F24AS00309 FY2024 Latin America Regional Program | F24AS00309

Opportunity Information: Apply for F24AS00309

F24AS00309 (FY2024 Latin America Regional Program) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (CFDA 15.640) that funds on-the-ground biodiversity conservation work in select parts of Latin America. The program’s core purpose is to provide technical and financial support to partners who can deliver measurable conservation results for priority wildlife species and their habitats, while also building lasting local capacity. A major theme throughout the opportunity is that protecting Latin America’s biodiversity requires inclusive, equitable approaches and coordinated action across governments, civil society, grassroots groups, and academic or research institutions, especially efforts that elevate local leadership and incorporate new perspectives.

The Notice of Funding Opportunity is focused on practical threat reduction. Proposals must clearly explain how their actions will reduce one or more of the main drivers of biodiversity loss in the region, including unsustainable resource use, habitat loss and fragmentation, agricultural expansion, human-wildlife conflict, and climate change impacts. Projects are expected to be more than descriptive studies; even when data collection or status assessments are proposed, applicants need to show a direct line from the information gathered to concrete management decisions or interventions, and explain why missing information has been a key barrier to action.

Projects must fit under at least one of two funding categories. The first, Species Conservation, supports recovery and conservation of key terrestrial species and the habitats they depend on, across all or part of their range. Projects can be local, national, or transnational, and may target more than one priority species. Species eligibility is tied to recognized conservation status: eligible species generally must qualify as “Endangered” or “Threatened” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, or be listed as “Critically Endangered,” “Endangered,” or “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List. Species categorized as “Data Deficient” or “Extinct in the Wild” on the IUCN Red List are explicitly not eligible under this funding opportunity. The second category, Conservation Stewardship, centers communities living in and along critical wildlife corridors and strongholds. It prioritizes work that builds on traditional land-use practices, governance systems, and ethnobiological knowledge, while also reducing the costs and burdens of living with wildlife (for example, approaches that reduce conflict and make coexistence more feasible). Like Species Conservation, stewardship projects may be implemented locally, nationally, or across borders.

Geography is tightly defined. Funded activities are intended to occur in or around natural protected areas, biological corridors, and recovery units within eligible parts of Latin America. The opportunity highlights specific priority geographies: in Mexico, the focus is on jaguar conservation in the Yucatan Peninsula and the Lacandon Jungle; in Central America, eligible work is limited to Guatemala and Honduras; and in South America, eligible areas include the Gran Chaco (eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina) and the Andes-Amazon region (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru). If any work is proposed in the United States, the application must clearly demonstrate how that work will directly benefit biodiversity conservation outcomes in Latin America, otherwise it will not be considered eligible.

Several application and program rules stand out. Transnational projects and consortium applications are encouraged, signaling that the program values coordinated, cross-border conservation strategies when they match the ecological scale of the problem. At the same time, the program limits submissions to one application per organization under this announcement, so organizations need to prioritize their strongest concept. Another key requirement is a letter of government endorsement, which must be included in the submission; applicants are also strongly encouraged to consult relevant government authorities before applying, suggesting that alignment with national or local government conservation priorities is important for competitiveness and implementation.

The funding size and timeline are relatively clear. The Service expects to make about six awards. Each award is capped at a total of $200,000 over a two-year period. The program also notes it may use non-competitive continuation amendments to extend or expand successful projects, but the total project duration, including any continuations, cannot exceed five years. Any continuation depends on performance, compliance with award conditions, and the availability of federal funds. The agency also explicitly reserves the right to fund some, all, or none of the submissions and to adjust funding amounts, which is typical language but important for planning.

There are also notable exclusions intended to avoid overlap with other U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service programs. This NOFO will not fund projects focused on marine turtles, tortoises, or freshwater turtles (covered under the Marine Turtle Conservation Act Fund), neotropical migratory birds (Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Fund), North America wetlands (North America Wetlands Conservation Act), songbirds (Species Conservation Catalyst Fund on Songbirds), or work related to the California condor or Mexican gray wolf.

Eligible applicants include a wide range of organizations that can credibly deliver conservation outcomes, such as multi-national secretariats, foreign governments, U.S. and non-U.S. nonprofits and NGOs, community and Indigenous organizations, and U.S. or foreign public and private higher-education institutions. Individuals cannot apply. The opportunity also makes clear that it will not support tuition for individuals or field expenses tied to academic degree work (masters, doctoral, or post-doctoral research), reinforcing that the program is aimed at implementable conservation actions rather than funding individual academic training pathways.

Key administrative details from the posting include the opportunity number F24AS00309, grant instrument type, an original closing date of June 4, 2024, and a creation/posting date of April 18, 2024. Overall, this NOFO is best suited for applicants with a strong, partner-driven plan to reduce real-world threats to priority terrestrial biodiversity in the specified Latin American landscapes, backed by government support and designed for measurable, durable conservation impact.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F24AS00309 FY2024 Latin America Regional Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.640.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-04-18.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-06-04. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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