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(IGU International Geographical UnionUGI Union Géographique Internationale)

Commission on Biogeography and Biodiversity C04.03

Chairman: Prof. Dr. Udo Schickhoff, Institute of Geography, University of Hamburg, Bundesstr. 55, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany, ph.: +49 40 42838 4911, Fax: +49 40 42838 4981, E-mail: schickhoff@geowiss.uni-hamburg.de, Internet: http:// www.geowiss.uni-hamburg.de/i-geogr/

Newsletter

1/2010

Contents:

1. Message from the Chair

2. Recent Activities of the Commission

3. Main Event Forthcoming: The IGU Regional Geographic Conference UGI 2011, Santiago, Chile

4. Upcoming Biogeography and Biodiversity Related Meetings 2011

5. Reports on Past Meetings and Events

6. Organizations

1Message from the Chair

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to this most recent newsletter of the Commission on Biogeography and Biodiversity. The focus of this edition is again on recent activities of the Commission. Moreover, you will find an invitation to the IGU Regional Geographic Conference in Santiago/Chile 2011 and detailed information on upcoming as well as on past meetings and events. In 2010, the Commission held another annual meeting in India, again appreciating the remarkable upsurge of biogeography as a sub-discipline in that country. The ‘International Geographical Union (IGU) Commission Seminar Land Use, Biodiversity and Climate Change’, 11th-13th December 2010, was organized and hosted by the Department of Geography, Cotton College, Guwahati, Assam, India, and jointly co-organized by the IGU Commission on Biogeography and Biodiversity.

I express my sincere gratitude to Dr. R.B. Singh, Secretary General of the National Association of Geographers, India, and Vice-Chairman of our Commission for supporting the Commission’s work to promote biogeographical teaching, research and scholarship, and for co-organizing the 2010 Conference which was at the same time the Commission’s annual meeting. I also thank the Chief Patron of the Conference Sri Tarun Gogoi (Chief Minister of Assam), the Patrons Sri Gautam Bora (Minister for Education, Govt. of Assam), Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma (Minister for Information Technology, Science & Technology, Health & Family Welfare), Sri Rockybul Hussain (Minister for Forest, Tourism, Information & Public Relation), the Chairman Dr. Indra Kumar Bhattacharyya (Principal Cotton College), the Vice-Chairmen Dr. R.B. Singh (IUGG-IGU National Committee Member) and Dr. Baben Ch Kalita (Head, Dept. of Geography), the Convener Dr. Mahfuza Rahman (Associate Professor, Cotton College), and the other honourable members of the Organising Committee for the possibility to realize this Conference and for their active cooperation.

We will continue to hold joint meetings with biogeography groups in different countries in order to promote biogeography as an important sub-discipline. We especially support academic initiatives to mobilize biogeographers in developing countries, and I am grateful for offers and initiatives regarding upcoming meetings and events. One of the next joint meetings will be organized at the IGU Regional Geographic Conference in Santiago/Chile, 14th to 18th November 2011.

If you are not yet member of our Commission, please contact me by sending an e-mail so that I can include you into the list of members. Everyone is cordially invited to participate in the activities and meetings of the Commission!

2 Recent Activities of the Commission

The Commission’s annual meeting 2010 was held in Guwahati, Assam, India, 11th to 13th December. The ‘International Geographical Union (IGU) Commission Seminar Land Use, Biodiversity and Climate Change’ was organized and hosted by the Department of Geography, Cotton College, Guwahati, and jointly co-organized by the IGU Commission on Biogeography and Biodiversity. Once again I am very grateful to Dr. R.B. Singh, Secretary General of the National Association of Geographers, India, and Vice-Chairman of our Commission as well as to the local organizing team for the commitment to making this conference successful and a memorable one.

