The United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development (IACD), and LASPAU have announced a new program to address the need for increased numbers of environmental scientists and policymakers in the Americas. The Fulbright–OAS Ecology Initiative will offer 20 grants per year to individuals from research centers, academic institutions, and nongovernmental organizations throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada for interdisciplinary environmental study at the master’s and doctoral level at U.S. universities.
Helena Finn, acting assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs, noted at the ceremony marking the beginning of the program, “This is a tremendously meaningful occasion for us, as it is the very first time that the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has joined in partnership with a major international organization to amplify the reach of the Fulbright Program. It is especially fitting that our first such agreement is with the Organization of American States, whose regional concern is of such intense interest to our administration. Working jointly, we can only deepen this history of cooperation by training the next generation of scientists and social scientists to continue to oversee the projects that will bring benefits to us all.”
L. Ronald Scheman, director general of IACD, and Ned Strong, executive director of LASPAU, commented on the importance of the agreement as a way to address economic inequity and the resulting pressures that lead to environmental problems. Nations throughout the world are challenged to create and implement sustainable development policies and practices. One of the bottlenecks to achieving this goal in Latin America and the Caribbean is a severe deficit in environmental scientists and policymakers, a deficit that will be addressed by the Fulbright–OAS Ecology Initiative.
The initiative emerged from the Amazon Basin Scholarship Program and the Caribbean and Central American Ecology Program, which together have enabled 117 environmental professionals to examine multidisciplinary approaches to sustainable development in the region. The programs were launched in 1991 with support from the Fulbright Program, the Ford Foundation, and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The participation of the OAS significantly increases the size of the effort and enables broader regional coverage.
The Fulbright–OAS Ecology Initiative attracted 120 applicants for the 2002 academic year. Given the outstanding quality of the candidate pool this year, LASPAU will seek additional program sponsors to increase the number of awards in the future.
If you are interested in further information about this or any other program administered by LASPAU, please see the Programs section of LASPAU's website.
Fall 2001/Winter 2002 Informativo Content: Ecology Initiative | LASPAU and IIE Collaborate | Seminar Addresses Sustainable Development |
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