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December 29, 2007 SPES Award granted to Shimshal Nature Trust in Pakistan The Science and Practice of Ecology & Society Award (SPES) is an annual award given to the individual or organization that is the most effective in bringing transdisciplinary science of the interactions of ecology and society into practice. Examples of possible winners include, a high school teacher who develops a special curriculum, a mayor with initiatives and actions for her/his town based on scientific concepts, a journalist who brings scientific insights to a broader audience, or a NGO group who facilitates local knowledge production in rural communities. The SPES Award for 2007 was awarded to the Shimshal Nature Trust of northern Pakistan. The 14 nominations we received for the SPES 2007 competition were evaluated by a committee consisting of Marco Janssen, Tun Myint, and Ashok Regmi. Many of the nominations were very promising and interesting, but the committee found that the Shimshal Nature Trust provided a compelling story of a long-term commitment to ecosystem management by a community that, in so doing, enhanced its own social resilience. As discussed in the paper by Abibi-Habib and Lawrence (2007), this indigenous institution emerged from the fortunate conjunction of the scholarly interests of a variety of disciplines. About 20 years ago, several Japanese universities collaborated on the development of an environmental education program that focused on monitoring different ecological variables in the area. This activity increased the environmental awareness and capacity of the younger generation of the local inhabitants, who were instrumental in the creation of the Shimshal Nature Trust in 1997. Their objectives were to continue the social processes of learning and capacity building and to address some of the ecological challenges they were facing, in particular those posed by the creation of a national park and the building of a new road that made this once isolated area considerably more accessible. The story of the Shimshal Nature Trust shows the importance of long-term capacity building to enhance both social and ecological resilience. For more information on the Shimshal Nature Trust or to learn about the organizations behind the award, please see the links below. Description of award winner Abidi-Habib, M., and A. Lawrence. 2007. Revolt and remember: how the Shimshal Nature Trust develops and sustains social-ecological resilience in northern Pakistan. Ecology and Society 12(2): 35. [online] URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol12/iss2/art35/. Ecology and Society http://www.ecologyandsociety.org Foundation for Scientific Symbiosis http://www.public.asu.edu/~majansse/fss/scientific_symbiosis.htm |
Ecology and Society. ISSN: 1708-3087