General

Meridia Land B.V. has developed a mobile cloud-based platform including services that documents the land use and rights of small farmers in developing countries. Such a document is also useful for farmers to get a loan from the bank and farmers are more willing to invest in their land and improve the quality and quantity of their production.Côte d'Ivoire, together with Ghana, produces the most cocoa; 70% of the global cocoa volume. Much of this cocoa is supplied by small farmers, who hardly have anything on paper about their piece of land. Land documentation is still a long, bureaucratic, inefficient and costly procedure in Côte d'Ivoire. Meridia wants to help farmers by offering an affordable (40 to 60% cheaper) and fast alternative to register their land in order to acquire official ownership.Meridia is in contact with three major international agri-food processors: Hershey, Barry Callebaut and Unilever, who purchase cocoa from approximately 80,000 farmers in Côte d'Ivoire. The three multinationals want to improve their social impact and are willing to invest in land documentation for "their" farmers, however they are confronted with the complexity of land rights and do not know exactly where to start. They have expressed their interest in Meridia's technology and hope to be able to directly support at least 80,000 cocoa farmers with land documentation in the coming years. A feasibility study is needed, among other things, to investigate what the price could be for the farmers, what the technical requirements are, but also to further map out the opportunities and challenges. In addition, an extensive analysis of the local context will be made in order to fully meet the requirements or wishes of the three customers. During the study, a small pilot will also be conducted in which Meridia's model will be tailored to the cultural, political and institutional conditions.

Objectives

This intervention is a multi-faceted Protection hybrid intended to consolidate the ongoing humanitarian response to the drought situation in Somalia, while at the same time supporting reintegration and durable solutions efforts. The intervention is framed around the following three central outcomes: i) Eviction prevention and response: individuals affected by displacement receive support assistance to improve their tenure security situation and address post-eviction complications ii) Access to justice and information: enhanced access to specialized services to address HLP problems and improve peaceful co-existence among displacement affected populations iii) capacity development: reintegration and durable solutions efforts are strengthened through enhanced local and institutional capacities to promote peaceful co-existence and protect HLP rights. It is designed to consolidate ongoing humanitarian efforts by expanding critically essential protection services and enhancing synergies between mainstream Protection and other sectors in a way that makes the drought response more complete. The action will be implemented in four main regions across Somalia – South and Central Somalia, Puntland State and Somaliland. Specific districts that are targeted within these three broad geographic regions include: Puntland – Bari, Nugaal, Mudug Somaliland – Sanaag, Walgyoi, Galbeed, Sool, Todgheer and South and Central Somalia – Gedo, Bay, Banadiir, Lower Juba, Middle Shabelle and Lower Shabelle. As a drought-driven response, the cities and villages hardest hit will be prioritized although targeting will remain flexible in order to accommodate unforeseen emergencies which the drought situation could trigger in other locations. The overarching objectives of this project will be achieved through the implementation of fourteen select set of activities that are clearly articulated under the ‘Logical Framework Section’ of this application, including the specific modalities through which each deliverable will be materialized. On an overall, implementation modalities will include a combination of both direct service delivery and remote programming, which will be led by substantive project staff and a robust network of skilled and highly trained paralegals. The project will be implemented by NRC’s ICLA program that specializes in the application of legal concepts to promote and protect the rights of persons affected by displacement. In the case of this intervention, contextually appropriate legal methods will be employed to provide effective and quality lifesaving protection response designed to address Housing, Land and Property rights violations and to promote peaceful co-existence in the context of the drought response in Somalia. NRC has prioritized direct implementation as a means of guaranteeing quality, but local capacity development has also been mainstreamed into the project’s design in order to promote sustainability. Local municipalities will be targeted for partnership cooperation.

General

Bicknell's Thrush (BITH) is a neotropical migratory bird species whose population overwinters predominantly in the ..Dominican Republic where forest habitat is under threat from agricultural expansion and fire. With past NMBCA ..support, significant progress has been made in identifying and protecting critical habitat, managing that habitat, ..and restoring previously lost habitat for BITH in the DR. This project builds and expands upon those advances. ..This project will: 1) improve management of four key habitat areas by supporting park guard personnel, patrols, and ..boundary-marking 2) engage coffee and cacao farmers in Bird-Friendly production methods; 3) restore 73 hectares ..by planting more than 35,000 native trees and coffee plants, 3) monitor presence, and distribution of BITH and other ..Partners in Flight priority migratory species; and 4) conduct land tenure studies to explore opportunities for expanding ..land protection. With matching funds, we will: 1) hire 7 new park guards, and maintain 11 existing guards and two ..reserve managers; 2) build a new guard station 3) create a new 7.5 hectare private reserve; and 4) build capacity in ..our partner through construction of an ecotourism facility and a fundraising/educational event.