Call for applications: UNESCO 2025 AfriMAB GRÓ LRT Land Restoration Fellowships

Published: 10 Sep 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. 

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. 

UNESCO AfriMAB GRÓ LRT Land Restoration Fellowships

Benefits of UNESCO AfriMAB GRÓ LRT Land Restoration Fellowships

• The GRÓ LRT Fellowship covers
• Tuition and other academic expenses for the fellows,
• Travel and health insurance costs,
• 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. 

Requirements for UNESCO AfriMAB GRÓ LRT Land Restoration Fellowships

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. 

Selection Process

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.  

Application Deadline

How to Apply