AHEAD Update – January 28, 2004

Dear AHEAD colleagues -

I hope 2004 is treating you well so far.

* 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 AHEAD Invitees up-to-date on developments post-Durban over time, but I certainly understand if anyone wants to opt out of receiving such messages.

*Funding opportunity (EU)- As I mentioned last update, I am thrilled that many of you were able to learn more about The Wellcome Trust with us in Durban, and to follow-up with proposals (see below). I recently came across an EU funding opportunity that may be relevant to some of your efforts. The proposal process is somewhat involved, and the deadline is March 9th. See http://europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/tender/data/AOF44362.htm and related weblinks. Hope it helps!

*Another Funding opportunity (Darwin Initiative)- The Darwin Initiative seeks to help safeguard the world's biodiversity by drawing on UK biodiversity expertise to work with local partners in countries that are rich in biodiversity but poor in financial resources. Since it's launch at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, the programme has already committed over £30 million to more than 300 biodiversity projects in nearly 100 countries. A new phase of the Darwin Initiative was announced at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. Phase II of the Initiative introduced three new schemes (Darwin Scholarships, Pre-project funding and Post-project funding) and an increase of £7 million in funding over three years. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is now inviting applications from British institutions and organisations for Pre-Project and Scholarship funding under Phase II of the Darwin Initiative to commence from April 2004. ECTF are managing the application process on Defra's behalf. The guidance notes for applicants and application forms are available on the Darwin website at http://www.darwin.gov.uk. If you have difficulty accessing the information and forms please contact ECTF. The documents are also available in large print on request. Tb Please send the completed form by email to darwin-applications@ectf-ed.org.uk - ensuring that the proposed project title/scholar's name is in the subject line of the email. Defra expects to announce the successful applicants towards the end of May 2004. Further information on the Darwin Initiative, including lists of projects funded in previous rounds, can be found on our web site at www.darwin.gov.uk. There are also five published reports which are available from the Defra Secretariat (darwin@defra.gsi.gov.uk).

*AHEAD website continues to develop- When you have a moment, please check-out the biosketches and abstracts/presentations portions of the AHEAD website (click on "World Parks Congress Animal Health Forum") at www.fieldvet.org. The site is coming along nicely, and we eventually hope to have additional (jpg) versions of the presentations that are viewable online, without having to download pdf's (which I realize can be slow depending on one's web access). We did not post the presentations as Powerpoint files as we didn't think you'd want them quite that accessible. (Site visitors can contact authors directly to request specific Powerpoint Presentations, giving you discretion on those requests.) Please note that if you have a digital photo of yourself that you'd prefer instead of what's posted, please send it our way. If any of you still want to send in a missing biosketch or abstract, we'd happily accept them. We are planning to add video and audio clips from Durban over the next several months, which should make for a very interactive and informative site. Thanks.

*The editing process for the AHEAD Proceedings is going a bit slower than we'd hoped. For those of you still working on your papers (first drafts or revisions), I am now shooting for February 15th to have everything in. I will be working with a professional copy editor, but I need to have most of the materials in-hand to move to that next step. My original goal of having the Proceedings published within a year of our meeting may not be possible if folks don't get their materials in. I of course know how busy everyone is- please do your best. Several papers are still undergoing peer review, so if you have not heard back from me on your submission, that is likely the reason. Thanks.

UPDATES ON PROJECT IDEAS DISCUSSED IN DURBAN:

*A third meeting of the AHEAD Great Limpopo TFCA Working Group is scheduled for February 25th in Pretoria- at Onderstepoort. If you are interested in participating and/or reviewing the discussion draft and have not received an invitation, please just let me know. A WCS AHEAD seed grant is helping with this program development process.

* Update from Richard Kock related to East African project ideas discussed at the AHEAD WPC forum: "We have a succesful PDFA from GEF on our Ewaso Nyiro Basin [Kenya] widllife-livestock initiative out of IBAR.... Over the next few months we will be consolidating the proposal for the 1-2 million dollar project (PDFB) under UNEP GEF."

*A integrated health pre-proposal for the Sengwe Corridor (between South Africa's Kruger National Park and Zimbabwe's Gonarhezou National Park) has been submitted by our Zimbabwean colleagues to The Wellcome Trust.

*I believe pre-proposals on the domestic animal-wildlife interface in Tanzania and on FMD topotype issues in Southern Africa as well as on livestock TB across Africa have also been submitted to Wellcome by AHEAD invitees. Great!

*Gladys Zikusoka, along with Titus Mlengeya and Innocent Rwego, report that the AHEAD Great Apes Working Group is developing a suite of regional proposals entitled "Occupational Health Program for People Working with Great Apes in East Africa." Several donors may eventually receive parts of this package for consideration when it is completed. AHEAD seed funding has been offered to help with further development of the proposal products for this international endeavor, with details to be worked out shortly.

*Colleagues in WWF-SARPO are exploring funding opportunities evaluating new land-use models for the Zimbabwean lowveld, as discussed in Durban.

*Dale Lewis is expanding the "poacher transformation" program in Zambia via ongoing improvements in extension services, domestic animal husbandry and market access, as discussed in Durban. An AHEAD seed grant for this has been awarded.

The above represent just some of the actions we are aware of that appear to have come about, at least in part, from our discussions at the World Parks Congress. If there are others, please let me know! All of these developments are helping to show our sponsors that we are meeting our objective of making the September AHEAD launch "more than just a meeting."

Thanks very much,
Steve O.