The University of St Andrews and ConocoPhillips have announced the call for entries for the eighth international St Andrews Prize for the Environment.

Applications are invited from individuals, multi-disciplinary teams or community groups for the 2006 annual prize, which has been increased to $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.

The 2005 winning project was an innovative pump design that will help provide some of the poorest people in Africa with reliable and sustainable water supplies. The team who developed the elephant pump and founded the non-governmental organisation "Pump Aid", acknowledged the benefits that winning the 2005 prize will have on providing thousands of people with clean water and enabling them to irrigate crops during the dry season.

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 2006 prize should submit a single page project summary of no more than 500 words by 31 October 2005. The shortlisted entries will be invited for a more substantial submission in January 2006 and the winners will be announced at a seminar at the University of St Andrews in May 2006.

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

ENDS