How to Join

As with all Specialist Groups of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, group members of the OSG are appointed by and at the discretion of the Chair who is appointed by the SSC. Beyond a requirement to have a continental coordinator for each continent on which the group’s species of interest is found, it is entirely up to the Chair how the group is organised and how large the membership is.

We believe that the aims of the OSG are best met by a broad range of skills, experience and disciplines, so the current membership covers a broad spectrum of experience, professions and skills.

The Membership Process

The Chair has set up a small Membership Team to handle applications and proposals for membership and to conduct the initial assessment. The Committee then recommends new appointees to the Management Team. If the team approves them, the Membership Secretary issues the formal invitation to join the group along with a letter of agreement to be signed and returned. The new member will then receive a welcome pack, be added to the group’s email lists and also become a member of the Species Survival Commission.

There are two levels of membership: Full members and Student members. Student membership will be reviewed, after the course of study ends, to determine if the student will continue working with otters, and if so the membership may be upgraded to full membership.

Any member of the OSG can propose others for membership. We are looking for people who demonstrate a long-term commitment to otter conservation, in the broadest sense – we have a very wide range of members: researchers, environmentalists, ecologists, toxicologists, zoo staff, vets, educators and many others. This produces an active forum with a wide range of views, the primary focus being the conservation of all species of otters.