Introduction

The ABC's Conservation Programme supports small to medium sized conservation projects in Africa. Since 1996, it has supported a wide variety of projects including training courses, research into threatened species and promotion and awareness of conservation issues in Africa. The full list of past projects and some of the final reports can be seen here. 

We currently raise money from sales, donations and corporate sponsorship. Our current budget stands at over £10,000 per annum and the Club welcomes applications from individuals or institutions and for the annual Expedition Award. However because demands on the fund are great we do have to turn some proposals down so it is important that applications follow the full guidelines .
 

ABC Conservation Awards - Maximum Grant £2,000

The Club aims to encourage as wide a range of ideas as possible, and funds approximately ten Conservation Awards each year. Many different types of project can be considered so long as there is a clear conservation objective. These could include: 

- survey and research into African birds;
- educational projects or training courses;
- production of guides to the common birds of a country in local languages;
- interpretation material for nature reserves;
- other ideas will be considered.

As the fund is small, several restrictions will apply:

- applicants must be normally resident in Africa;
- ideally, the requested grant from ABC should be a major part of the project budget; 
- requests for contributions towards academic fees will not normally be considered;
- however funding for field projects that are being carried out as part of an academic study may be considered if funding from the academic institution is not available;

We will also ask for a final project report which we may chose to publish on our website or in our bulletin. 

Applications for Conservation Awards must be received by the cut off dates shown on the Applications page. You will also find details of how to apply for awards on this page.

ABC Expedition Award - Maximum Grant £3,000

The African Bird Club gives out a smaller number of Expedition Awards each year for larger, more ambitious projects. These usually involve the proponent travelling to a foreign country to undertake the project. Funding for these projects is often obtained from a number of sources.

Applications are invited from expeditions meeting the following criteria:

- the expedition must take place within continental Africa or adjacent islands (Atlantic islands on or east of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Indian Ocean islands west of 80° E);
- the expedition must be conservation based with a strong bird component;
- the expedition must be associated with a bona fide academic institution, conservation NGO or recognised natural history or bird club;
- salaries of professional researchers or academics will not be supported;
- objectives should preferably be derived from any of the publications identifying international conservation priorities eg. IUCN red data books, IBA Directories, the Birds to Watch series, Endemic Bird Areas of the world etc;
- if the expedition originates from outside Africa, it must include substantial local participation from local NGOs (eg BirdLife International partners), bird clubs, academic institutions or relevant government departments. Salaries of local counterparts can be supported;
- the expedition must be able to demonstrate prior approval from the government of the host country;
- the expedition must have a letter of endorsement from the associated academic institution, conservation NGO or recognised club;

Applications for Expedition Awards must be received by the cut off dates shown on the Applications page. You will also find details of how to apply for awards on this page.