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How to Apply

How to Apply

Round 12 is now open!

Introduction

The Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) Challenge Fund is a UK government grants scheme that provides support to innovative and scalable projects to reduce pressure on wildlife from illegal trade and wider environmental crime and, in doing so, reduce poverty in developing countries. 

Please note all IWT Challenge Fund projects should address one, or more, of the following themes:

  • Reduce demand for IWT products and other environmental crime products
  • Ensure effective legal frameworks and deterrents
  • Strengthen law enforcement
  • Develop sustainable livelihoods to benefit people directly affected by IWT and wider environmental crime

The guidance documents for each scheme can be found below. All applications should be submitted via the Flexi-Grant application portal.

 

Funding Schemes

Round 12 of the IWT Challenge Fund includes the following schemes: 

Please note: Funding for IWT Challenge Fund projects beyond March 2029 is not currently confirmed and will be subject to the outcome of the next UK Government Spending Review, which will set departmental budgets for future years. Applicants should submit proposals for projects that extend beyond this date but should take this into account when planning project activities, budgets, and commitments. Further information will be provided when available. 

 

Pre-application webinar:

We are hosting a webinar to provide applicants interested in applying to Round 12 of the IWT Challenge Fund with an introduction to the fund. Other topics also covered during the webinar included:

  • Key changes for this Round and why these changes have been introduced
  • The role of the UK Embassies and British High Commissions
  • An overview of the Round 11 application process
  • Key things to consider in a Stage 1 or Single Stage application
  • An overview of the assessment criteria

There will also be an opportunity for participants to ask questions and engage in discussion.

Webinar registration details:

A recording of the webinar and a copy of the presentation slides will be added to the Workshops and Webinars page under Resources on our website. 

 

Guidance

Before applying, you should first read the following documents:

Key changes for this round are listed below and can be found on Page 7 of the Round 12 Guidance for applicants.

Please note that project activities can only be delivered in the following table of eligible countries for Round 12 of the IWT Challenge Fund:

To ensure UK funding remains responsive to this evolving landscape, Round 12 will trial a revised approach within the Evidence scheme, which will explicitly support evidence generation on a broader range of environmental crimes. IWT Challenge Fund Main and Extra scheme projects will retain a primary focus on IWT in Round 12.

IWT and environmental crime definitions

  • Illegal Wildlife Trade: The IWT Challenge Fund defines IWT as all unlawful activities associated with the commercial exploitation and trade of wildlife, including live organisms, their parts or derivatives. This includes all wild fauna, flora, and fungi and so covers illegal trade in timber and fisheries products within this definition.
  • Environmental crime: includes illegal activities that harm nature and the sustainable use of natural resources, including IWT, illegal logging, fisheries crime, illegal mining, and waste crime.

Once you have read the guidance, you will be required to complete additional material as part of your application, which can be found on the respective scheme pages found in the side menu, or downloaded from Flexi-Grant.

All applications should be submitted via the Flexi-Grant application portal.

 

Contact Information

For further queries, see our Frequently Asked Questions.

If you would like to contact us regarding an application, and you can’t find the answer in the guidance documents, please contact the IWT Challenge Fund Administration Team: