UNESCO Awards Recognize Young Scientists’ Contributions To Biodiversity

Nukunonu Atoll seaside,
one of the regions
of the world vulnerable
to climate change.

18 February 2009 – 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 (UNESCO) for their work on biodiversity.
Eleven people have been selected as winners of UNESCO’s 2009 Man and the Biosphere (MAB) 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.