AHEAD Update – December 2007
Dear AHEAD Colleagues:
*I should again note that if you wish to be removed from this e-mail list please
just let me know. My hope is to keep parties interested in Animal Health
for the Environment And Development
up-to-date on developments post-Durban World Parks Congress over time, but I
certainly understand if anyone wants to opt out of receiving such messages. Updates
are also posted (and archived) on the AHEAD website at www.wcs-ahead.org.
Please note that URL hotlinks for many of the organizations mentioned below can
be found at http://www.wcs-ahead.org/links.html. News
on potential funding opportunities appears towards the end of this Update.
If you would like to post an item in the next AHEAD Update,
please just send it to me- thanks!
AHEAD GLTFCA to
benefit from US
$450,000 in grants going into 2008!!!!!!
* AHEAD Great Limpopo TFCA Working Group
to benefit from $350,000 Rockefeller Foundation grant to
WCS- The Rockefeller Foundation has just
announced that they will be providing $350,000 to
support AHEAD GLTFCA seed
grants and management thereof, to enable the regional partners
to begin implementing priority projects they themselves
identify. Proposed projects will need to be in support
of the overall objective and one or more of the core themes
underpinning the AHEAD GLTFCA initiative.
This is a milestone for the AHEAD GLTFCA Working
Group, and we thank the Rockefeller Foundation
for this generous support.
* AHEAD Great Limpopo TFCA Working
Group to benefit from $100,000 MacArthur Foundation grant
to WCS- This MacArthur Foundation support is
critical to the operations of the AHEAD GLTFCA
Working Group itself- this year's full Working
Group meeting, core/steering group coordination, as well
as $25,000 in seed grants, for example, are all part of this
grant, which couldn't have come at a better time. We are
very grateful for this important MacArthur Foundation award.
Note that the next meeting of the AHEAD GLTFCA Working
Group is tentatively scheduled for March ~5,6,7 in Kruger National
Park- confirmation and details to go out to AHEAD GLTFCA
WG members via Nicky NickySh@sanparks.org shortly.
This new seed grant program will be a topic of discussion.
WCS IS ALSO ACTIVELY SEEKING DONOR AGENCIES
WHO WOULD CONSIDER MATCHING THIS $450,000- THIS WOULD ALLOW
FOR MORE AND LARGER SEED GRANTS FOR PROJECTS CRITICAL TO MITIGATING
CHALLENGES AT THE WILDLIFE / LIVESTOCK / HUMAN HEALTH INTERFACE
IN THE GREAT LIMPOPO TFCA, CHALLENGES THAT MUST BE ADDRESSED
FOR SUCCESSFUL CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT.
PLEASE CONTACT ME sosofsky@wcs.org IF
YOUR AGENCY WOULD CONSIDER PARTNERING IN THIS EXCITING SEED
GRANT INITIATIVE. Thank you. More on the Request for Proposals
will be disseminated to WG members shortly, but I'll note that
successful proposals will need to address one or more of the
agreed themes/needs as delineated in the AHEAD GLTFCA
Conceptual Framework, http://www.wcs-ahead.org/workinggrps_limpopo.html:
Overall AHEAD GLTFCA Objective: Facilitate development and
conservation success in the GLTFCA through integrated understanding based
on innovative inter-disciplinary applied research, monitoring and surveillance
at the interface between wild and domestic animal health, ecosystem goods
and services, and human livelihoods and wellbeing.
Six main work themes/needs:
1. An overarching conceptual framework to facilitate integrated understanding
through interdisciplinary approaches.
2. Animal health and disease.
3. Land use, ecosystem goods and services, and animal health.
4. Human health and livelihoods, animal and ecosystem health.
5. Policy support and capacity building at local, national and regional
levels.
6. Communications and outreach.
More information on these seed grants and the competitive Request for
Proposals process, which will be managed in collaboration with AHEAD GLTFCA WG
Coordinator Dr. Nicky Shongwe and the Working Group itself, will be forthcoming.
* "AHEAD book" receives positive
review in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases! We
were quite pleased to see that Osofsky, S. A.,
Cleaveland, S., Karesh, W. B., Kock, M. D., Nyhus, P. J., Starr,
L., and A. Yang, (eds.). 2005. Conservation and Development
Interventions at the Wildlife/Livestock Interface: Implications
for Wildlife, Livestock and Human Health. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland
and Cambridge, United Kingdom. xxxiii and 220 pp. was
apparently well-received by the Journal of
Wildlife Diseases. See the review from the
April 2007 (vol. 43, no. 2) issue at
http://www.jwildlifedis.org/cgi/content/full/43/2/319
for HTML and downloadable PDF versions. As a reminder, we have
a free, downloadable PDF file of the entire book available at http://www.wcs-ahead.org.
