Applications Invited for ITTO Fellowship programme

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About the Organization

The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) is an intergovernmental organization promoting the sustainable management and conservation of tropical forests and the expansion and diversification of international trade in tropical timber from sustainably managed and legally harvested forests. ITTO:

• Develops internationally agreed policy guidelines and norms to encourage sustainable forest management (SFM) and sustainable tropical timber industries and trade.
• Assists tropical member countries to adapt such guidelines and norms to local circumstances and to implement them in the field through projects and other activities.
• Collects, analyzes and disseminates data on the production and trade of tropical timber.
• Promotes sustainable tropical timber supply chains.
• Helps develop capacity in tropical forestry.

About the Fellowship

As of December 2021, the Programme, which began in 1989, has enabled more than 1400 young and mid-career people from over 49 countries working for government, universities, research institution, civil society and the private sector to pursue their professional development and improve their career prospects.  32%  of the fellowships have been awarded to people from Africa, 30.6% to people from Asia-Pacific, 24.9% to people from Latin America/Caribbean, 9.6% to people from developing consumer countries and 3.1% to people from developed consumer countries, who carried out their activities in producer member countries. 71.7% of the fellowships awarded were in the field of Reforestation and Forest Management, 19.8% in Forest Industry and 8.5% in Economics, Statistics and Markets.

The total value of fellowships awarded to date amounts to approximately US$9.8 million. Funding has been provided through the generous voluntary contributions from Japan (68%), U.S.A (19%), the Netherlands (7%), Australia (2.5%) and others (3.5%), including  Sweden, U.K., Bali Partnership Fund-B and private companies.  The programme supports mainly short-term activities, such as participation in international conferences, training courses and study tours.  In addition, it also helps people to prepare manuals and monographs and provides small grants for post-graduate study.

ITTO Fellowship Programme encourages capacity development of women foresters, and has supported 424 women to undertake fellowship activities, accounting for more than 30% of the total number of fellowships.

An impact assessment of the Fellowship Programme, conducted in summer of 2016, showed that the Fellowship Programme has made significant contributions to human capacity development in ITTO producer member countries.  155 fellows from 28 countries, who completed their fellowship activities between 2010 and 2014, responded to a survey questionnaire.  In terms of their contribution to promoting reforestation/forest conservation in their home country, 82% of the respondents answered that they have made very large or moderate contributions. About 88% of the respondents indicated that they have been able to improve the productivity and performance of their home institution by developing new programs or innovative ways of working. 42% indicated that the knowledge and skills acquired through the Fellowship program has helped them to influence national forestry and environmental policy in their home countries.  61% of the respondents indicated that they are currently working on international forestry issues, particularly on climate change and REDD.

Eighty five percent of the respondents currently hold either Ph.D. (42%) or Masters Degree (58%) in forestry and related disciplines, and more than 1/3 of the fellows received those degrees through the support of the Fellowship Programme.  More than 60% of the respondents achieved a relevant job position or job promotion immediately after completion of their fellowships, and 73% of the respendents answered "totally related" or "strongly related" to the question whether any job promotion or new job position was due to the skills and knowledge that they gained from the fellowship.

Eligibility

• Only nationals of ITTO Member countries are eligible to apply.
• Awards are to be made to individuals not to institutions.
• Previous ITTO Fellowship awardees are not eligible to apply for another ITTO Fellowship within two years of receiving the first award and submitting to the Secretariat a final report on the activity for which the award was made.

How to Apply

The deadline for receipt of applications is on 2 September 2024 (Monday) at 17:00 (Japan Standard Time, JST).  Fellowship activities should start later than 1 January 2025 and the results of the Selection Panel will be posted on ITTO website after the 60th ITTC (around 20 December 2024).  Please find detailed information in the attached Information Note.

Apply

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