Since 2022 JRS has partnered with the Conservation Action Research Network (CARN) to support young African graduate students and early career professionals through the ASPIRE Grant Program working in the areas of biodiversity, conservation and environmental sustainability. In 2024 JRS was able to award 12-month grants beginning January 2025 to support 16 promising young African scientists, in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda, allowing them to pursue their field work. The Aspire Grant Program is now recognized as one of the largest small grant programs in Central Africa.
Among the varied JRS-funded ASPIRE 2024 awardee research projects undertaken during the 2025 calendar year included:
- Herpetofaunal Diversity at the Edge: Examining Herptiles in the Upland River Rwizi Wetlands, Southwestern Uganda. Brian Mwijukye.
- Camera trap, a useful strategy for determining the activity patterns of terrestrial mammals in Benue National Park, Cameroon: case of the Eastern giant eland. Murielle Majiteu.
- Etude de la diversité bactérienne des sols des tourbières de Bilanko et Ngamakala en République du Congo. Elgie Biennechie Gatse.
- Unveiling the Ecological Treasures of Sankuru Nature Reserve: A Journey into the Heart of the Congo Basin’s Biodiverse Wilderness. Josué Muganda Matabaro.
- Saving threatened waterbirds of Lake Ossa Wetlands Complex in Cameroon. Regine Chirelle Megnizang Tsane
- Passive acoustic monitoring of katydid species for their conservation in Cameroon. Dr. Alain Simeu Noutchom.
- Population status and distribution of geckos and skinks in the forested regions of South-East Cameroon. Gustave Lekeuack Nguefack.
Read more about the Conservation Action Research Network.