Saiga Conservation Alliance are delighted to announce the first 2 of 3 Small Grants Programme Winners.
Bringing back our Annual Awards, after a short hiatus, has been very important for the alliance. Through this award we aim to build capacity among members for more effective conservation and information-sharing
We saw a 25% increase in applications and we also received applications from territories which have had little representation in the past; China and Mongolia.
SCA also wishes to take this opportunity to thank our donor and annual awards partner Wildlife Conservation Network. Without WCN’s support this programme would not be possible.
First we congratulate Bayarmaa Chuluunbat from Mongolia. A first time applicant, Bayarmaa told us ‘I am honoured to be the recipient of the SCA-small grant which will help me focus on Mongolian saiga’, ‘it is important to determine in detail the extent to which diet overlap occurs between livestock and the Mongolian saiga. The result would help to provide right information to locals on livestock and saiga pasture competition’.
Bayarmaa’s project ‘Diet selection and overlap between Mongolian saiga and livestock’ is in its third year and has already determined the diet composition of the Mongolian saiga. Using this grant will aim to extend this survey to answer the question of whether Mongolian saiga consumed those plant species selectively.
Secondly, we congratulate Aibat Muzbay, a previous Young Conservation Leader winner, from Kazakhstan.
Aibat will use his grant to assess the impact on biomass production of saiga in calving areas in the Ural steppe, Kazakhstan. He aims to gain a better understanding of the impact of grazing saiga and livestock on pasture vegetation, of the carrying capacity of the steppe ecosystem and any resulting competition.
Aibat has told SCA, ‘I am absolutely thrilled to have been selected as a winner of the Saiga Conservation Alliance Small Grants Programme. This opportunity fills me with great joy as I am launching my project. However, I also feel a deep sense of responsibility, given the complex nature of my project.’
We look forward to supporting Bayarmaa and Aibat with their project and wish them the best of luck.
Saiga Conservation Alliance has one more Small Grants Programme winner to announce in the coming weeks. Thank you to all who applied and we wish you good luck with your saiga conservation efforts.