The BEST Initiative is a European dedicated financial mechanism for supporting biodiversity actions in the EU Overseas, which ultimately seeks to increase the visibility of these territories as demonstrators of ecosystem-based approaches and key contributors to the achievement of EU and international biodiversity targets.

Implemented both in  the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) and in the Outremosts Regions (ORs), BEST aims to unlock the potential of new initiatives and to support local stakeholders to protect a unique biodiversity, beautiful and critical ecosystems and to deploy nature-based solutions. From 2011 to 2018, BEST has financed 90 projects worth a total of EUR 18 million, all of which can be found in this brochure. The activities funded in the Overseas Countries and Territories have been supported by the BEST2.0 and BEST2.0+ programmes.

To support quality, sustained and evidence-based reporting of biodiversity conservation across the local and regional media in some of these territories, the BEST Secretariat has launched a Media Grant Programme in the OCTs, a scheme that will provide a maximum amount of EUR 10.000 by grant to freelancers (or consortium of those) and staff journalists (or consortium of those) to boost and amplify impactful coverage of the BEST-funded projects revolving around local stakeholders initiatives and biodiversity conservation in the OCTs.  

The geographical scope of this media grant programme targets 5 zones: South Atlantic, Polar and Subpolar, Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Pacific, encompassing the following OCTs: Anguilla, Aruba, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Curação, Falkland Islands (Malvinas)*, French Polynesia, Greenland, Montserrat, New Caledonia, Saint Barthelemy, Sint Maarten, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Turks and Caicos Islands, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba, Cayman Islands, French Southern and Antarctic Territories, Pitcairn, Saint Helena, Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha.

Proposers may submit their queries no later than 11 October 2021, 23:59 CET to BESTmediagrants@iucn.org.

This Request for Proposal closes on 25 October 2021, 23:59 CET.

All details and relevant documents are available on the IUCN website and in this FAQ.