Our-Oceans: A Coastal-Marine Environment Science & Technology Blog: BES funds Ecology research in Africa and Eastern Europe

Background

The British Ecological Society was the first national ecological society and has been an invaluable resource for ecologists in Britain and worldwide since 1913. In anticipation of its centenary, the BES will be supporting ecologists to establish organisations that can promote the science of ecology in their geographic area. The BES will do this through a new initiative called the Building Capacity for Ecology Fund (BCEF), which has the backing of the International Association of Ecology (Intecol). This new initiative will help to create the organisations needed to promote the science of ecology worldwide.

Objective

The Building Capacity for Ecology Fund will assist in the establishment or development of networks of ecologists that will allow ecologists in countries that currently lack a well-developed society or ecology institute to interact and gain from the experience and activities of colleagues. Ultimately, we expect the interactions promoted by the Fund to lead to the creation of new national or regional societies that will affiliate to Intecol.

Rationale

Ecological societies provide the network within which ecologists can interact, exchange ideas and influence each other. Ecological societies are also important in promoting the science and its application with policymakers, natural resource managers and the public. The lack of activities that a society can provide is a major obstacle for the development and practice of ecology in many regions.

Scope

The BES has committed £500,000 over a five-year period to provide resources to build capacity for ecological networks. Support will focus on building effective ecological networks in Eastern Europe and Africa.

List of eligible countries

Projects the Fund will support

In some countries, ecologists have already created an organisation to represent them, but they lack the resources to operate it effectively. In these cases, the BES will consider making grants directly to the Society to pay for office equipment, web activities and other communications and meetings. In some countries, there may be a need for administrative support.

In countries or regions where there is no existing organisation, the most effective use of the funds may be to support meetings to allow ecologists to interact and begin to build the network that will lead to the creation of an organisation.

In both cases, grants will be for a fixed term. Proposals will need to demonstrate how capacity-building activities will lead to a sustainable network of ecologists that can promote the science in their country or region. Other proposals that clearly promote the objective of the BCEF will be considered.