Consortium

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Beneficiary Organisations Partner Organisations

The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS,  is the largest public research organisation in France, covering all fields of scientific research. The CNRS was the Coordinator organisation of Inspire4Nature. As a Beneficiary Organisation, it also hosted Kathrin Holenstein , João Guilherme and Marie-Morgane Rouyer. These fellows were based at the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, CEFE, a Joint Research Unit of the CNRS and the University of Montpellier. CEFE is the largest research centre in Ecology in France, with nearly 100 researchers performing independent, fundamental and applied scientific research on the dynamics of biodiversity, planetary environmental changes, and sustainable development.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN, is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together. Created in 1948, it harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its 1,300 Member organisations, as well as the contributions of 16,000 experts organised into six commissions dedicated to species survival, environmental law, protected areas, social and economic policy, ecosystem management, and education and communication. As a Partner Organisation, IUCN is particularly involved in the research projects of Kathrin Holenstein, Matt Ford, and Konstantina Spiliopoulou, including by hosting secondments of these fellows. The fellows interact particularly with IUCN's Global Species Programme, and in particular its Freshwater Biodiversity Unit and the Invasive Species Specialist Group.

Sapienza Università di Roma is one of the oldest Universities in the world and the largest in Europe, with 63 departments offering > 250 degrees and > 100 PhD programmes. Throughout its history, Sapienza has strongly contributed to the development of science and culture in all disciplines, and has carried out outstanding scientific research that achieved remarkable results at the international level. As a Beneficiary Organisation, Sapienza hosted Prabhat Raj Dahal, Ivon Cuadros Casanova, Carmen Soria and Maria Lumbierres. These four fellows were enrolled as PhD students at the Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, staffed by nearly 100 professors and researchers, and very active in disseminating science (with an average of 161 scientific articles/year published during the period 2008-2013).

The University of Copenhagen, UCPH is the largest research and education institution in Denmark, with > 40,000 students (inc. 4,000 international students), > 2500 PhD students and 9000 staff. As a Beneficiary Organisation, the University of Copenhagen hosted Scott Ford and Clare Lewis. These fellows were enrolled as PhD students in two highly interdisciplinary departments at the Faculty of Science: one in the Department of Food and Resources Economics, IFRO, whose Section for Global Development focuses on understanding political, social, economic and institutional dynamics in relation to natural resources; and the other in the Dept. of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, IGN, whose group Environment and Society in Developing Countries works on issues related to earth observation, complexities of land use and land cover change, natural resource management, and societal processes.

University College London, UCL, is ranked 7th by the QS World University rankings, 2016. UCL currently has 11,000 members of staff and 38,000 students of which 30% are international. Within UCL, the research department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment (GEE) comprises 40 research groups and some 200 Post-Docs, PhD Students and support staff. As a Beneficiary Organisation, UCL hosted Gonzalo Albaladejo, Sean Jellesmark and Shawn Dove. These fellows were based in the Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research (CBER), undertaking PhD research at the interface between biodiversity and environmental change, and actively engaged in communicating new research and relating findings to policy.

The Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science (MFN) is an integrated research museum within the Leibniz Association. It is one of the most important research institutions worldwide in the areas of biological and geological evolution and biodiversity. The Museum’s mission is to discover and describe life and earth - with people, through dialogue. With research partners in about 60 countries, over 800,000 visitors per year, and a collection of over 30 million items (covering zoology palaeontology, geology and mineralogy) the Museum’s main pillars of work are knowledge transfer, research and its collection. As a Beneficiary Organisation, MFN hosted Matt Ford, enrolled as a PhD student at the Humboldt University of Berlin.

The Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, HCMR is the largest public research organisation in Greece (with about 480 employee), promoting basic and applied research in all fields of the aquatic environment and providing comprehensive scientific and technical support to the authorities and the public. As a Beneficiary Organisation, HCMR hosted Konstantina Spiliopoulou, based at the Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, IMBRIW, and more specifically its Inland Waters section, which promotes three major research areas concerning freshwater resources: ecological quality assessments and monitoring, biodiversity conservation and environmental restoration and integrated river basin management.