As the year 2010 has been declared as ‘World Biodiversity Year’, the seminar could not have been held at a more appropriate time and in a more appropriate place. North East India comprises the State of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim. At the confluence of the Indo-Malayan, Indo-Chinese and Indian biogeographical realms, the NE region is unique in providing a profusion of habitats which features diverse biota with high level of endemism. The region is also the abode of approximately 225 tribes out of 450 in the entire country of India, the culture and customs of which have an important role in understanding biodiversity conservation and management issues. Land use change supplemented by various human activities has led to extinction or elimination of plant and animal habitats and species. Many of the biodiversity hotspots are under threat due to such activities.

This region has been in focus for its high biodiversity and a priority region for leading conservation agencies of the world. Conservation International has included all eight states of NE India within the Biodiversity Hotspot along with South China. NE India is expected to be highly prone to the consequences of climate change because of its geoecological fragility, strategic location vis-à-vis eastern Himalayan landscape and international borders, its trans-boundary river basins and its inherent socio-economic instabilities. Environmental security and sustainability of the region are and will be greatly challenged by these impacts.

Today, NE India is going through a transition. Especially poor and marginalized people are facing severe economic hardships and problems affecting human-environmental interactions in general and sustainable land use and biodiversity conservation in particular. These problems have to be addressed in research strategies when considering integrated development intervention and respective policy advocacy.

Keeping these in mind the Guwahati Conference aimed at addressing the issues of land use, biodiversity and climate change by putting forward 11 subthemes for discussion:

· Population and land use

· Changing human values and impact on environment

· Integrated river basin development

· Developmental change and human health

· Biodiversity and the Himalayas

· Land use change and wetlands

· Man-animal conflicts

· Urban development and land use change

· Changing land use and climate change

· Sustainable land use practices

· Geoinformatics in land use and climate change

Fig. 1: Inaugural session of the International Geographical Union (IGU) Commission Seminar Land Use, Biodiversity and Climate Change in Guwahati, Assam, India

More than 400 participants (scientists, geographers, botanists, hydrologists, community people, practitioners, technicians, academicians, NGO’s, researchers and other academic institutions attended this grand international conference. The conference was a unique platform for national and international experts on the above subjects. The programme included oral presentations, talks and discussions followed by deliberations for recommendations. Altogether, more than 300 papers had been presented in 29 sessions. The Seminar was inaugurated by IGU Vice-President Prof. Giuliano Bellezza (Rome, Italy), IGU Vice-President Prof. Yukio Himiyama (Asahikawa, Japan), IGU Commission Biogeography and Biodiversity Chairman Prof. Udo Schickhoff (Hamburg, Germany), IGU Commission Biogeography and Biodiversity Vice-Chairman Prof. R.B. Singh (Delhi, India), the Principal Cotton College Prof. I.K. Bhattacharyya (Guwahati, India), the Head of the Dept. of Geography Prof. B.C. Kalita (Guwahati, India) and the Convener Prof. Mahfuza Rahman (Guwahati, India) (Fig. 1).

In addition to the scientific sessions, a special student interactive session was held in the indoor stadium, where three short films that won laurels in the United Nations International School Conference in New York were shown by the students of Marias Public School. Prof. W.A. Flügel (Jena, Germany) and Prof. Y. Himiyama (Asahikawa, Japan) interacted with the students and disseminated information on international map drawing competition held in the month of October every year. They both appreciated this session because it is so important to have a good education in geography in order to be prepared to tackle the future environmental problems of this planet.

A book publication containing accepted papers of the conference is forthcoming.

3Main Event Forthcoming: The IGU Regional Geographic Conference UGI 2011, Santiago, Chile

The website for online-application is open for the IGU Regional Geographic Conference Santiago 2011. If you intend to participate, please send the respective form to the organizing committee. You will find all information available on the official website:

http://www.ugi2011.cl/

Please see below the formal invitation by the national organizers and by the IGU President:

Welcome Message from the President of the Organizing Committee

Dear Friends,

On the occasion of the Regional Geographic Conference of the International Geographic Union (UGI) to be held in November 2011 in the city of Santiago, Chile, I give you my first greeting to all the attendees, authors and representatives of organizations participating who will be present at this major event of great scientific significance.

