Conservation Fund

Description

1) Objective

The Ornithological Society of the Middle East (OSME) was formed in April 1978 as a successor to the Ornithological Society of Turkey and was expanded in 2001 to cover the Caucasus and Central Asia. Its aims are to collect, collate and publish ornithological data on birds of the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia; and to assist environmental and conservation organisations and natural history societies concerned with ornithological studies and activities in the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Projects for the Conservation Fund should be directed to one or more of the following funding priorities:

• Investigating the status of Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable or Near-threatened bird species
• Attempting to further the knowledge of existing IBAs, for example by undertaking breeding censuses and conducting systematic counts
• Investigating potential new IBAs or ornithologically little known areas
• Conducting ecological studies of little-known species
• Studies related to illegal bird killing and unsustainable hunting
• Educational programmes, especially aimed at school children and youth.

Priority will be given to projects:

– Initiated and carried out by nationals of OSME region countries, and/or
– Include a strong educational element, pro-actively engaging local communities and/or
– Include a strong educational element, pro-actively engaging local communities and/or
– Include an element of long-term sustainability of the project, such as training of local counterparts

2) Eligibility

Project leaders must be based in the OSME region.

3) Location

Actions must take place in Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asian republics (i.e. Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Russian Federation, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen).

4) Budget

There is no maximum limit to the value of grant awarded but most average £1,000 to £2,000. Ideally, the funding should be for the whole of the project, a discrete section, or major part of it and applicants must state if funding is being received or sought from elsewhere. Applications that include significant costs for international airfares are unlikely to be approved.

5) Application

Applications are considered three times a year: 31 January, 31 May and 30 September. The application form can be downloaded from their website.