We also have PDFs of all individual chapters / sections, incl. the cover,
available for free downloading at http://www.wcs-ahead.org/wpc_launch.html. Also
note that hard copies of the book can be ordered from http://www.amazon.com as
well as Island Press
(http://www.islandpress.com/books/index.html or
within the US by calling 1-800-621-2736). IUCN books are also now handled
by http://www.earthprint.com.
Recall that neither WCS nor the AHEAD initiative receive funding
from the sale of the books, but IUCN Publications allows them to be sold
via various vendors at a reasonable cost as part of their overarching
conservation / information-sharing mission.
* Science and Development Network features
an excellent overview of the challenges posed by BTB and of
work being done by AHEAD collaborating
partners such as Anita Michel and Claire Geoghegan- see "TB
or not TB: The Threat of Bovine Tuberculosis" at
http://www.scidev.net/Features/index.cfm?
fuseaction=readFeatures&itemid=627&language=1
* Call for researchers- please help in Katavi National Park, Tanzania- Tanzania's Katavi
National Park, with a size of 4,471 sq. km., is the third largest park in the
country. Located on the western side towards Lake Tanganyika, the park is endowed
with high densities and diversity of herbivores, carnivores, birdlife as well
as insects. Unexplored and wild, Katavi has a mosaic of habitats which enable
it to accommodate one of the highest mammalian biomasses among East African
protected areas. Unfortunately, the absence of research studies on park resources
and ecological processes hinders science-based management decisions. The current
park management is therefore calling for interested researchers to work in
Katavi and help inform the long-term management of this jewel in the Tanzanian
protected areas system. A number of research priorities have been identified.
For more information and documentation, please contact AHEAD collaborator
Dr. Titus Mlengeya, wildvet_tanzania@yahoo.com.
*AHEAD "One Health" approach approved within Kavango-Zambezi
(KAZA) TFCA Official Pre-Feasibility Assessment- "Livestock
disease control issues are of paramount importance in planning and developing
the KAZA TFCA, and there are significant potential animal health implications
and challenges that should be expected when extending the geographic range
of certain animal pathogens and disease vectors. At least two of
the countries have access to lucrative export markets for their meat and therefore
have to give priority attention to various measures to prevent the introduction
of diseases that could threaten their agricultural economies. An
additional concern is the potential wildlife/human interface where diseases
with zoonotic potential (animal diseases that can infect humans) could be important.... Without
international boundary barrier fences and with biological bridges being formed
through contiguous wildlife populations, any contagious/infectious disease
or vector present in any one of the participating countries or areas will predictably
spread throughout the entire TFCA and beyond. These concerns must be addressed
within a broader environmental context that considers not only biodiversity
conservation but also the long-term provision of key environmental goods and
services." [1] This concept originated at the Southern
and East African Experts Panel on Designing Successful Conservation and Development
Interventions at the Wildlife/Livestock Interface: Implications for Wildlife,
Livestock, and Human Health, AHEAD (Animal Health for the Environment And Development)
Forum, IUCN Vth World Parks Congress, Durban, South Africa, 14 – 15 September,
2003. For e-copies of the KAZA Pre-Feasibility Assessment documents, please
contact the KAZA Secretariat via Jan Broekhuis JBROEKHUIS@gov.bw.
* First Eastern Africa Population, Health and Environment (PHE)
conference held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in November- AHEAD collaborators,
Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Conservation Through Public Health, and Dr. Lynne
Gaffikin, Evaluation And Research Technologies for Health (EARTH), participated
in this first East African PHE forum. Delegates shared experiences including
those from NGOs that had been implementing PHE programs for over 10 years
in the Philippines and Madagascar. Drs. Gaffikin and Kalema-Zikusoka co-facilitated
the session on Humans and Ecosystem Health. For more information, please
contact USAID’s Heather D’Agnes hdagnes@usaid.gov.