In conjunction with the IGU, as organizers of this event we are developing an attractive scientific program, putting into this task all the efficiency that characterizes us. I invite you to join us for this conference, which has as one of its fundamental visions the integration of professionals active in geography and allied sciences with a dynamically-changing world. Chile is proud to host this Regional Geographic Conference, so it will be a great pleasure for us to receive you here in our country. Welcome!

Col. Juan Vidal Garcia-HuidobroDirector of the Military Geographic InstitutePresident of the Local Organizing Committee

Dear Colleagues,

I warmly invite you to take part in the International Geographical Union Regional Conference to be held from the 14th to the 18th of November 2011 in Santiago, Chile. I am pleased to welcome you to the IGU family and invite you to submit your abstracts and present your papers. The IGU has very high hopes for the Santiago meeting; we hope that it proves to be a major step towards much greater and more intensive participation in the IGU by geographers from Chile and from all over Latin America. The IGU Conference theme - United and Integrated with the World - offers a timely and comprehensive organizing framework for the first IGU meeting in many years in Latin America. I look forward to seeing you at this enjoyable and productive event and to thanking you for attending.

Ronald F. AblerPresidentInternational Geographic Union

Conference Venue

The venue for the Regional Cartographic Conference is the "Liberator Bernardo O`Higgins" Military School. The site belongs to the Army of Chile and is one of the centers for the training of military officers.

The conference will be held in the main buildings, located on part of the 32 hectare site. Located in the Borough of Las Condes in eastern Santiago, the Military School is close to Hotels, the urban transport network, several local restaurants, stores and services.

Facilities for the conference will include: - Auditorium chamber, for ceremonies and plenary sessions- Rooms for technical sessions and meetings- Courtyards and spaces for exhibitions and registration area- Rooms with equipment for access to Internet- Cafeteria area for lunch service- Parking space for vehicles- Safe, secure conditions for attendees

Programme Activities

Plenary Sessions

Plenary sessions feature keynote presentations from public and scientific figures of international repute, related to the concepts and purpose of the conference.

Scientific Conference

Presentations of scientific submissions in technical sessions and a poster exhibition.

Seminars

There will be seminars related to the conference themes.

IGU meetings

IGU Commissions and Task Forces are invited to hold their business and coordination meetings. Convenors should communicate their requirements by the deadline in the calendar.

Field Trips

A programme of field trips to sites of geographic interest in Chile will be available, before, during and after the conference.

Technical - Trade Exhibition

UGI 2011 will be a major opportunity for geoscience-linked institutions and business organisations to present their mission, projects, products, solutions and technical applications to the world. Technical Visits

Several visits to institutions involved with geography and spatial information will be offered to attendees.

Corporate Presentations

Organized by UGI 2011 sponsors, the program will include a series of talks and presentations on technical and corporate issues.

Social Events

The social events will include:- Welcome Cocktail- Equestrian show- Gala dinner

Important Dates for the Conference

30 November 2010

Second Call for Papers; full conference brochure with complete information.

10 March 2011

Deadline for submitting abstracts for papers and posters.

10 May 2011

Notification to authors of acceptance of conference abstracts

29 July 2011

Early registration rate lapses. Change of registration rate from "early to late" for registrations.

30 August 2011

Deadline for registration payment by authors of papers and postersDeadline for submission of full text of accepted papers

15 September 2011

Publication of the preliminary full conference program.

01 October 2011

Deadline for IGU Commissions to request rooms for work meetings Deadline for requesting rooms to hold seminars

7 – 13 November 2011

Arrival of attendees, pre-conference field trips and tours. Setup of booths in the technical-trade exhibition.

14 November 2011

Inauguration ceremony and welcome cocktail.Technical-trade exhibition open from this date.

14 – 18 November 2011

UGI 2011 conference activities.

18 November 2011

Closing ceremony.

19 – 25 November 2011

Post-conference field-trips and tours.

Activities of the Commission during the Regional Conference / Call for papers

At the Santiago Regional Conference, the Commission intends to organize sessions on biogeography and biodiversity-related issues. All participants of the conference are invited to contribute to these sessions. A call for papers is launched at the Conference website. Deadline for submitting abstracts is March 10, 2011. Please follow the abstract submission details provided at the Conference website (http://www.ugi2011.cl/).

