Building Wildlife Forensics Legal Capacity within Indonesia | F17AS00226

Opportunity Information: Apply for F17AS00226

The grant opportunity titled Building Wildlife Forensics Legal Capacity within Indonesia (Funding Opportunity Number F17AS00226) is a U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service funding action designed to strengthen Indonesia's ability to investigate and prosecute wildlife trafficking cases. It is grounded in the U.S. National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking, which frames wildlife trafficking as a transnational crime problem that requires a coordinated government response. The strategy emphasizes three interconnected goals: strengthening enforcement against traffickers, reducing consumer demand for illegally traded wildlife, and expanding international cooperation so countries can work together more effectively across borders. Within that larger strategy, this opportunity focuses on the enforcement and legal follow-through side, especially the practical capacity needed to turn investigations into successful prosecutions and meaningful penalties.

The central purpose of the project is to improve the legal and forensic foundations that make wildlife crime cases stronger in court. The notice cites recent assessments of Indonesian government capacity and highlights specific gaps where targeted support could make a measurable difference. Those priorities include improving wildlife crime investigations (which often depend on forensic methods and evidence handling), improving understanding among justice-sector actors of the value of wildlife and the seriousness of wildlife crimes, strengthening knowledge of wildlife laws and the selection of appropriate charges, improving judicial handling of sentencing so penalties match the offense and serve as a deterrent, and expanding prosecutors' ability to build and present effective wildlife crime cases. Taken together, these elements point to an end-to-end approach: better evidence collection and analysis, better legal interpretation and charging decisions, and more consistent courtroom outcomes.

This opportunity is offered as a discretionary award and can be structured as either a cooperative agreement or a grant, indicating that the Fish and Wildlife Service may expect an active partnership role depending on the final instrument used. The funding amount listed is modest, with an award ceiling of $39,848 and an expectation of a single award. The announcement also states it is a notice of intent to award a single-source award under an internal policy reference (516 FW 6), which signals the agency anticipated selecting a specific recipient rather than running a broad competitive process for multiple awards. Although the eligibility field is marked as unrestricted in general terms, the single-source intent is a key practical detail because it typically limits the pathway for new applicants unless the agency indicates otherwise in the full notice context.

Administratively, the opportunity was created on June 2, 2017, with an original closing date of June 8, 2017, reflecting a short window consistent with a single-source intent notice rather than an open competition. The activity areas associated with the award span environment, natural resources, science and technology/research and development, and law/justice/legal services, which matches the cross-cutting nature of wildlife trafficking work. The assistance listing is tied to CFDA number 15.679, a Fish and Wildlife Service assistance program category.

In plain terms, the grant is meant to help Indonesia close the gap between catching wildlife traffickers and actually holding them accountable through the courts. By building investigation quality, strengthening forensic and evidentiary practices, and improving judicial and prosecutorial competence in wildlife crime, the project supports the broader U.S. goal of reducing global wildlife trafficking through stronger enforcement networks and more effective international cooperation.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment, law, justice and legal services, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Building Wildlife Forensics Legal Capacity within Indonesia" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.679.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 02, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 08, 2017 This is a notice of intent to award a single source award in accordance with 516 FW 6.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $39,848.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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