International Climate Initiative (IKI) - Marine and Coastal NbS

Your notes (local)

Relevance Comment (remote)

Enriched International · Found: 2026-03-10 13:30

German IKI supports marine and coastal nature-based solutions through GIZ. Projects include Amazonia Azul/TerraMar II (Brazil mangrove/coral reef protection) and MACBLUE (Pacific Island blue carbon and coastal ecosystem restoration).

Source: https://international-climate-initiative.com/

Funding Details

Funder: International Climate Initiative (IKI) - German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and BMUV
Funding Goal: Fund international climate protection projects in four areas: mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation to climate change, preserving and restoring natural carbon sinks, and conserving biological diversity. Supports large grants (ILG), medium grants (IMG), small grants (ISG), thematic calls, country-specific calls, and blended finance (IKI Invest). Marine and coastal nature-based solutions are within scope under biodiversity and carbon sink priorities.
Funding Amount: Three grant tiers: Small Grants (ISG), Medium Grants (IMG), and Large Grants (ILG). IKI Invest for blended finance. Specific amounts vary by call.
How to Apply: Multiple call types: ISG Call 2025 (Small Grants), IMG Call 2025 (Medium Grants), ILG Call 2025 (Large Grants), and country-specific calls. Applications via IKI website: https://international-climate-initiative.com/en/find-funding/. Each call has its own application portal and timeline.
Target Region: Global (focus on developing countries and IKI partner countries including Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Africa, and others)
Contact: https://international-climate-initiative.com/en/ (German Federal Ministry BMWK/BMUV)
Official Page: https://international-climate-initiative.com/en/
Last Checked: 2026-03-15 09:40

Application Checklist

Eligibility

Projects must be implemented in or with IKI partner countries (primarily developing economies)
Legal entity status required; NGOs, research institutions, and public bodies eligible

Project Scope

Project must fit one of four IKI funding areas: mitigation, adaptation, carbon sinks, or biodiversity
Country-specific calls available for select IKI partner countries
IKI Invest available for blended finance projects combining grant and investment

Required Documents

Application submitted via IKI online portal for the specific call type (ISG/IMG/ILG)

Constraints

Multiple active calls in 2025: Small, Medium, and Large Grant calls

Summary

The International Climate Initiative (IKI) is a major German government funding programme for international climate action, financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV). It supports projects in four thematic funding areas: greenhouse gas mitigation, climate adaptation, natural carbon sinks, and biodiversity conservation. IKI offers grants at three scales — small, medium, and large — as well as thematic and country-specific calls, and a blended finance instrument (IKI Invest). Active calls in 2025 include the ISG Call 2025 (small grants), IMG Call 2025 (medium grants), and ILG Call 2025 (large grants). Marine and coastal nature-based solutions fall within the biodiversity and carbon sink priority areas. Eligible applicants typically include NGOs, research institutions, and public bodies. Projects must be implemented in or with IKI partner countries (developing economies). While German organisations often lead, international partnerships including European NGOs are possible. The programme is primarily oriented toward developing country contexts rather than European waters. For marine and coastal NbS, IKI has historically supported projects in developing coastal regions including mangrove restoration, coastal adaptation, and marine biodiversity. European North/Baltic Sea focused projects are not the primary geographic scope.

Historical Context

IKI was established by the German government to support international climate policy and is a key instrument of Germany's climate foreign policy. Multiple annual calls across grant tiers have been running since at least 2020. Country-specific calls exist for Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Colombia, Mexico, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, and Vietnam.

Why it was added

German climate initiative funding marine NbS, blue carbon development, mangrove/coral reef protection in developing countries.

Sources

Similar Programs

Program	Source	Shared Tags
Spain — Biodiversity Foundation - Terra Viva Grants For NGOs Government Grant Global Biodiversity Capacity Building Climate Coastal Protection Marine Conservation	family-office	8
Programmes supporting 'Climate, Environment & Maritime' For NGOs For Researchers Government Grant Loan / Concessional Finance Technical Assistance Global Aquaculture Biodiversity Blue Economy Capacity Building Circular Economy Climate Coastal Protection Fisheries Marine Conservation Pollution Research	Impact Investor	8
Horizon Europe - EU Research and Innovation Programme For NGOs For Researchers Government Multilateral Grant Global Aquaculture Biodiversity Blue Economy Capacity Building Circular Economy Climate Coastal Protection Marine Conservation Plastic Waste Pollution Research Seaweed & Algae	EU	8
European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) For NGOs For Researchers For Startups Government Multilateral Grant Global Aquaculture Biodiversity Blue Economy Climate Coastal Protection Fisheries Marine Conservation	EU	7
LIFE Programme - Environment and Climate Action For NGOs For Researchers For Startups Government Multilateral Grant Technical Assistance Global Biodiversity Circular Economy Climate Coastal Protection Marine Conservation Pollution Waste Management	EU	7

← Back to list