2014 UNESCO MAB Young Scientists Awards

Deadline: October 31st 2013

UNESCO MAB Young Scientists Awards: helping young people help the planet

Since 1989 MAB has been providing 10 young researchers each year with awards of up to US$ 5,000 in support of their research on ecosystems, natural resources and biodiversity. Through the MAB Young Scientists Awards, MAB is investing in a new generation of scientists worldwide because we think well-trained and committed young people are key to addressing ecological and sustainability issues.

The MAB Programme develops the basis within the natural and social sciences for the rational and sustainable use and conservation of the resources of the biosphere and for the improvement of the overall relationship between people and their environment. It predicts the consequences of today’s actions on tomorrow’s world and thereby increases people’s ability to efficiently manage natural resources for the well-being of both human populations and the environment.

Objectives

The objectives of the MAB Young Scientists Award Scheme are to:

• encourage young scientists, in particular those from developing countries, to use MAB research, project sites and biosphere reserves in their research;
• encourage young scientists who already use such sites to undertake comparative studies in other sites in or outside their own country;
• assist exchange of information and experience among a new generation of scientists.

Criteria

The following criteria are used in the selection of MAB Young Scientists Awards:

• To be eligible, award applications must be made on the MAB Young Scientists Award application form (in English or French) and be endorsed by the applicant’s MAB National Committee*, which may endorse only two applications per year from applicants who are not older than 40 years of age (at the closing date of the application).
• Priority is given to interdisciplinary projects carried out in biosphere reserves designated under the Man and the Biosphere Programme or potential biosphere reserves.
• Applicants from developed countries are eligible for Awards only in exceptional cases.
• Awards are set at a maximum of US$5,000 each.
• Research supported by an Award should be completed within two years.
• Candidates must accept to submit reports of Award-funded research to the MAB Secretariat in Paris and to their MAB National Committees*, and agree to the possibility of UNESCO publishing the results of their research.
• International travel expenses are usually not covered under these Awards.

* For the countries in which a MAB National Committee does not exist or is not fully operational, the National Commission for UNESCO will ensure the selection of candidates according to the above criteria.

Application forms for MAB Young Scientists Award are available from: MAB Secretariat, Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences, UNESCO, 1 rue Miollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, France mab.awards(at)unesco.org

How to Apply?