[Wigsat-l] UNESCO AWARDS RECOGNIZE YOUNG SCIENTISTS’ CONTRIBUTIONS TO BIODIVERSITY

[Sophia Huyer]

UNESCO AWARDS RECOGNIZE YOUNG SCIENTISTS’ CONTRIBUTIONS TO BIODIVERSITY
New York, Feb 18 2009 11:00AM
Young scientists from around the world working on projects ranging  
from working to conserve mangrove forests in Iran to conserving  
orchids in Cuba have been recognized by the United Nations  
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (<"http://portal.unesco.org/es/ev.php-URL_ID=29011&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html 
">UNESCO) for their work on biodiversity.

Eleven people have been selected as winners of UNESCO’s 2009 Man and  
the Biosphere (MAB) <"http://portal.unesco.org/es/ev.php-URL_ID=44591&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html 
">Young Scientist Awards, and they will each receive a cash price of  
up to $5,000 for their research on ecosystems and biodiversity  
focusing on sustainable interaction between people and their  
environment.

One of this year’s award recipients, Khalid Osman Hiwytala of Sudan,  
was recognized for his work on the impact of the Umbararow tribe’s  
border migration on Dinder Biosphere Reserve, a biosphere reserve  
situated along the border to Ethiopia.

Two other winners, Paula Irrazabal and Soledad Contreras of Chile, are  
being honoured for their research on the effect of habitat  
disturbances on mammal species in Torres del Paine National Park and  
Biosphere Reserve.

Two scientists – Boshra Salem of Egypt and Gorshkov Yu of Russia –  
will also share the Michel Batisse grant, awarded every two years for  
biosphere reserve management case studies.

Biosphere reserves are sites taking innovative approaches to  
conservation, ecological sciences and sustainable development which  
are recognized under UNESCO’s MAB Programme. Currently, there are 531  
such sites in over 100 countries.
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