Scholarships

Story

Information on West African seagrass beds is scarce. As a result, conservation measures to protect these important ecosystems are largely inadequate. The lack of information about West African seagrass is notably the result of a limited number of experts actively involved in research and conservation of seagrass in the region.

Led by Wetlands International, ResilienSEA Strategy 2 – Capacity Building, aims to improve practical knowledge on West Africa’s seagrass beds, and to address the aforementioned information gap. To meet this need, the ResilienSEA project is granting West African youth master students with scholarships for them to strengthen their expertise in coastal ecosystems management in order to generate useful data at the identified pilot sites.

The ResilienSEA scholarship focuses on the sponsorship of four master’s students at renowned universities in West Africa. These universities include the Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD) in Dakar and the University of Cape Verde (Uni-CV) in Mindelo. The selected students, who were shortlisted following a rigorous selection process, come from the following countries: Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea Bissau and Guinea. See below the interesting topics our scholarship recipients wish to conduct their research on.

Students

"I am a Master’s student in Ecology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management at the University Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture at the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar. I am passionate about biodiversity conservation as well as the protection of cetaceans and marine turtles. My research project will focus on biodiversity conservation and the sustainable management of fisheries resources in estuarine areas."

"I am a graduate student in environmental sciences at the University of N'Zerekore (Guinea). I also benefited from trainings in environmental science at the University of Ghana, Legon. The aim of my research is to identify the direct and indirect threats on seagrasses, evaluate the ecosystem's impact on the economy and the protection of other aquatic ecosystems in Guinea. The findings of the research will provide a well-structured document that identifies important seagrasses areas in Guinea, the threats to which they are exposed and the alternative practices that should be implemented in order to preserve aquatic ecosystems in general as well as seagrasses in particular."

"I am a graduate student in environmental biology and Sahelian ecosystems. I work on the monitoring and control of the mangrove ecosystem at the National Park of Banc d’Arguin (PNBA) in Mauritania. The Master's degree programme on seagrasses will allow me to improve my knowledge on the contribution of the mangrove ecosystems, such as Avicennia germinans, to the conservation of biodiversity and sequestration of carbon dioxide at the PNBA and in the lagoon of Cape Timiris and Eyznaye."

"I have a background in Natural Sciences. The conservation of coastal marine ecosystems is not just a passion for me, but rather an issue I value. For this master’s degree, I am particularly interested in studying the current situation of seagrass beds at the Onhucomo and Onhucomozinho islands in the Bijagos archipelago, Guinea Bissau. To better preserve seagrass beds, it is necessary to know them well beforehand. Therefore, the study I will conduct aims to contribute to a better knowledge of these ecosystems before proposing management measures."