This fellowship provides assistance to Canadian graduate students undertaking research on the relationship between forest resources and the social, economic, cultural, and environmental welfare of people in developing countries. The successful candidate will be the one whose work most benefits the lives of the less privileged people in the developing country.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following conditions for eligibility:

• hold Canadian citizenship or permanent residency status;

• be registered at a Canadian university at the master's or doctoral level;

• have an academic background that combines forestry or agroforestry with social sciences. Applicants from interdisciplinary programs (e.g. environmental studies) may also be eligible, provided their programs contain the specified elements;

• research proposal must be approved by the thesis supervisor;

• proposed field research must take place in a developing country;

• provide evidence of affiliation with an institution or organization in the region in which the research will take place;

• have completed course work and passed comprehensive examinations by the time of award tenure.

Duration

Award tenure corresponds to the period of field research. In general, this will be no less than 3 months and no more than 12 months.

Value

The award will cover justifiable field research expenses to a maximum of CA$15,000 per year. Candidates may apply for renewal of funding for a second year of field work if the nature of the research requires a second season of data collection.  Renewals are an exception and are provided for disciplines that may need to deal with the uncertainties of growing seasons and climatic characteristics that affect data collection. 

Number of Awards

One award will be granted. 

Deadline 

March 1, 2011 (The award will be announced by the end of May 2011.)

Tenure must be undertaken by May of the following year.

Applications:

Applications will be evaluated according to criteria, such as relevance to sustainable and equitable development and to IDRC priorities, quality of the research proposal, and suitability of the candidate.

Re-applicants, whose research proposal was reviewed and was unsuccessful, must explain, in a covering letter, what changes have been made since the last application and specify where to find the changes in the proposal.  Please note that Centre policy stipulates that an individual cannot apply more than twice, if unsuccessful, for the same IDRC award.  However, this policy does not apply for Internship Awards.

If there are ethical questions connected with the research, the applicant may, at IDRC’s discretion, be required to submit the appropriate approval from the Ethic’s Committee of the University.

Please submit all documents listed in the List of Supporting Documents to be Submitted.  Complete applications must be received at the Centre by the deadline.  Incomplete applications will NOT be considered for the competition.  Applications must be sent to the following address:

By regular mail, Canada Post Priority Post or XPRESSPOST:

John G. Bene Fellowship

Fellowships and Awards

International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

P.O. Box 8500

Ottawa, Ontario

K1G 3H9 - Canada

By courier services:

John G. Bene Fellowship

Fellowships and Awards

International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

150 Kent Street, Mailroom Suite 990

Ottawa, Ontario

K1P 0B2 - Canada

Fax: (1 613) 236-4026

Telephone: (1 613) 236-6163 ext.: 2098

E-mail: cta@idrc.ca

We thank all applicants for their interest and will contact those candidates whose academic background, quality of the research proposal, and skills best match the criteria of the Award.

John G. Bene, O.C.

John G. Bene had a distinguished career in the Canadian forest industry and later, in the public sector both in Canada and internationally. Born in Vienna and raised in Hungary, where his family owned a plywood factory, Mr.Bene emigrated to Canada in 1938 and founded a veneer plywood plant that by 1940, became the largest supplier of aircraft birch plywood in the Commonwealth. After World War II, he was commissioned by the Allied Military Government to evaluate panelboard technology in Germany. In 1964, Mr. Bene founded Weldwood of Canada Ltd.  Active in civic affairs, Mr. Bene was one of the founders of the Children's Foundation and a Director of the Bank of British Columbia.

After 1968, Mr. Bene was special advisor in forestry and later Director General of the Special Advisor's Branch of the Canadian International Development Agency; a Governor of the International Development Research Centre, and later, special advisor to its President on forestry and renewable resources; and a founding member and first Chairman of the International Council for Research in Agroforestry. Toward the end of his life, Mr. Bene was chief federal negotiator in the Nisga’a Indian land claim in British Columbia.

Mr. Bene's outstanding service to the country was recognized in 1983, when he was admitted as officer of the Order of Canada, and again in 1986, when he was awarded an honourary doctorate of laws by Simon Fraser University.

John G. Bene hada deep concern for the social, economic, cultural, and environmental consequences of the exploitation of forests. The phrase "Trees and People" captures his philosophy, and emphasizes the dependence of communities on woody vegetation and the range of goods and services it offers. This is particularly true for poorer people:  wood is gathered for cooking meals and heating;  leaves and fruits are harvested for food and fodder and to restore fertility to gardens;  and trees are essential to protect people, animals, and the soil from torrential rains and the searing sun. In Canada, where we have been lulled into believing that our forests provide an inexhaustible supply of wood, we have begun to realize that new attitudes are needed to secure a lasting benefit from this natural endowment. This new respect for forest resources, including non-timber forest values is due, in large measure, to lessons learned from the use of community forests in developing countries. Once vast resources are dwindling;  women and children must walk even longer distances in their search for fuel;  to cook one hot meal a day, an estimated 250 million people are forced to burn manure and other agricultural residues, which would normally be used to maintain soil fertility; hungry cattle and goats devour and trample saplings; and croplands are extended into forested areas.

For remedial activities to be possible, we must increase our awareness and knowledge of the relationship between human socioeconomic systems and the trees of the world's forests. John G. Bene had a deep confidence in people and recognized the importance of individual leadership in solving problems.  This award is intended to encourage and support such leadership. 

Endowment

A bequest from the estate of John G. Bene provided the initial capital for an endowment. Public subscriptions have contributed to the endowment's capital fund. Members of the public who wish to support John G. Bene's vision may send their contributions to the endowment at the address provided. Such donations will be tax deductible. As its contribution, IDRC provides the administration for the Fellowship at no cost to the endowment.