Conservation
Reminders about potential funding for work in the OSME region
www.BIRDGRANTS.org
This is a new 'one-stop' shop website for those seeking funds for bird conservation and ornithological projects.
Conservation and Research Fund
OSME welcomes applications for grants from its Conservation and Research Fund, to support research projects in the region. Projects should be directed to one or more of the following subject areas:-
- investigating the status of threatened or near-threatened species
- 2. attempting to further knowledge of existing Important Bird Areas (for example undertaking breeding censuses and conducting systematic counts)
- investigating potential new Important Bird Areas or little-known areas
- conducting ecological studies of little-known species
- educational projects
Priority will be given to projects involving nationals from the region and applicants are required to write up the results of their project for possible publication in Sandgrouse. For further information contact OSME at the OSME address at the foot of the page or email the Conservation & Research Officer.
All applications are considered by the Conservation and Research sub-committee consisting of Geoff Welch (Chair), Richard Porter (Middle East), Vasil Ananian (Caucasus), Michael Brombacher (Central Asia) and Rob Sheldon (Scientific Adviser).
Applications are considered three times each year with the following deadlines for submission: 31 January, 31 May and 30 September. Applicants will be notified of the decision within 3 months of the deadline ie by April, August or December. Therefore please allow sufficient time between your application and the proposed timing of work. There is no maximum limit to the size of grant but most average £500.
Applications should clearly describe the objectives of the project, methodology, personnel, timing of activities and expected outputs. A detailed budget should also be included clearly indicating the overall cost of work, the contribution requested from OSME and, where appropriate, other sources of funding either confirmed or approached.
Make your birding count
OSME encourages all of its members, and general birdwatchers, to submit their observations to the relevant countries covered by the Worldbirds global internet-based network of bird databases - www.worldbirds.org. With the exception of Israel, all of the countries in the OSME region are members of the Worldbirds network.
Supporting Member
This special OSME membership category provides not only a year’s membership to OSME for the subscriber but also for a national resident in the region who might otherwise be unable to receive OSME publications. This enables the Society to further its presence within the region by supporting and encouraging the development of local birdwatchers. Supporting Membership costs £40 per year for UK members and £45 for those resident overseas. If you are interested in becoming a Supporting Member please contact OSME at the address below or click here.
OSME Library
The OSME Library currently has 1940 items: 68 books, 55 booklets, 499 journals, 677 newsletters, 210 papers, 295 reports, 131 trip reports, five maps and videos. These are in nine languages: Arabic (22), Czech (three), Dutch (94), English (1568), French (44), German (124), Hebrew (34), Swedish (five) and Turkish (46). The largest collection of material is, unsurprisingly, devoted to Turkey (329), but Cyprus (283), Israel (180) and UAE (175) are also well represented. At the other end of the spectrum are Afghanistan (nothing), Iran (four), Qatar (six), and Djibouti, Morocco and Syria all with nine. The vast collection of material within the OSME library is available to OSME members and bona fide researchers. Applications to loan material from the OSME library should be made to Guy Kirwan or email the Librarian.