WLT Application Guidelines
Before applying for support from World Land Trust (WLT), please read the following Guidelines and carefully assess if your project and organisation meet the criteria. If you feel they may be a good fit for World Land Trust funding, please submit a Project Concept Note by completing the form linked below via WLT’s online portal.
Guidelines
WLT’s mission is to help people across the world protect and restore their land to safeguard biodiversity and the climate. Working through a network of partner organisations around the world, WLT funds the creation of reserves and provides permanent protection for habitats and wildlife.
Partners are typically non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or not for profit/charitable organisations, and with shared objectives around the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems. However, we may also support other organisations, including those with a focus in other areas (for example, development NGOs and indigenous organisations) or for-profit organisations (such as eco-tourism companies), provided these can deliver a cost effective means for bringing land into conservation and are unable to secure other funding for these activities.
The Type of Projects supported by WLT
WLT supports projects that conserve threatened areas of land with high biodiversity value through the creation or expansion of protected reserves, restoration of degraded habitats, and conservation focused management of these areas. WLT prioritises countries with high biodiversity levels but which have the fewest resources.
WLT funding aims to create long-term and sustainable support for on-the-ground conservation activities, including land acquisition, protected area creation, reserve protection and ecosystem restoration.
The main project activities supported by WLT are the creation of protected areas and the protection and restoration of threatened habitats. Project activities may include land acquisition through a range of mechanisms including land purchase, leases, community reserves and protection status declaration (gazetting). As well as supporting the establishment of protected areas, WLT also supports habitat protection activities (e.g. rangers and patrols); habitat restoration; community support projects; research and monitoring; and conservation investments. These latter activities are unlikely to be funded separately and would only be considered if they are part of a wider conservation project with the creation or expansion of reserves as the main objective. All WLT funded projects need to have clear benefits, and no net negative impact to biodiversity, communities and climate.
How to complete this form
The concept note is an online form, accessed via WLT’s online portal, that is used to initially evaluate the suitability of a project and organisation for WLT. The applicant should answer all sections and should clearly summarise the aim, importance and project activities and provide a map. The form asks for estimates of the project duration (months) and project costs (in local currency): these should be your current best assessment of the time and funding required to complete the project.
Submissions that do not meet the above guidelines and which do not support WLT’s mission are unlikely to be supported. If a concept note looks suitable, then WLT staff will follow up and request that you submit a full Project Application form as well as respond to any further clarifications about the project and organisation applying, if applicable.
Concept notes can be submitted at any time during the year and will be reviewed as soon as possible. Full applications, if requested, are reviewed on a quarterly basis. Please follow the link below at the bottom of this page to submit a concept note for review.
World Land Trust is currently prioritising support for new projects that are in Asia, West Africa and North Africa, and proposals within existing geographies (Latin America, East and Southern Africa) are unlikely to prioritised unless they are of exceptional conservation value. Proposals for projects in North America, Western Europe and in other high-income countries are very unlikely to be supported. Please note, that small-scale tree planting projects (including wood lots and orchards) are unlikely to be supported in any country, unless there is a very clear link to the biodiversity benefits of such activities (i.e. linking existing protected areas).
If you have not heard back directly from World Land Trust within three months of submitting a project concept then either your project has not fulfilled the criteria, or we are unable to support it due to the high number of submissions and availability of funds.