In a statement this week, the Otago Regional Council said the Eco Fund would open for private landowners, iwi, community groups and environmental organisations on Monday.
Cr Chanel Gardner said this year’s fund had $919,800 available.
Successful applicants would include projects that protected, restored and enhanced the region’s environment.
‘‘Whether you are continuing an existing project or developing a new idea that could make a real difference for your local environment, I encourage everyone to be ready to apply,’’ Cr Gardner said.
The fund was chronically oversubscribed and the council said since 2018 it had distributed $3.6 million to Otago conservation projects out of $10.45m requested.
It said the fund had supported 194 projects from 420 applications, across 11 application rounds.
Each round had averaged 38 applications and had been oversubscribed by an average of 300%, the council said.
Two funding categories had been updated.
Hill country erosion management was replacing critical source area management on private land, focused on reducing sediment and soil loss through erosion control measures, and had up to $51,100 available.
The scaling up for biodiversity category, replacing large-scale biodiversity projects, would be used to support projects that protected and enhanced native biodiversity at a larger scale.
The council said the funding, with up to $306,600 available, was also designed to help community groups build delivery experience and transition towards the council’s Large-Scale Environmental (LSE) Fund or other long-term funding sources.
The general category (total funding up to $306,600), sustained rabbit management incentives ($102,200), biodiversity enhancement on protected private land ($102,200) and weed removal and revegetation ($51,100) all remained unchanged as categories, the council said.
The funding categories were reviewed each year to align with the council’s strategic directions, it said.
Applications close on April 19.
