The Tony Whitten Conservation Award
Tony Whitten (1953–2017) was an inspirational conservationist who championed biodiversity across Asia and beyond. He was Director of the Asia-Pacific programme at Fauna & Flora International, and previously Senior Biodiversity Specialist at the World Bank. Alongside helping run conservation projects across Asia, Tony worked on conservation of cave invertebrates, saving many species and having 11 new species named in his honour, and established the IUCN Cave Invertebrate Specialist Group. As a tribute to him the Cambridge Conservation Initiative invites applications for this award for early career conservationists and biodiversity researchers from East and South-east Asia.
The award is open to those under the age of 35 involved in conservation or field biology in the region. Awards will be awarded by a panel selected by Tony's family. The panel is particularly interested in work on the overlooked species and habitats that Tony was passionate about, such as caves and karst ecosystems, and invertebrates and fishes. The fund is able to provide five awards of GBP 2,000 each in late 2020. Applicants should be nationals of Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste or Viet Nam. Application forms are available at cambridgeconservation.org/tony-whitten-conservation-award. The deadline is midnight (GMT) on 1 November 2020. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by the end of 2020.
Cambridge Masters in Conservation Leadership
The Masters degree in Conservation Leadership at the University of Cambridge is a full-time, 11-month course for graduates of leadership potential with at least 3 years of relevant experience in biodiversity conservation. Based in the Department of Geography, the course is delivered by members of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, a partnership between six university departments and nine conservation organizations or networks based in and around Cambridge.
Applications open in September 2020 for entry to the course in October 2021. For application details visit geog.cam.ac.uk/graduate/mphil/conservation. The closing date for applications will be early December 2020. There is no application fee for students from the least developed and other low income countries. For information on eligibility for a fee waiver, see graduate.study.cam.ac.uk/how-do-i-apply/application-fee.
We are able to offer Miriam Rothschild Scholarships in Conservation Leadership, and a number of other scholarships, to support students attending the Masters. These scholarships cover full fees and living expenses. Successful applicants for scholarships will have outstanding conservation leadership potential but be unable to fund their studies from other sources. Priority for scholarships will be given to those from countries rich in biodiversity but poor in financial resources. For queries about making an application, contact Lisa Harris (admin.conservationleadership@geog.cam.ac.uk).
Conservation Leadership Programme Team Awards
The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) is a partnership between BirdLife International, Fauna & Flora International and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Each year, CLP grants awards to teams of early-career conservationists leading projects to save threatened species across the developing world. Each team benefits from a grant and opportunities to develop professional skills and build connections through the CLP Alumni Network.
The CLP Team Awards identify, recognize and empower exceptional conservation leaders. Awards are for teams undertaking projects that involve research, practical actions and community outreach. Eligible applicants can apply for Future Conservationist Awards (up to USD 15,000 per project), Conservation Follow-Up Awards (up to USD 25,000 per project; available only to previous recipients of a Future Conservationist Award) and the Conservation Leadership Award (up to USD 50,000 per project; available only to previous recipients of a Follow-Up Award).
This year, we are accepting applications for projects in low- to middle-income countries that target species categorized as Data Deficient or threatened on the IUCN Red List. Projects must be in an eligible country, be led or co-led by a national of one of these countries, and involve at least three team members. Projects submitted for Future Conservation Awards should last no more than 12 months.
Information about the awards and eligibility requirements, and an application form and guidance notes, are available at conservationleadershipprogramme.org/grants/grant-overview. Previous CLP awardees applying for a Conservation Follow-Up or Conservation Leadership Award must submit the final report from their previous CLP project and a logical framework to CLP by 18 September 2020. Feedback will be provided on logical frameworks by 25 September 2020. The deadline for all applications is 23 October 2020. Winners of the 2021 CLP Team Awards will be announced in April 2021. For any questions regarding the awards, contact clp@birdlife.org.
This call for applications has been made possible thanks to support from Arcadia—a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin.
