Chester Zoo announces William Oliver Philippine Champion Award

The Chester Zoo William Oliver Philippine Champion Award 2019 honours the legacy of William Oliver (1947 – 2014); a dedicated champion for the wildlife of the Philippines.

 Application deadline: 31st March 2019Training dates: 10-30th October 2019Contact more more details: conservation@chesterzoo.orgThe aims of the Award are:

1. To financially and technically support six conservation projects in the Philippines that will have positive conservation impact
2. To provide training in core and project-specific skills for the Filipino conservationists co-coordinating these projects, helping to build the capacity of Philippine wildlife champions
3. To strengthen conservation networks within the Philippines, and promote collaboration.

What will the Award cover?

The Award will provide the following support to the candidate:

• £5,000 per annum towards direct project costs (for a maximum of 2 years)
• Assistance and guidance with additional fundraising needs
• 3 weeks hosted at Chester Zoo providing core and project-specific training, including a 4-day IUCN CPSG Facilitating Species Conservation Planning Processes workshop
• All costs associated with the training at Chester Zoo (visa/flights/insurance and other travel-related costs, accommodation, food and other living expenses).
• For details of the other perks, email conservation@chesterzoo.org

Candidate Criteria

The candidate must have institutional backing – this can be through any organisation directly involved in conservation in the Philippines including government, non-government and academic institutions. The candidate does not necessarily need to be employed by the supporting institute, but must currently (or have a commitment to) be engaged in some formal capacity e.g. volunteer, internThe candidate must be an early career (less than 10 years paid experience) conservationist (biologist/scientist/educator/wildlife manager), be sufficiently fluent in English to follow technical presentations, read scientific papers and write a research report and be available for interviews via Skype and for the Chester Zoo training dates.No formal qualifications are required but candidates must demonstrate relevant experience and knowledge to undertake the project and training, and a commitment for future contribution to biodiversity conservation in the Philippines.

Proposed Project Criteria

• Focal species will be terrestrial or freshwater threatened Philippine-endemic species
• Projects should not have been started yet, or are discrete new sub-components or extensions of existing or previous projects
• One or two-year duration projects starting after November 2019
• Can be in situ or ex situ focussed
• Project methods should primarily focus on one or more of the following areas, and must aim to have a positive conservation impact for target species:
  • Applied research that fills a known knowledge gap
  • Undertakes direct action recognised in formal action plans or strategies (or for yet unpublished plans with national/international endorsement)
  • Contributes to conservation planning
  • Contributes to stakeholder engagement and/or behaviour change.

Supporting Institutions must be willing to provide:

• A letter agreeing to provide support to the candidate for the duration of the project
• A commitment of support for the proposed project, and to provide the applicant time to conduct related activities and attend the training at Chester Zoo
• A dedicated in-country supervisor and infrastructure/logistical support for the project, committed for the duration of the project
• Assistance in facilitating any in-country permits or permissions required.

For more details and to apply, email conservation@chesterzoo.org Featured image: Chester Zoo