AfriMAB, the network of UNESCO biosphere reserves across Africa, and Iceland’s GRÓ Land Restoration Training Programme (GRÓ LRT) have opened applications for the 2027 cohort of their joint fellowship for professionals from African biosphere reserves. Selected candidates will spend six months, from 26 February 2027, at the Agricultural University of Iceland, combining coursework with an individual restoration project tailored to their home institution’s needs, before returning to their posts with a postgraduate diploma and university credits.

The fellowship – which covers tuition, travel, health insurance, and a full living stipend – responds to the growing priority restoration has taken on within the MAB Programme’s agenda, responding to calls issued by the 2023 AfriMAB General Assembly and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

Candidates under the age of 40 with relevant academic and field experience have until 10 September 2026 to submit their applications.

In 2019, the GRÓ Category 2 Centre was established to work across four thematic areas: Gender, fisheries, geothermal, and land restoration. The GRÓ Land Restoration Training Programme (GRÓ LRT) provides postgraduate training for working specialists from middle- and low-income countries in the restoration of degraded land and sustainable land management.

The GRÓ LRT programme runs an annual six-month training in Iceland, hosted at the Agricultural University of Iceland. The first 12 weeks focus on coursework — introductory and specialized — alongside practical training and field trips. In the following 12 weeks, each Fellow develops an individual project tailored to their academic background and the needs of their home institution. Fellows who complete the training receive 30 ECTS at postgraduate level from the Agricultural University of Iceland, as well as a GRÓ LRT diploma.

In this context, GRÓ LRT offers to train at least two fellows from African biosphere reserves engaged in restoration activities in its 2027 cohort.

The fellowship is fully funded, covering tuition and academic expenses, travel and health insurance costs, and a stipend covering all living expenses during the six-month stay in Iceland.

Institutions nominating a candidate are asked to grant them full study leave for the six-month training in Iceland, continue paying their salary and benefits throughout the programme, and reinstate them in their position upon their return.

Applicants should hold a prominent role in ecosystem restoration activity within a biosphere reserve, and hold at least one university degree relevant to GRÓ LRT’s field of work, such as ecology, natural sciences, environmental management or studies, and related disciplines.

Candidates must:

• have at least one year of relevant experience working in a biosphere reserve;
• be able to communicate in English (speak, read and write), the working language of GRÓ LRT;
• be under the age of 40.

In some cases, GRÓ LRT has accepted candidates who do not fulfil the education requirement but bring extensive working experience in a relevant area.

Applicants must submit:

• a letter of motivation;
• a CV;
• a letter of endorsement from the biosphere reserve where they work;
• a letter of endorsement from the national MAB Focal Point or MAB Committee in their country, and;
• certificates of academic achievement.

All documents must be uploaded in PDF form as attachments via the online application form.

Applications are evaluated jointly by GRÓ LRT and the MAB Secretariat, and only complete applications meeting the stated requirements will be considered. The deadline for applications is 10 September 2026.

For further information, contact grolrt@grolrt.is or mab@unesco.org.