Funding Mechanisms

FSOA financing will eventually be implemented through the following distinct funding windows:

a) A “Benin Window” – Protected Areas Window, accessible to institutions responsible for managing Protected Areas, for the benefit of CENAGREF, through the Pendjari National Park Directorate (DPNP) and the W National Park Directorate (DPNW), as well as a “Small Grants” window aimed directly at other stakeholders within the Biosphere Reserves or those working toward their sustainable management and involved in the management of national parks (associations and private actors contributing to biodiversity conservation in protected areas);

b) A window dedicated to financing cross-border activities;

c) Windows for other Protected Areas of the WAP complex, namely the “Burkina Faso Window” and the “Niger Window.”

Initial efforts will focus primarily on the Benin Window, in accordance with the grant allocation criteria described. The expansion of FSOA to windows (b) and (c) will depend on the contributions that certain donors may wish to provide, particularly those with bilateral or privileged relationships with a specific country or park, and their willingness to support a specific funding window.

In addition to the national parks, the Benin Window also provides funding to local NGOs involved in the sustainable management of natural resources, as well as financing micro-development projects aimed at improving the living conditions of surrounding communities. The same approach will apply to the Burkina Faso and Niger windows once all institutional anchoring conditions are in place.