The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity is pleased to announce the launch of the ABS Small Grants Project,  with the generous support from the Government of Denmark and the Government of Japan, through the Japan Biodiversity fund.  

This project will provide small grants as part of the Secretariat’s capacity-building and development programme to support the operationalization of legal frameworks and systems for access and benefit-sharing for the 2025/2026 biennium.  

The project will provide grants through the following focus areas: 

User-Friendly ABS procedures  

ABS Information Systems  

Community Protocols 

Those interested in participating in the Small Grants Project are invited to submit their application before the deadline indicated in the table below. Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend the upcoming webinars for each of the three focus areas to learn more about their topic of interest and the application process for funding. Selected applications will be further developed into detailed project documents in collaboration with the Secretariat and will serve as a basis for receiving the funding.   

Webinars 

1. Improving ABS information systems and standard operating procedures 

Date: 8 April at 9 a.m. (EDT) -Language: English - Register here: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/79e4d172-2ea8-4bea-85a4-181dc2bed71b@0f9e35db-544f-4f60-bdcc-5ea416e6dc70  

2. Communicating user-friendly ABS procedures, in partnership with the German Nagoya Protocol HuB  

Date: 9 April at 10:00 a.m. (EDT) - Language: English - Register here : https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/077ead2b-caf3-4468-9421-c0490c78b4f0@0f9e35db-544f-4f60-bdcc-5ea416e6dc70  

3. Developing and implementing community protocols and improving access to traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources and benefit sharing 

Date: 10 April at 9 a.m. (EDT) - Language: English - Register here : https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/033cb013-b9a5-4e10-ba65-c7d2ea51fed6@0f9e35db-544f-4f60-bdcc-5ea416e6dc70  

Date: 10 April at 2 p.m. (EDT) - Language: Spanish - Register here : https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/4a717c12-7819-4b1c-866b-6f306fc7e16a@0f9e35db-544f-4f60-bdcc-5ea416e6dc70  

Date: 11 April at 9 a.m. (EDT) - Language: French - Register here : https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/31d3ebd1-18e6-4687-9443-14fb040fc7cc@0f9e35db-544f-4f60-bdcc-5ea416e6dc70  

Application forms and more information on the ABS Small Grants Project, including eligibility criteria can be found at: https://www.cbd.int/abs/smallgrantsproject.shtml . 

Please contact absch@cbd.int for further questions. We look forward to seeing you at the webinars!