4Upcoming Biogeography and Biodiversity Related Meetings 2011

4.1 The 14th Annual Conference of earth, 2nd International Conference on Environmental Change in Lakes, Lagoons & Wetlands of the Mediterranean Region

3-6 January 2011

Cairo, Egypt

A driving force behind this conference is international cooperation and the broadening of water regulations developed in the European Union that may be of value to water management aims in the Mediterranean region. Both the EU Water Framework Directive and the International Cooperation (INCO) Programme are concerned with raising water quality and achieving good ecological status for water resources everywhere. Whilst recognising the wise management principles enshrined in these initiatives, it is important to take account of national and local objectives relevant to individual third country partners as well as exercise subsidiary. Transfer of scientific know-how and exchange of both technical and management skills together with more basic research may be needed to achieve effective aquatic resource management. Some of these aims were encapsulated in MELMARINA (Monitoring & Modelling Coastal Lagoons: Making Management Tools for Aquatic Resources in North Africa), an EU-INCO Project that helped to initiate the Second International Conference on Environmental Change in Lakes, Lagoons and Wetlands of the Mediterranean (Cairo 2011).

More information: http://www.narss.sci.eg/aqua2010/

4.2 5th Biannual Conference of the International Biogeography Society (IBS)

7-11 January 2011

Heraklion, Crete, Greece

The core of the meeting will be four successive symposia on broad foundational and cutting-edge topics and approaches in biogeography and macroecology, each with a suite of leading international scientists as well as openings for contributed papers:

(1) Mediterranean Biogeography: Where History Meets Ecology Across Scales (Organizers: Spyros Sfenthourakis & Remy J. Petit).

(2) New Perspectives on Comparative Phylogeography – Novel Integrative Approaches and Challenges (Organizers: Ana Carnaval & Mike Hickerson).

(3) Biogeography and Ecology: Two Lenses in One Telescope (Organizers: Dave Jenkins & Robert E. Ricklefs).

(4) Analytical Advancements in Macroecology and Biogeography (Organizers: Alexandre Diniz-Filho & Carsten Rahbek).

The meeting also has six sessions of contributed papers on key topics: (i) Island biogeography, (ii) Climate change biogeography, (iii) Conservation biogeography, (iv) Palaeoecology, (v) Marine biogeography, and (vii) Hot topics in Biogeography.

Dr. Robert E. Ricklefs will give a keynote lecture after receiving the Alfred Russel Wallace Award, recognizing his lifetime of outstanding contributions to biogeography. On the day just before and after the conference (7 and 11 January), there will be arranged field excursions to a number Crete’s most exciting historic and biogeographic locations. In addition, on 7 January, three workshops will held: Spatial Analysis in Macroecology, Phylogenetic Analysis in Macroecology, and Communicating Biogeography.

More information: http://www.biogeography.org/html/Meetings/2011/index.html

4.3 The Research Council of Norway Conference: Innovation and sustainability Transitions in Asia

9-11 January 2011

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The conference has two goals:

1. To synthesise and reflect on the current knowledge about innovation and sustainability transitions in Asia.

2. To set up new research agendas on innovation and sustainability in Asia.

To engage in a dialogue with policy, an interactive Policy Roundtable is planned on the theme of Biofuels, with participation of policy makers and practitioners involved in the field. The aim of this Roundtable is to explore the potential of biofuels in replacing fossil fuels in Asian energy systems. We observe numerous Asian experiments with biofuels (production and use) being developed with many different rationales (greenhouse gas emissions reductions, fuel security, and sustainable development) but the sustainability of biofuels is hotly contested. Under which conditions could biofuels become a major energy source in Asia while at the same time being socially, environmentally and economically sustainable?

More information: http://www.diversitas-international.org/?page=news_events_calendar

4.4 First meeting on the Implementation of the Plan of Action on Sub-National Governments, Cities and Other Local Authorities for Biodiversity 2011-2020

17-19 January 2011

Montpellier, France

The meeting will be held in English and French (simultaneous interpretation will be available during the whole meeting).

