The University of St Andrews and ConocoPhillips have announced the call for entries for the ninth international St Andrews Prize for the Environment. Applications are invited from individuals, multi-disciplinary teams or community groups for the 2007 annual prize of $50,000 USD for the winner and $10,000 USD for each of the two runners-up. Anyone wishing to enter the 2007 prize should submit a single page project summary of no more than 500 words by 31 October 2006.

Applications are invited from individuals, multi-disciplinary teams or community groups for the 2007 annual prize of $50,000 USD for the winner and $10,000 USD for each of the two runners-up.

The primary objective of the prize is to find innovative solutions to environmental problems. The solutions should be practical, combining good science, economic reality and political acceptability. The prize offers people from all backgrounds around the world the chance to help transform their environmental ideas into reality and also provides a network of connections and support.

Erika Vohman, the 2006 winner, is director of the Maya Nut programme, which has resulted in rural women in Central America harnessing the benefits of the Maya Nut, and thereby improving family and environmental health. The programme is successfully re-establishing the Maya Nut, a nutritious, delicious and easy to harvest tree seed native to lowland rainforests, into the Central American diet. In Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras micro-enterprises formed by groups of women are producing and selling Maya Nut products, which have been lauded as successful models of sustainable development.

The prize is an environmental initiative by the University of St Andrews, in Scotland, and the international integrated energy company ConocoPhillips. Recognising significant contributions to environmental conservation since its launch in 1998, the prize has attracted entries from more than 50 countries each year on topics as diverse as sustainable development in the Amazon rainforest, urban re-generation, recycling, health and water issues, and renewable energy. The submissions for the annual prize are assessed by eminent trustees from science, industry, and government.

Anyone wishing to enter the 2007 prize should submit a single page project summary of no more than 500 words by 31 October 2006. The shortlisted entries will be invited for a more substantial submission in January 2007 and the winners will be announced at a seminar at the University of St Andrews in May 2007.

Full details about the Prize, and how to enter are available at www.thestandrewsprize.com or from the St Andrews Prize for the environment office, tel +44 (0)1334 462544 or + 44 (0)1334 462161
email prize@st-andrews.ac.uk

For further information, please contact Doug Allsop at;

Barker Mearns and Gill Public Relations
7 Carden Place
Aberdeen
AB10 1 PP

Tel +44 (0) 1224 646311 Fax +44 (0) 1224 631882
Email doug@mearns-gill.com