Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife and Ecosystem Health, Issues and Techniques for the Developed World with Outreach to and Techniques for the Developing World

Developing Country Session - 18 July - 08 August, 2007(Dates are tentative. Final dates will be posted at a later time.) Envirovet Goals

The goal of the Envirovet Summer Institute is to create a force of scientists with unique perspectives, knowledge, skills, and expertise required to implement an efficient approach to ecosystem repair that will enable synchronous gains in wildlife, domestic animal, human, and economic health.

To meet this goal, Envirovet Summer Institute 2007 will provide seven weeks of intensive lecture, laboratory, and field experiences to 25 veterinarians, veterinary students and wildlife biologists in the areas of terrestrial and aquatic wildlife and ecosystem health, addressing both developed and developing country contexts.

Each participant in Envirovet Summer Institute 2007 will engage in comprehensive classroom, laboratory, and field interactions. Individuals with determination, stamina, sense of purpose, keen intelligence, and capacity to envision and pursue positive outcomes in the face of incomplete knowledge and institutional inertia are invited to apply for admission to the 2007 Envirovet Summer Institute.

Summer Institute Overview
Each participant will be linked to cutting-edge leaders in a wide variety of relevant disciplines. A strong emphasis will be placed on collaborations to restore self-sustaining wildlife populations by addressing issues where natural areas interface with areas devoted to agriculture, forestry, mining, urban development, and other forms of human enterprise.

The Envirovet Summer Institute is divided into two sessions. The first session is entitled “Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife and Ecosystem Health Issues and Techniques for the Developed World With Outreach to Developing Countries.” Components of this session will take place in Florida and Georgia. The second session is entitled “Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife and Ecosystem Health Issues and Techniques for the Developing World” and will take place in South Africa and Swaziland.

Eligibility and Course Fee
Eligibility for participation in Envirovet Summer Institutes requires a statement regarding commitment to a career in wildlife and ecosystem health, as well as at least one year of veterinary school or an advanced degree in a relevant discipline, including a defined animal health component.

The course fee, which includes room and board as well as round trip airfare from the U.S. to the overseas location, is $6,500 for veterinarians, postdoctoral trainees, and students currently enrolled in veterinary or graduate school. Students are responsible for their round-trip travel to White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee, Florida, and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce, Florida. Applicants from developing countries may apply for a fee waiver based on economic need and record of promise in the wildlife/environmental field. It is essential for such individuals to seek funding to offset the travel costs, as well as part or all of the course fee.

Developing Country Applicants
A major goal of Envirovet is to build an international corps of environmental practioners, researchers, planners, and stewards. Applicants from developing countries are encouraged to apply. We realize that the tuition burden on some such applicants is particularly difficult, and, in some cases, the Envirovet program is able to offer a fee waiver. Many resourceful participants from developing countries have helped pay for a portion of the Envirovet course fee and travel costs through independent funding sources. Below are some possibilities for such applicants to explore.

The Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program provides funding to scholars from a select group of developing countries. Eligibility criteria, fields of study, and deadlines differ by country. To learn more about their program, click here and select your country from the panel provided to see if the Ford Foundation funds environmental or conservation education for your country.

The World Wildlife Fund’s Education for Nature Program (WWF-EFN) provides grants for especially capable wildlife specialists likely to benefit from Envirovet Summer Institute. Individuals from developing countries who wish to be considered for such a waiver should apply to Envirovet through our website and fill out the fee waiver portion of the Envirovet application. Envirovet works with WWF-EFN in selecting applicants to be supported. WWF-EFN also has a search engine for other funding opportunities specifically for conservationists from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Click here to go to this search engine.

For further information on the Envirovet Program, please email Dr. Val Beasley (mailto: val@uiuc.edu ) or write to him at:

Dr. Val R. Beasley, Executive Director
Envirovet Programs in Wildlife and Ecosystem Health
Department of Veterinary Biosciences
College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2001 South Lincoln Avenue
Urbana, Illinois 61802 USA

Phone: 217-333-9360
Fax: 217-244-1652

Source of this announcement can be found here.