SavingSpecies helps local conservation groups purchase land for conservation and habitat restoration and will consider projects for restoration of habitat on land that is within an existing protected area. The organization maximizes its effectiveness by providing grants for the purchase and restoration of land that connects existing habitat fragments, or that prevents isolation of habitat that would otherwise continue due to habitat loss.
To that end, SavingSpecies has issued a Request for Proposals for projects to fund small land purchases — at most a few hundred hectares — with the aim of creating several thousand hectares of contiguous habitat. By restoring habitat connections, these purchases improve the survival of dozens of endangered species. Previously funded projects have involved collaborations and land purchases that, in some cases, were spread out over several years.
Projects should preserve or restore an area of high biodiversity and/or habitat for critically endangered species; be administered by local or host-country NGO and staff; include proactive measures to reclaim and restore degraded land or preserve existing habitat; foster connectivity between forests and other habitats and existing protected areas; and/or involve local people to ensure the project benefits them.
Letters of Interest are accepted on a rolling basis. Upon review, selected applicants will be invited to submit a full application.
See the Saving Species website for complete program guidelines, information about current and past projects, and application procedures.