ISSUE48: FEBRUARY-APRIL 2008
network of research and training centres/programmes
UNU supports environmental research by Cambodian students
Senior university students in Cambodia presented five proposals for environmental field studies to faculty of the environmental studies department of the Royal University of Phnom Penh early February in an initiative supported by UNU Environment and Sustainable Development Programme (UNU-ESD).
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Students from the Royal University of Phnom Penh answer |
The proposals included studies on fishery management, irrigation systems, human settlement in a bird conservation zone and human health concerns in relation to water and food consumption in a wetland area of the country.
UNU-ESD started financing these undergraduate student projects this year to strengthen academic resources in the least developed countries. It is a component of the ESD project, Monitoring and Assessment Network for Asian Governance of Environment (MANAGE), examining the effectiveness and efficiency of small research grants as seed funds in combination with cross-sector involvement and research proposal capacity development.
The goal is to establish sustainable research and educational activities by helping academic institutes in the least developed countries to access external funds. In the absence of graduate schools in Cambodia, ESD is funding the activities of undergraduate students. Preliminary feedback from their academic supervisors is encouraging and several of their research proposals will be submitted for external funding after this project ends its first year in July.
© 2008 United Nations University