Society of Wetland Scientists calls for Ramsar proposals

(posted to the Ramsar Forum, 23 August 2001)

From Eric Gilman, egilman@lava.net

Request for proposals to the Society of Wetland Scientists' Ramsar Support grant program

The Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) is soliciting proposals to their Ramsar Support Grant Program, which was established to advance Ramsar Convention objectives, including the selection, designation, management, and networking of Ramsar sites; and the promotion of Ramsar's Wise Use guidelines. Two to four projects are funded each year at a level of US $5,000 on a competitive basis as reviewed by a 4-member Evaluation Committee.

Only applicants working on Ramsar-related activities in countries that are on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Development Assistance Committee (DAC) List of Aid Recipients are eligible to receive grants under this program, and priority is given to applicants from countries below the threshold for World Bank loan eligibility. (The OECD DAC List of Aid Recipients can be found in the internet at www.oecd.org/dac/htm/). Proposals for which Principal Investigators are not based in a DAC-eligible country or that request a significant portion of funds for international travel or institution overhead typically will not be awarded. SWS will only consider funding projects that will be completed in one calendar year. Proposals and end products must be in English.

Grant guidelines and application forms can be found on the SWS web site at

www.sws.org/regional/international/Ramsar.Support.Framework

or you can request the guidelines and application form from Eric Gilman Society of Wetland Scientists International Chapter C/o National Audubon Society Living Oceans Program 2718 Napuaa Place Honolulu, HI 96822 USA

E-mail: egilman@lava.net   Phone: 808.988.1976 Fax: 808.988.1440

Applications must be received by 1 November 2001. SWS will announce decisions in December 2001, and will award funds soon thereafter.

In 1999 SWS awarded a grant to the Wetlands International Cambodia and Mekong Programme to develop in-country expertise to monitor seagrass beds and coral reefs and to nominate a site to the Ramsar List, and to Dr. Eduardo M. da Silva of the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil, to support his efforts to nominate a wetland from the State of Bahia to the Ramsar List. Four grants were awarded in 2000, using $10,000 allocated by SWS, and matching funds from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of International Conservation. Mr. Paul Mafabi, Programme Coordinator of Uganda's National Wetlands Programme and Assistant Commissioner of the Wetlands Inspection Division of Uganda's Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment, received a grant to develop and publish wetland wise use guidelines. Dr. Milan Valachovic of the Slovakia Institute of Botany received a grant to produce and publish the third volume of Plant Communities of Slovakia, Wetland Vegetation. Mr. Sergio Gabriel Domber, Manager of the Parque Nacional Laguna Blanca, received a grant to make improvements to the Laguna Blanca National Park Visitor Educational Center, train interpretive personnel, and prepare an educational pamphlet, in support of the Laguna Blanca National Park General Management Plan. And Mr. Edgar Gonzales of the Asociacion Kechua Aymara para la Conservación de la Naturaleza y el Desarrollo Sostenible (ANDES) and Indigenous People’s Biodiversity Network (IPBN), NGOs based in Peru, and Mr. Francesc Giro, Director of Fundacion Natura, an NGO based in Spain, received a grant to prepare a management plan for Huacarpay wetland as an initial step to lead to eventual designation of the site to the Ramsar List.

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