportunity.

The proposed work must be conducted at a non-U.S. site. Eligible countries are defined as follows: The Wider Caribbean includes the 37 States and territories that border the marine environment of the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the areas of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent thereto, and Brazil and Bermuda, but excluding areas under U.S. jurisdiction.

The South Pacific Region includes South Pacific Regional Environment Programs Pacific island countries and territories, including the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, but excluding U.S. territories and four developed country members. South Asia includes India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Southeast Asia Region includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Western Indian Ocean Region includes Comoros, France (La Reunion), Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, the United Republic of Tanzania, and South Africa. The Red Sea Region includes five member countries of the Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA): Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.

The Federal Funding Opportunity contains all details regarding criteria for each category, pre-application format, funding amounts, etc. Please log on to www.grants.gov and do a Basic Search for Opportunity # NOS-IPO-2008-2001058. For further information, please write to international.coral.grants@noaa.gov