Norway Development Assistance Program Against Marine Litter - SDG Partnership

Enriched International · Found: 2026-03-11 11:11

Norwegian government development assistance program registered as SDG partnership, supporting marine litter prevention and plastic pollution reduction in developing countries through bilateral cooperation.

Source: https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/norway-continuing-norwegian-development-assistance-program-against-marine-litter-and

Funding Details

Funder

Government of Norway (Norad — Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation)

Funding Goal

Prevent and significantly reduce marine litter and plastic pollution from major sources in developing countries, contributing to SDG 14 and supporting a global agreement on plastic pollution

Funding Amount

USD 100 million (approximately NOK 1 billion) over 2025-2028 (second phase of programme); first phase 2018-2024 disbursed similar scale

Deadline

Call for proposals Stage 1 (concept notes) deadline: September 2025 (first phase of new programme); monitor norad.no for 2026 calls (periodic)

How to Apply

Norad issues competitive Calls for Proposals with two stages: Stage 1 (concept note open to all eligible NGOs) and Stage 2 (full proposal by invitation only to selected Stage 1 applicants). Applications submitted via the Norad grant portal. Contact: hav@norad.no (Section for Oceans). Stage 1 results published within 2-3 months of deadline.

Target Region

Developing countries globally, with priority focus on Indonesia, Vietnam, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania

Contact

Norad Section for Oceans: hav@norad.no. Norad headquarters: Bygdøy allé 2, 0257 Oslo, Norway. Programme page: norad.no

Official Page

https://www.norad.no/en/for-partners/guides-and-tools/calls-for-proposals2/2025/call-for-proposals-for-the-norwegian-development-programme-to-reduce-plastic-pollution-and-marine-litter--stage-1/

Last Checked

2026-03-15 13:27

Application Checklist

Eligibility

• Lead applicant must be a non-governmental organisation (NGO)
• Project must operate in developing countries — priority: Indonesia, Vietnam, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania
• Consortium applications encouraged; Northern NGO + Southern implementing partner is a common model

Project Scope

• Scope: plastic waste collection, recycling value chains, waste governance, prevention of ocean plastic entry

Required Documents

• Two-stage process: Stage 1 concept note (open), Stage 2 full proposal (invitation only)

Constraints

• Monitor norad.no and hav@norad.no for next call announcement — no open call as of March 2026

Summary

The Norwegian Development Programme to Reduce Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter is a major bilateral development programme financed by the Government of Norway and administered through Norad (the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation). The programme was originally launched in 2018 and in 2024 Norway announced a second four-year phase running from 2025 to 2028 with an ambition of NOK 1 billion (approximately USD 100 million) in total funding. The programme's primary objective is to prevent and significantly reduce the extent of marine litter, particularly plastic litter, from major sources in developing countries, thereby contributing to Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life Below Water) and supporting global negotiations towards a binding international agreement on plastic pollution. The programme spans multiple thematic areas including plastic waste collection and management, prevention of plastic entering waterways and oceans, reduction of single-use plastics, support for recycling value chains, and strengthening of waste governance frameworks. Geographically, the programme prioritises developing countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Priority countries for the 2025 call included Indonesia, Vietnam, Kenya, Ghana, and Tanzania — all countries where the programme has built implementation experience during the first phase (2018-2024). During the first phase, India and Indonesia received the largest share of project funding. The programme operates through competitive Calls for Proposals targeting non-governmental organisations as lead applicants. The call structure uses a two-stage process: Stage 1 invites concept notes from all eligible NGOs; Stage 2 invites full proposals by invitation from selected Stage 1 applicants only. Consortium applications are encouraged, particularly partnerships between Northern NGOs and Southern implementing partners. Norad has confirmed no new open call was active as of March 2026, but given the four-year programme cycle, further sub-calls are expected in 2026-2027. Contact for the programme is the Section for Oceans at hav@norad.no.

Historical Context

Phase 1 ran 2018-2024 with India and Indonesia receiving the most funding. Phase 2 launched 2025-2028 with USD 100M ambition. Stage 1 concept note call opened late 2024/early 2025. No Stage 1 call confirmed open as of March 2026 — monitor hav@norad.no for next round announcement.

Why it was added

GIZ/bilateral waste capacity building

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