ATBC 2008 - Call for support
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Call for support
That call for support was addressed to potential sponsors of developing country candidates. No one so far, and no institution has come forward to sponsor even a single candidate despite intensive attempts to get support. We are sorry about that.
Priya Davidar, ATBC President Elect.
Providing support for young biologists from tropical developing countries
Capacity building within countries that lie in the tropical latitudes is one of the effective ways of conserving biodiversity. Tropical countries harbour the bulk of global biodiversity, and whose populations will be most adversely affected by loss of species and degradation of ecosystem services. Developing country biologists are closer to the issues and problems pertaining to conservation and can play a greater role in framing policy and in the management of nature and natural resources. Strong in-country support for conservation will be the key factor in reducing tropical deforestation and promoting the conservation of species. ATBC (Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation), a society for ecologists and evolutionary biologists working in tropical environments, recognises that in order to build a professional cadre of tropical biologists and conservationists from developing countries, it is important to develop linkages between the north and south. Although many eminent conservation biologists hail from developing countries, the representation of different continents and regions is uneven. Scientists from developing countries are hampered by lack of funding, lack of collaboration and exchanges with scientists from industrialised nations.
The ATBC plays a vital role in bringing together tropical biologists from different continents in the annual meeting held in different continents. These annual meetings have an important role to play in building scientific capacity in developing countries. Biologists from the developing world have the opportunity to meet with their peers worldwide, are exposed to cutting edge research, and can initiate collaborations and form networks that are vital for career development.
The ATBC requests funding to financially support tropical biologists from developing countries to attend their annual meetings. Financial support will be limited to those under 40 years of age to encourage younger biologists and students, since senior well established scientists would be better able to obtain travel support. At the Asian Chapter meeting at Chennai and the ATBC meeting at Morelia, Mexico, the difficulties faced by women biologists was raised at a forum chaired by Drs. Meg Lowman, Julie Denslow and Priya Davidar. Women from developing countries face greater hurdles in getting funding and recognition than their male colleagues. The President of ATBC, Dr. Pierre-Michel Forget, has proposed gender equity as the overall focus of the 2008 meeting at Suriname. Therefore an equal number of men and women will be supported by this grant. We propose to give a maximum of US$3000- per person to support travel and associated costs. Including overhead costs, that would amount to US$3600-.
| Head |
Description | Unit cost | # persons | Total USD |
| Travel | Home to Venue | 2500 | 10 | 25,000 |
| Associated | Boarding, lodging, fees, local travel | 500 | 10 | 5,000 |
| ATBC overhead (20%) | 600 | 10 | 6,000 | |
| Total 2008 | 3600 | 10 | 36,000 |
Contact :
Dr. Priya Davidar, ATBC President Elect
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Pondicherry University
India
&
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Republic of Panama
Tel.: +91-413-2353759
Fax: +91-413-2655265