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Wandering Albatross at sea near South Africa's Prince Edward Islands; photograph by Trevor Hardaker
Three Antarctic organisations have once more announced opportunities for early-career professionals. The Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP), the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) work together to support talented early-career researchers, scientists, engineers, environmental managers, and other professionals. The purpose is to strengthen international capacity and cooperation in fields such as climate, biodiversity, conservation, humanities and astrophysics research by providing annual funding opportunities. In 2022, COMNAP and IAATO will each offer one Fellowship with funding of up to USD 15 000. The Fellowships enable early-career persons to join a project team from another country, opening up new opportunities and often creating partnerships that last for many years and over many Antarctic field seasons. The deadline for the COMNAP and IAATO Fellowship applications is 30 June 2022.
Following the recent launch of the Polar Initiative the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation has funded an additional SCAR Fellowship and as a result SCAR will offer in total four to five Fellowships of up to USD 15 000 each for 2022. The details for the SCAR scheme will be similar to previous years but with the opportunity for applicants to propose partly or entirely remote Fellowships to reflect the impact of Covid-19 related travel restrictions. The deadline for the SCAR fellowship applications is 31 August 2022.
COMNAP
The Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs brings together the National Antarctic Programmes of 31 Antarctic Treaty countries. Formed in 1988, the purpose of COMNAP is to develop and promote best practice in managing the support of scientific research in Antarctica. It does this by: Serving as a forum to develop practices that improve effectiveness of activities in an environmentally responsible manner; Facilitating and promoting international partnerships; Providing opportunities and systems for information exchange; and Providing the Antarctic Treaty System with objective and practical, technical and non-political advice drawn from the National Antarctic Programmes' pool of expertise.
IAATO
The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators is a member organisation founded in 1991 to advocate and promote the practice of safe and environmentally responsible private-sector travel to the Antarctic. IAATO members work together to develop, adopt and implement operational standards that mitigate potential environmental impacts. These standards have proved to be successful including, but not limited to: Antarctic site-specific guidelines, site selection criteria, passenger to staff ratios, limiting numbers of passengers ashore, boot washing guidelines and the prevention of the transmission of alien organisms, wilderness etiquette, ship scheduling and vessel communication procedures, emergency medical evacuation procedures, emergency contingency plans, reporting procedures, marine wildlife watching guidelines, station visitation policies and much more. IAATO has a global network of over 100 members.
SCAR
The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research is an inter-disciplinary body of the International Science Council (ISC). SCAR is charged with initiating, developing and coordinating high quality international scientific research in and from the Antarctic region, and on the role of the Antarctic region in the Earth system. SCAR Science Groups represent the scientific disciplines active in Antarctic research. They conduct the scientific business of SCAR and provide regular reports. In addition to carrying out its primary scientific role, SCAR also provides objective and independent scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings and other policy-oriented organizations, on issues of science and conservation affecting the management of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.
John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 March 2022