ISPA - Instituto Universitário is one of the oldest private universities in Portugal, and develops an integrative and multidisciplinary vision in the study of psychological, social and life sciences. It currently has over 60 full-time faculty members, integrated in 3 R&D Units: MARE (Marine Biology), WJRC (Psychology) and CIE (Education). As a Beneficiary Organisation, ISPA hosted Martin Beal enrolled as a PhD student in the MARE unit, whose objective is to seek excellence in the study of aquatic ecosystems and disseminate knowledge to support policies for sustainable development. MARE is focused on international cooperation to advanced education and training in order to drive a new generation of scientists and professionals prepared for the Blue Economy and also on promoting the Ocean Literacy and Policy Making.

The Zoological Society of London, ZSL, runs conservation programmes worldwide to conserve wild animals and their natural habitats, working with local communities to conserve their environment and promote sustainability. For over 180 years, ZSL has played an essential role in convening experts to address challenging science and conservation issues, including by working with governments, civil society and the private sector to conserve species and habitats, and by contributing to building conservation capacity and skills. As a Partner Organisation, ZSL was particularly involved in the PhD research projects of Gonzalo Albaladejo, Sean Jellesmark and Shawn Dove, including by hosting secondments of these fellows in ZSL's Conservation Programmes and Institute of Zoology.

BirdLife International aims to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. It is the world’s largest nature conservation partnership, comprising national nature conservation organisations in 120 countries worldwide and >10 million members and supporters. As a Partner Organisation, BirdLife International was particularly involved in the research projects of Prabhat Raj Dahal, Carmen Soria, Clare Lewis, Maria Lumbierres, João Guilherme and Martin Beal. These fellows are doing secondments in BirdLife's Science, Policy and Information Management Department, which carries out research to underpin the conservation programmes of the Partnership, identifying priorities for policy and action.

The UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre, UNEP-WCMC, is a world leader in biodiversity knowledge. It works with scientists and policy makers worldwide to place biodiversity at the heart of environment and development decision-making to enable enlightened choices for people and the planet. Established over 35 years ago, it specializes in measuring biodiversity change, the causes of that change, evaluating options, and improving the capability of others to do the same. It works closely with other international governmental and non-governmental organizations, national governments, universities, research centres, and the corporate sector. As a Partner Organisation, UNEP-WCMC was particularly involved in the research projects of Ivon Cuadros Casanova, Kathrin Holenstein, Scott Ford and Clare Lewis. These fellows interacted particularly with UNEP-WCMC's Protected Areas Programme and Science Programme.

The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, NKUA, is a modern higher education institution with 2,200 members of teaching staff, 1,210 executives, 33 departments, 99 postgraduate programs and 241 laboratories. As a Partner Organisation, NKUA was particularly involved in the research project of Konstantina Spiliopoulou, including by hosting a secondment. She was enroled at the NKUA's Department of Biology, which does research on Ecology & Systematics, Zoology, Botany, Physiology, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Genetics.

The Instituto Superior de Agronomia, ISA, is the largest and most qualified school of Agricultural Sciences in Portugal, with about 1600 students, 133 professors and 6 researchers. As a Partner Organisation, ISA was particularly involved in the research project of João Guilherme, including by hosting a secondment of this fellow in its Centre for Applied Ecology of Prof. “Baeta Neves”, CEABN. CEABN's research focuses on: applied ecology, such as forest and fire ecology and management; landscape ecology; wildlife ecology and game management; biodiversity in agricultural and forest ecosystems; environmental education; and science policy interface.

Beneficiary Organisations

Each Beneficiary Organisation hosted one or more fellows, being the main organisation responsible for their respective individual research project. All Beneficiary Organisations also participated actively in the network-wide training programme for all students.

Partner Organisations

Each Partner Organisation was strongly involved in one or more research projects, including by hosting the fellows during secondments. They also participated actively in the network-wide training programme for all students.

WCMC Europe is a partner organisation of WCMC. Based in Brussels, Belgium, WCMC Europe is a not-for-profit that promotes for public benefit the conservation, protection, enhancement and support of nature and natural resources worldwide. It does this by collecting, storing, processing, analysing, and sharing data that increase knowledge and understanding of biodiversity and the conservation of nature. As a Partner Organisation to Inspire4Nature, WCMC Europe was particularly involved in the research projects of Clare Lewis, Ivon Cuadros CasanovaKathrin Holenstein and Scott Ford.