Antarctic Organizations Launch Fellowships for 2016

SCAR and COMNAP Antarctic Research Fellowships 2016 and CCAMLR Scientific Scholarships 2016

Three leading Antarctic organizations today announce opportunities for early-career researchers. The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) are working together to attract talented early-career researchers, scientists, engineers and other professionals to strengthen international capacity and cooperation in fields such as climate, biodiversity, conservation, humanities and astrophysics research.

SCAR and COMNAP have again joined forces to launch fellowships for early-career researchers. The SCAR and COMNAP fellowships are worth up to USD $15,000 each and up to six fellowships in total are on offer for 2016. The fellowships enable early-career researchers to join a project team from another country, opening up new opportunities and often creating research partnerships that last for many years and over many Antarctic research seasons. The deadline for SCAR and COMNAP applications is 1 June 2016.

The SCAR and COMNAP schemes are launched in conjunction with CCAMLR’s Scientific Scholarship Scheme. The CCAMLR Scholarship provides funding of up to AUD $30,000 to assist early-career scientists to participate in the work of the CCAMLR Scientific Committee and its working groups over a period of two years. The objective of the scheme is to build capacity within the CCAMLR scientific community to help generate and sustain the scientific expertise needed to support the work of CCAMLR in the long-term. The deadline for CCAMLR applications is 1 October 2016.

All three schemes are being jointly promoted by the three organizations.

For more information on SCAR and COMNAP Fellowships, visit the SCAR website at: http://www.scar.org/awards/fellowships/information.html or the COMNAP website at: http://www.comnap.aq/SitePages/fellowships.aspx. For information on CCAMLR Scholarships, visit the CCAMLR website at: http://www.ccamlr.org/en/science/ccamlr-scientific-scholarship-scheme.

Background information:

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)
https://www.scar.org/
Contact: Eoghan Griffin, Executive Officer (eg393@cam.ac.uk)The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is an inter-disciplinary committee of the International Council for Science (ICSU). SCAR is charged with initiating, developing and coordinating high quality international scientific research in the Antarctic region, and on the role of the Antarctic region in the Earth system. The scientific business of SCAR is conducted by its Standing Scientific Groups which represent the scientific disciplines active in Antarctic research and report to SCAR. In addition to carrying out its primary scientific role, SCAR also provides objective and independent scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings and other organizations, on issues of science and conservation affecting the management of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.

The Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP)
https://www.comnap.aq/
Contact: Michelle Rogan-Finnemore, Executive Secretary (michelle.finnemore@comnap.aq) COMNAP brings together the National Antarctic Programs of 30 Antarctic Treaty countries. Formed in 1988, the purpose of COMNAP is to develop and promote best practice in managing the support of scientific research in Antarctica. It does this by: Serving as a forum to develop practices that improve effectiveness of activities in an environmentally responsible manner; Facilitating and promoting international partnerships; Providing opportunities and systems for information exchange; and Providing the Antarctic Treaty System with objective and practical, technical and non-political advice drawn from the National Antarctic Programs’ pool of expertise.

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)
http://www.ccamlr.org
Contact: Andrew Wright, Executive Secretary (andrew.wright@ccamlr.org)The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) was established by international convention in 1982 with the objective of conserving Antarctic marine life. CCAMLR is an international commission with 25 Members, and a further 11 countries have acceded to the Convention. Based on the best available scientific information, the Commission agrees a set of conservation measures that determine the use of marine living resources in the Antarctic. CCAMLR practices an ecosystem-based management approach. This does not exclude harvesting, as long as such harvesting is carried out in a sustainable manner and takes account of the effects of fishing on other components of the ecosystem.