* The Wildlife Disease Association- Africa and Middle East Section
5th Annual General Meeting- Uganda hosted this 5th meeting
in August, with the forum bringing together experts involved in wildlife
disease and conservation issues from all over Africa and beyond to give
papers on their experiences, practical strategies and recommendations for
future wildlife management, ecotourism-related, agricultural, and
sustainable livelihoods efforts. The theme of the conference was “Diseases
as a Challenge to Sustainable Wildlife Utilization and Conservation,” with
73 delegates from almost 20 countries attending. For more information,
please contact Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka at gladys@ctph.org.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
* WCS Research Fellowships- next round of applications due March
15, 2008: The WCS Research Fellowship Program is a small
grants program designed to build capacity for the next generation of
conservationists by supporting individual field research projects that
have a clear application to the conservation of threatened wildlife
and wildlife habitat. WCS seeks projects that are based on sound
and innovative conservation science and that encourage practices in
conservation that can contribute to sustainable development. Most
of the grantees are professional conservationists from the country
of research focus and/or post-graduates pursuing a higher degree. The
grants program supports marine or terrestrial field research in Africa,
Asia, and Latin America regardless of the nationality of the applicant. In
addition, the program accepts applications from Native Americans (US)
and members of First Nations (Canada) who intend to conduct work on
native lands on issues of direct relevance to wildlife. The program
will not limit any eligible individual from applying, however, most
of our grantees are: professional conservationists from the country
where research is to be undertaken; and/or post-graduates pursuing
a higher degree. Grants are for up to $25,000 The average
grant is $10,500. See http://www.wcs.org/international/tcbp/rfp?
preview=&psid=&ph=class%
252525252525252525252525253DAWC-148 for details.
*New US NSF funding opportunity, Dynamics of Coupled Natural
and Human Systems (CNH): for "basic research
and related activities that enhance understanding of the interactions
within and among natural and human systems. In addition to basic new
knowledge and enhanced theory regarding the complex ways that people
and natural systems interact, CNH (Coupled Natural and Human Systems) seeks
to develop the capabilities of people and tools needed to advance these
areas of research in the future. CNH seeks to foster and develop interdisciplinary
efforts by bringing researchers from different disciplines into teams,
by developing new methods and expertise, and by reaching beyond the
borders of the United States for partners in inquiry. In the process,
the next generation of researchers will learn to work in diverse teams,
cross disciplinary boundaries, and use advanced sensing and monitoring,
communication, and information technologies to work across many scales
of time and space."
Grants will be between approx. $500,000 and $1,500,000 per year. Projects
can run no longer than 5 years. Due dates will be January 8, 2008 and
November 18, 2008 and the third Tuesday in November in every year after
that. Cost sharing is not required.
The Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems (CNH) is a multi-directorate
program jointly operated by three NSF directorates (Biological Sciences;
Geosciences; and Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences). CNH
is a direct successor of a special competition that was part of
the Biocomplexity in the Environment emphasis area.
The full grant can be found at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf07598/nsf07598.txt
* Small Research Grants (US$10-15K) for African Scientists engaged
in global environmental change research. The International
START Secretariat and the Pan African START Committee (PACOM), with
funding from the United States National Science Foundation/ US Climate
Change Science Program (NSF/USCCSP) requests proposals for small research
grants to be awarded to scientists based at African institutions for
research projects related to global environmental change that address
the following themes:
THEME 1: CLIMATE VARIABILITY & CLIMATE CHANGE
THEME 2: IMPACTS/ADAPTATIONS/VULNERABILITY TO CLIMATE CHANGE
THEME 3: LAND USE CHANGE/ECOSYSTEMS/BIOGEOCHEMICAL CHANGE/BIODIVERSITY
To be eligible for a grant, the proposed project must fall within the
research framework of START's sponsor, the Earth Systems Science Partnership
(ESSP) and its programmes, the International Human Dimensions Programme
(IHDP), the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the World
Climate Research Programme (WCRP), and DIVERSITAS.
The full Call for Proposals and the Application Form can be found at
the START website:
http://www.start.org/Program/African_sm_grants.html
Applications must arrive at the International START Secretariat no later
than midnight (24:00) - US Eastern Time - on Wednesday 19 December 2007
For more information, contact: cskauffman@agu.org
* We are pleased to now have a link in place to the Tanzania
Natural Resource Forum (TNRF), in the LINKs section of
the AHEAD website at http://www.wcs-ahead.org/links.html,
as part of the growing network of AHEAD collaborating institutions
/ programs.
If you have items for the next AHEAD Update, please
just let me know – thanks.
All the best,
Steve |