Deadline for applications: 30 September 2024
Applications for fellowships to the GRÓ Land Restoration Training Programme (GRÓ LRT) are open for 2 (two) fellows from African biosphere reserves engaged in restoration activities. The programme offers annual six-month training in Iceland focused on land restoration and sustainable land management, hosted at the Agricultural University of Iceland.
Ecosystem restoration served as the overarching theme of the 7th General Assembly of African Biosphere Reserves Network (AfriMAB) last year, reflecting its critical importance across the region at the outset of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030). As the Man and the Biosphere programme approaches the 5th World Congress of Biosphere Reserves – to be held in Hangzhou, China, in September 2025 – restoration stands to be a crucial element in the programme’s new Strategy and Action Plan. It has the potential to help end poverty, combat climate change and prevent the loss of critical biodiversity.
About the programme
The first 12 weeks of the training focus on course work (both introductory courses and specialized training), practical training and field trips. In the latter 12 weeks of the programme, each Fellow works on an individual project, which provides specialization with reference to the academic and practical background and needs of the individual Fellow and their workplace. Fellows completing the training successfully receive a Postgraduate Diploma in Ecosystem Restoration and Sustainable Land Management (30 ECTS) from the Agricultural University of Iceland.
About GRÓ LRT
In 2019, Iceland and UNESCO established the GRÓ category 2 center under the auspices of UNESCO. The Center works across four thematic areas: Gender, Fisheries, Geothermal and Land restoration. The GRÓ Land Restoration Training Programme (GRÓ LRT) provides postgraduate training for working specialists from middle- and low-income countries in the broad field of restoration of degraded land and sustainable land management.
Terms and conditions
The GRÓ LRT Fellowship covers tuition and other academic expenses for the fellows, travel and health insurance costs, and a stipend that covers all their living expenses during the six months stay in Iceland. The next training will start in the beginning of March 2025.
When awarding a fellowship to candidate(s) from a partner institution, GRÓ LRT has in return put forward the following conditions:
To the candidate’s institution:
- its candidate(s) gets a full study leave for the period of six months to attend the training in Iceland;
- its candidate(s) holds his/her salary and benefits back home while attending the training in Iceland;
- its candidate(s) takes up his/her position at the partner institution when returning from the training in Iceland.
For the candidate, the selection criteria are:
- the candidate should be working and having a prominent role in biosphere reserve ecosystem restoration activity
- the candidate should have at least one university degree in an area relevant to GRÓ LRT’s field of work (i.e. ecology, natural science studies, environmental management/studies, etc.)
- the candidate should have at least one year of experience working in a biosphere reserve in an area relevant to GRÓ LRT
- the candidate must be able to communicate in English (speak, read, and write) as it is the working language of GRÓ LRT;
- the candidate should be under the age of 40.
In some cases, GRÓ LRT has accepted candidates that do not fulfil the education requirement (such as a degree in different fields) but have extensive working experience in the area relevant to GRÓ LRT.
This call is for applications from candidates to the next year’s GRÓ LRT training, starting in early March 2025.
To apply, interested candidates should send a letter of motivation and a CV, along with a letter of endorsement from the biosphere reserve in which they are working and from the national MAB Focal Point or Committee in their country to the following email address: [email protected] Applications will be evaluated by GRÓ LTR and MAB Secretariat.
The deadline for application is 30 September 2024.
The GRÓ Land Restoration Training Programme has truly been a transformative experience for me. Over the course of six months, I engaged in a journey of learning, relearning, and unlearning. The programme has been a game changer, equipping me with valuable insights and skills that I can now apply in my work.
UNESCO
More information
Man and the Biosphere (MAB Programme)
GRÓ Land Restoration Training Programme (GRÓ LRT)
