The Faculty of Land and Food Systems (LFS) announces the launch of the Climate and Environment Research Fund (CERF).
The BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food (AF) has completed preliminary work that showed the potential for broad groups of on-farm beneficial management practices (BMPs) to help farmers and ranchers achieve reductions in net greenhouse gas emissions. With the CERF, AF is looking to build on this work by addressing knowledge gaps with on-farm BMPs that have high potential to sequester carbon or reduce GHG emissions. LFS aims to support this work using an internal funding framework similar to that used for its Internal Research Grant Program (IRGP).
AF is interested primarily in BMPs that fall under the following priority areas:
- Riparian, grassland, and habitat management (mitigation/carbon sequestration focus)
- Soil health including carbon sequestration
- Nutrient management
- Waste management (i.e. Organic matter, CO2, methane and other mitigation)
- Mitigation and carbon sequestration BMPs on the S-CAP national list (see Appendix)
The lead applicant must be a LFS faculty member. Co-applicants may be, but are not limited to: researchers and professors, practitioners, policy-makers, educators, decision-makers, health-care administrators, Indigenous Elders, Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, community leaders, or individuals working for a charity.
The CERF funding envelope will be awarded in two intakes, each with a $260,000 envelope as follows. The first intake (2024) will fund two projects of ~$65,000/year for two (2) years. A second intake will be held in 2026 at which time, successful first intake proponents will be able to seek renewal of their funding for a third and fourth year. Renewals will be adjudicated together with new projects and two final projects will be selected at the same funding level of $65,000/year for the final two years.
Applications for the first intake of the LFS CERF should be sent to lfs.research@ubc.ca by 5 pm, Friday, July 5, 2024.
Questions should be directed to David Kitts [david.kitts@ubc.ca], or Nick Grant [nick.grant@ubc.ca].
Full details on the IRGP program including the Application Form can be found here.