NGOs and civil society groups in East Melanesia are being asked to submit proposals for biodiversity conservation projects.
It's the third time the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has extended the invitation under a fund set up to help local communities conserve their natural wealth.
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, the CEPF, is investing 9 million US dollars in Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and the islands region of Papua New Guinea.
Pacific ocean Photo: RNZ
Luisa Tagicakibau from the CEPF's implementation team says the goal is to ensure that non government organisations and community groups are engaged in conservation projects.
"CEPF recognises that at the end of the day local communities and their organisations are the ones that are the ultimate stewards of their biodiversity, their eco-systems, their natural resources."
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Luisa Tagicakibau says widespread commercial logging and mining are among a number of threats to the region.
