Land, Environment and Natural Resource Management Policy Program | 72061523RFA00005

Opportunity Information: Apply for 72061523RFA00005

USAID Kenya (USAID-KEA, based in Nairobi) released a discretionary funding opportunity titled "Land, Environment and Natural Resource Management Policy Program" (Funding Opportunity Number 72061523RFA00005) to support policy and legal reforms in Kenya that strengthen land, environmental, and natural resource governance. The award is planned as a Cooperative Agreement, with USAID intending to make a single award with a funding ceiling of up to USD 3,500,000. A key restriction is eligibility: only local organizations are allowed to apply, reflecting USAID's emphasis on locally led development and local institutional capacity. The opportunity was structured as a call for concept notes first, with USAID selecting the most competitive respondents for a next phase that may include co-creation and a request for a full application, followed by a final award decision based on merit review criteria and a risk assessment.

At its core, the program aims to move policy from analysis into action by facilitating reforms that deepen collaboration among the private sector, local communities, and other stakeholders operating in important landscapes and localized development contexts. It is positioned as a follow-on to earlier USAID policy support efforts that mapped and analyzed the policies and regulations needed for sustainable biodiversity conservation, particularly where conservation outcomes depend on secure land tenure. Building on that foundation, this new activity focuses on helping Kenya advance and implement reforms that enable better engagement across sectors and actors, with an emphasis on practical uptake rather than purely diagnostic work. The design explicitly sits within Kenya's anticipated and ongoing legal reforms, meaning applicants are expected to align activities to evolving national and subnational reform processes and to support implementation pathways, not just policy drafting.

The scope of work described in the notice spans several connected policy domains. A major pillar is environmental governance, which typically covers strengthening institutions, improving coordination among government agencies and non-state actors, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and supporting accountability mechanisms that make environmental and natural resource decisions more transparent and enforceable. Another major pillar is climate change adaptation and mitigation, suggesting the program will support reforms that help Kenya reduce emissions and increase resilience, potentially through updated rules, standards, planning frameworks, and incentives that encourage climate-smart land and resource management. The opportunity also highlights land tenure policy development, underscoring USAID's view that secure and clearly defined land rights are a foundation for conservation, sustainable investment, and community participation. Related to this, the program calls out carbon finance: it anticipates support for developing a legal framework for carbon finance and providing implementation support, which points to work such as clarifying how carbon rights are defined, how benefits are shared, how projects are authorized and regulated, and how integrity and safeguards are maintained so that carbon markets can operate credibly and equitably.

In addition, the program includes support for the Blue Economy, indicating attention to coastal and aquatic resources, sustainable ocean-based livelihoods, and governance systems that manage fisheries, marine ecosystems, and related value chains. The opportunity also places strong emphasis on inclusive economic participation by promoting youth and women's engagement in eco-entrepreneurship and green jobs. That framing suggests the activity is expected to help create enabling policy conditions for green enterprises and employment, while also ensuring that reforms and implementation approaches intentionally reduce barriers for women and young people and expand their access to opportunities tied to sustainable natural resource use.

Process-wise, the announcement functions as guidance to prospective applicants on what kinds of activities USAID is willing to consider, how much funding is available, and how to submit a concept note that can progress to later stages. USAID signaled that concept notes would be evaluated against specified criteria, and only those that best match USAID's objectives would be invited into co-creation and then asked for a full application. Because the final selection is subject to a risk assessment, applicants are implicitly expected to demonstrate not only technical strength and alignment with the policy reform agenda, but also sound organizational systems for management, compliance, and responsible use of funds. The original posting shows a creation date of March 22, 2023, and an original closing date of April 14, 2023, which indicates the concept note stage was time-bound and competitive, with USAID planning to move relatively quickly from initial concepts to a single funded award.

• The Agency for International Development, Kenya USAID-Nairobi in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Land, Environment and Natural Resource Management Policy Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 98.001.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 22, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 14, 2023. (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 $3,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for 72061523RFA00005

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: