Bonn,
July 2010 - The UNEP/CMS Thesis Award on Migratory
Species Conservation, sponsored by Lufthansa, is now open
for applications until April 2011. The award of €10,000
(c. US$ 12,850) will be made at the 10th Meeting
of the Conference of Parties to CMS (COP10) in Norway
in November 2011, in affiliation with the Zoologisches
Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig (ZFMK) in Bonn. The
Secretariat of the Bonn Convention on Migratory Species
advertises this award to promote scientific research and
conservation of migratory species, as defined by the Convention.

The thesis should provide new data and insights into the biology and ecology of migratory species or external factors disrupting their migration patterns. Research results must be applicable to conservation measures to the benefit of migratory species.

Entries for the COP 10 Awards are now invited with a closing date of 15 April 2011. A licensed educational institution must have accepted the study as a Ph.D. or doctoral thesis. All theses accepted during the period May 2008 - April 2011 may be submitted.

From all applications, eight theses will be short-listed by an advisory board of twenty international experts, covering different regions and animal groups. Referees will not see any personal data, such as the candidates’ address, email, home institutions or names of supervisors. Pre-selection is based only on abstracts and publications (if available). In addition, candidates should outline the relevance of their work for migratory species conservation in a short statement (max. 300 words).

Short-listed candidates have to submit three hardcopies for detailed review by two experts. A final Jury, consisting of eight scientists and conservationists will meet in Bonn, in August 2011, to nominate the winner. Their decision is based on the expert reviews, the candidates’ statements, and the Jury’s assessment of the potential for migratory species conservation. The Jury’s decision is final.

Submitted hardcopies are not returned, but will remain in the libraries of the CMS Secretariat and the ZFMK. Bibliographic data and English abstracts of all theses will be transferred and permanently stored within the Global Register of Migratory Species (GROMS) bibliographic database.

The winner should be willing to make his/her original data widely accessible through the CMS Information System and the GROMS database (except sensitive data). The Secretariat and the ZFMK will possibly provide support to generate appropriate data repositories and related metadata, as well as online and/or hardcopy publication of the winner’s thesis.

Click here to go directly to the Application Form*:

*If your internet connection does not allow online application, you can also send your thesis by mail to the ZFMK with an accompanying letter explaining its relevance for species conservation:

Klaus Riede

Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig

Adenauerallee 160

53111 Bonn, Germany

Tel.: (+49 228) 912 2234

k.riede.zfmk@uni-bonn.de

UNEP/CMS Secretariat

Francisco Rilla

UNEP/CMS  Information and Capacity Building officer

UN Campus Hermann-Ehlers-Strasse 10 

53113 Bonn, Germany

Tel.: (+49 228) 815 2460 

Fax: (+49 228) 815 2449 

www.cms.int