The United Nations Environment Programme's Mountains ADAPT project is providing small grants to community groups in East Africa. These grants can be up to $30,000 and are intended for local organizations working on climate change projects in mountain areas. The programme focuses on supporting small, grassroots groups, particularly those led by young people and women, rather than large institutions. This approach recognizes that mountain communities are often among those most affected by climate change. By supporting these groups, the project aims to generate meaningful benefits for people who are particularly vulnerable to climate-related impacts.
Key Details
The deadline for applications is September 15, 2026, at 11:59 PM East African Time. Grants of up to $30,000 are available for eligible projects. There is no minimum grant amount, although applicants are expected to request an amount sufficient to achieve meaningful project results.
Projects will have a duration of 12 months. Successful applicants are expected to be notified in the third quarter of 2026, with projects anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Eligible Countries
The programme covers eight countries in the East African Community: Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Eligibility Requirements
To be considered, applicants must be registered civil society organizations. Particular preference is given to organizations that are community-based, work with young people, or focus on women's issues.
Organizations must be officially registered to apply, as applications from individuals are not accepted. Applicants are required to upload a valid registration certificate as evidence of their legal status. If an organization is selected, it must also have a bank account registered in the organization's name through which grant funds can be received. Personal bank accounts are not acceptable.
Eligible organizations must address a significant climate-change challenge in a mountain area that affects people's lives, the environment, or food systems. The organization must be based in an eligible mountain region and actively work to support the local ecosystem and community.
Applicants are also expected to have experience implementing projects that benefit local communities. Experience in climate adaptation or environmental protection is considered an advantage during evaluation. Previous experience with international funding is not required, but organizations must demonstrate a clear commitment to generating positive impacts within their communities.
Eligible projects should seek to preserve, restore, or improve the well-being of people and ecosystems in mountain regions and should clearly demonstrate how the proposed activities will contribute to these objectives. Local presence and active community engagement are therefore important characteristics of eligible organizations.
Organizations demonstrating inclusive governance and transformative gender practices, including efforts to challenge traditional gender norms or promote women's leadership, will be prioritized during selection.
Thematic Areas
Projects should adopt a holistic and sustainable livelihoods approach across one or more of six thematic areas:
Restoring ecosystems through nature-based solutions aligned with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
Water harvesting and retention through ecosystem-based approaches to community water infrastructure.
Climate-smart agriculture and food security, including drought-resistant crops, agroecology, drip irrigation, and regenerative farming.
Disaster preparedness through ecosystem-based risk assessment and localized early warning systems.
Enhancing and diversifying income sources through sustainable value chains, eco-tourism, or nature-based enterprise development.
Improving health and quality of life by reducing heat stress and environmental pollution.
Nature-based or ecosystem-based approaches are a central requirement of the programme. Proposed solutions are therefore expected to rely substantially on natural systems or ecosystem-based approaches to address climate adaptation challenges. This requirement applies across eligible proposals.
Required Documents
Applicants are required to provide several supporting documents. These include a valid registration certificate for the organization and the national identification document or passport of the person legally representing the organization.
If an organization is selected, official banking details must also be provided. These banking details must correspond with the organization's registration information.
Application documents and the application form may be submitted in the applicant's national language or in English. The application form is also available in additional languages, including Armenian, Azerbaijani, French, Georgian, and Kiswahili.
Application Process
Complete the full online application form, including project information and the relevant thematic focus.
Provide the organization's registration documents and identification of the person legally representing the organization.
Ensure that all essential sections are completed, as incomplete applications may be disqualified during the screening stage.
Submit the completed application before September 15, 2026, at 11:59 PM East African Time.
Eligibility Screening Criteria
Before applications proceed to detailed review, they are assessed against a set of basic eligibility requirements. These requirements operate largely as pass-or-fail screening criteria.
First, the applicant must be a community-based organization or civil society organization registered in an eligible mountain region. The proposal must clearly identify a climate-change challenge that the project intends to address.
The proposed solution must be primarily based on natural or ecosystem-based approaches. The applicant must also demonstrate sufficient financial and operational capacity to manage a small grant.
Community accountability is another important requirement. Organizations must demonstrate that they are responsible and transparent in their actions and decision-making and that they are accountable to the communities they serve.
Prior experience implementing projects at the local level is also an important consideration. Applicants must demonstrate a commitment to gender equality and social inclusion, ensuring that different groups within the community can participate and benefit from the project.
Finally, the applicant must be independent from local government and must not be directly controlled by or affiliated with political entities. These screening requirements are intended to ensure that applications meet the programme's basic eligibility standards and demonstrate potential for meaningful community impact.
A key financial restriction concerns the use of grant funds for government personnel. Grant budgets cannot be used to pay salaries or allowances to government officials, including officials at the local municipality level. This restriction reflects UNEP's financial rules.
Local government officials may nevertheless participate in projects through non-financial forms of support, such as providing resources or services, or through government contributions to project activities.
How Applications Are Scored
Eligible applications are evaluated by a Selection Committee using a 100-point scoring rubric covering six weighted criteria:
Relevance to local climate vulnerabilities and national or local priorities — 20 points
Technical feasibility and sustainability — 20 points
Inclusivity and gender and youth responsiveness — 15 points
Innovation and scaling potential — 15 points
Community ownership and participation — 15 points
Risk management and safeguard integration — 15 points
Applications scoring below 60 out of 100 are flagged for rejection, while applications scoring 90 or above are recommended for funding without reservation.
What the Grant Can Cover
Grant funding can be used to pay staff and experts, purchase equipment and materials, and cover training and capacity-building costs. Funding can also cover operational and administrative expenses that are directly associated with project implementation.
Although additional funding is not mandatory, projects that already have or expect to secure contributions from local municipalities or other partners may be viewed more favorably during selection. Such additional support can come from other funding sources and may strengthen the project's overall financial base.
Major Considerations
Organizations that are closely connected to government institutions or political groups may not be suitable applicants, regardless of the quality of their climate-related work. Organizational independence is therefore an important consideration.
The emphasis on nature-based solutions is equally important. Projects that rely primarily on non-ecological approaches or conventional hard infrastructure are unlikely to satisfy the programme's core requirements and may be rejected during the eligibility screening stage.
The selection process is structured around a defined scoring system and evaluation rubric. Organizations that are unsuccessful may receive feedback and potentially use that feedback to strengthen future applications. The availability of structured evaluation criteria and the possibility of receiving specific feedback provide applicants with an opportunity to identify weaknesses and improve subsequent proposals.
Should Eligible Organizations Apply?
This funding opportunity is particularly relevant to community groups, youth organizations, and women's organizations working in mountain areas across Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
To be eligible, organizations must have a clear focus on using nature-based or ecosystem-based approaches to help communities adapt to climate change. They must also demonstrate accountability to the communities they serve, meet the programme's registration requirements, and maintain independence from government and political entities.
The opportunity is less suitable for organizations that are directly connected to government, are not formally registered, or rely primarily on conventional infrastructure such as roads or dams rather than nature-based approaches to address climate challenges.
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