Outstanding candidates invited to apply for scholarships to the 2015 World Forum

Organisers of the 2015 World Forum on Natural Capital, which will take place in Edinburgh on 23 and 24 November, have announced a limited number of scholarships to widen participation in the debate around natural capital.  

The 15 subsidised scholarship places will offer promising students on relevant university courses the opportunity to attend the World Forum, and will be assessed in association with University of Edinburgh Business School’s Sustainable Business Initiative.

Bringing together business leaders, government representatives and environmental experts from around the globe, the 2015 World Forum will explore how better management of natural capital can help tackle global challenges – including biodiversity loss, resource scarcity and climate change – at the same time as reducing a range of risks to business and driving innovation.

In order to be considered for a scholarship, candidates must:

• Explain how their attendance would help to further natural capital thinking within their research/ study
• Explain how their attendance might add value to the event
• Outline which elements of the natural capital debate they wish to understand further
• Outline any specific challenges which they feel natural capital thinking may help to address

Dr. Kenneth Amaeshi, Head of the Strategy Group and Reader in Strategy & International Business, said:

“The University of Edinburgh Business School’s Sustainable Business Initiative is very pleased to be working with the World Forum on Natural Capital team to help assess these scholarship applications. The successful applicants will have the chance to mix with top business leaders, government representatives and environmental experts from around the globe, and to learn about the most up-to-date developments in the rapidly evolving field of natural capital.”

Natural capital can be defined as the Earth’s stock of natural assets - including forests, rivers, land, minerals and oceans - that supply us with essential goods (such as food, medicine, fuel and building materials) and services (such as pollination, climate regulation and flood protection) on which all human life depends.

The 2015 World Forum will take place in the week preceding the United Nations Climate Conference in Paris (COP21) and will be an important opportunity to bring together leading players from around the world to further understanding of natural capital.

The World Forum on Natural Capital once again brings together a host of international environmental and business organisations, including the United Nations Environment Programme, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Natural Capital Coalition and The Wildlife Trusts. It is organised by the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

Please note: Scholarship applications are now closed.