Marine Nature Conservation Fund (DBU/BMUV) - Meeresschutzfonds

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Enriched Federal (DE) · Found: 2026-03-10 21:07

EUR 400M endowment fund by BMUV through DBU for marine species/habitat protection in German waters and nature-friendly offshore wind. EUR 70M+ immediate action program. NGOs eligible.

Source: https://www.dbu.de/meeresschutzfonds/

Funding Details

Funder: Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Klimaschutz, Naturschutz und nukleare Sicherheit (BMUKN) / Zukunft-Umwelt-Gesellschaft (ZUG) gGmbH
Funding Goal: Prevention of marine litter (Meeresmüll) through projects that build sustainable circular economy and waste management systems in ODA-eligible developing countries. Focus on avoiding plastic waste from entering the ocean by establishing and developing waste and circular management systems, strengthening institutional capacities, and initiating societal transformation.
Funding Amount: EUR 1 million to EUR 6 million per project; project duration up to 4 years (1.000.000 € – 6.000.000 €)
Deadline: 2025 call closed (deadline not specified on page). Future calls not yet announced. (periodic)
How to Apply: Project concept (Skizze) submitted via electronic Jira system at https://jira.z-u-g.org/servicedesk/customer/portal/31. Managed by ZUG project management office. Questions via marine-litter@z-u-g.org
Target Region: Global — ODA-eligible developing countries; focus areas for Call 2025: Small Island Developing States, countries relevant to Global Plastic Convention negotiations
Contact: marine-litter@z-u-g.org — ZUG, Zukunft-Umwelt-Gesellschaft gGmbH
Official Page: https://www.z-u-g.org/meeresmuell/
Last Checked: 2026-03-15 13:21

Application Checklist

Eligibility

Applicant must have registered seat in Germany (NGO, company, university, research institution, or German branch of international org)
Consortium with organisations from partner countries/regions required

Project Scope

Project must be implemented in ODA-eligible developing countries
Project must focus on preventing plastic entry into oceans via waste management or circular economy systems

Required Documents

Submit concept sketch (Skizze) via ZUG Jira portal

Constraints

Extraction-only measures (fishing for litter) and thermal plastic treatment not eligible
Implement ZUG Safeguards and Grievance Mechanism
Governments may not receive direct funding; profit-seeking business activities may not dominate

Summary

The Federal Programme Against Marine Litter (Förderprogramm gegen Meeresmüll), also named Marine:DeFRAG, is a German federal government initiative funded by BMUKN and implemented by ZUG gGmbH. Its overarching goal is to prevent marine litter, especially plastic waste, from entering the oceans, by building sustainable waste and circular economy systems in developing countries. The thematic scope includes: sustainable production and waste reduction, circular design and circular economy solutions, integrated waste management systems, advisory and capacity-exchange activities, waste information systems, and societal transformation for behaviour change. Extraction-only projects (e.g. fishing for litter), thermal treatment of plastics, and recycling of non-relevant waste fractions are explicitly excluded. Eligible activities involve building and developing functioning waste and circular management systems (short-, medium-, and long-term), strengthening institutional capacities, and supporting societal transformation in partner countries. Geographic scope is ODA-eligible developing countries globally. Special focus in the 2025 Call was on Small Island Developing States, countries with heightened roles in the Global Plastics Convention, and countries in the High Ambition Coalition. Eligible applicants must have a registered seat in Germany: NGOs, companies, universities, federal implementation organisations, and German branches of multilateral organisations. Consortium formation with partner country organisations is mandatory. Individual persons and governments cannot receive direct funding. Projects must implement ZUG Safeguards and a Grievance Mechanism. Grant amounts range from EUR 1 million to EUR 6 million per project with a maximum duration of 4 years. Applications via electronic Jira system. As of March 2026 the 2025 Call is closed; future calls expected but not yet announced.

Historical Context

Programme named Marine Debris Framework — Regional hubs around the globe (Marine:DeFRAG). Previous calls: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2025 (all closed). Call 2025 focused on Small Island Developing States and countries linked to the Global Plastics Convention. Future calls expected but not yet announced.

Why it was added

DE round 6 - Major new German marine conservation fund with huge endowment

Sources

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