PROVISIONAL AGENDA

1. Opening of the meeting, organizational matters and overview of the objectives of the meeting.

2. Implementation of the plan of action.

3. The road map to eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

4. Celebrating the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity.

5. Other matters.

6. Adoption of the report.

7. Closure of the meeting.

More information: http://www.cbd.int/doc/?meeting=IPA-SNGCOLA-01

4.5 CBD AHTEG Meeting on Invasive Alien Species

2-4 February 2011  

Geneva, Switzerland  

At its tenth meeting, the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) established an ad hoc technical expert group (AHTEG) to suggest ways and means, including, inter alia, providing scientific and technical information, advice and guidance, on the possible development of standards by appropriate bodies that can be used at an international level to avoid spread of invasive alien species that current international standards do not cover, to address the identified gaps and to prevent the impacts and minimize the risks associated with the introduction of invasive alien species as pets, aquarium and terrarium species, as live bait and live food.

More information: http://www.cbd.int/doc/notifications/2010/ntf-2010-204-ias-en.pdf

4.6 20th Annual Meeting of the AK Hochgebirge: Hochgebirge als Zentren der Vielfalt

4-6 February 2011

Erlangen, Germany

More information: http://tolu.giub.uni-bonn.de/ak-hochgebirge/sitzungen.html

4.7 5th Annual Meeting of the Specialist Group on Macroecology of the Gesellschaft für Ökologie

16-18 February 2011

Basel, Switzerland

The fifth annual meeting of the Specialist Group on Macroecology will be the first one held outside of Germany. This meetings aims at bringing together students and scientists interested in and / or working in the field of macroecology. We are particularly interested in stimulating fruitful and open discussions. The conference language will be English.

With Walter Jetz (Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale) and Antoine Guisan (Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne), we have invited two eminent macroecologists to boost the discussions.

We invite contributions for oral and poster sessions. Oral sessions will be organized in two different formats.1. Young scientist contributions are intended to give PhD students and young post-docs an opportunity to present preliminary results or research proposals and to get conceptual and methodological feedback from the participants (15 min + 10 min discussion).

2. Regular oral contributions will present recent research results (15 + 10 min).We value the contribution of posters and will place a particular focus on their presentation.

More information: http://macro211.nmc.unibas.ch/index.html#

4.8 Annual Meeting of the Gesellschaft für Tropenökologie (gtö): Status and future of tropical biodiversity

21-24 February 2011

Frankfurt am Main, Germany

The annual conference 2011, to be held in Frankfurt from February 21 to 24, 2011 will provide an interdisciplinary platform for intensive discussion, particularly on the following main topics:

• Status of tropical biodiversity

• Biotic and abiotic interactions in changing ecosystems

• Projections and scenarios for the future

More information: http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/bzf/fb7a028/fb7a028.htm

4.9 10th International Meeting on Vegetation Databases

2-4 March 2011

Alterra, Wageningen, The Netherlands

http://www.alterra.wur.nl

4.10 Asia-Pacific Regional Consultation and Capacity-building Workshop on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries, including on Relevant Biodiversity Safeguards

15-18 March 2011

Singapore City, Singapore

I am pleased to inform you that a regional consultation and capacity building workshop on biodiversity and indigenous and local community aspects of REDD-plus, including on relevant safeguards, will be held in Singapore City, from 15 to 18 March 2011. This workshop is being convened by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in collaboration with the National Parks Board of Singapore and the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, and with the generous financial support of the Governments of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of the Federal Republic of Germany. The workshop will be held in English.

The purpose of the workshop, pursuant to decision X/33 of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD, is to consult effectively with Parties on the development of advice on relevant safeguards for biodiversity, so that REDD-plus actions are consistent with the objectives of the CBD and avoid negative impacts on and enhance benefits for biodiversity. Further objectives of the workshop are to identify possible indicators to assess the contribution of REDD-plus to achieving the objectives of the CBD, and assess potential mechanisms to monitor impacts on biodiversity from these and other ecosystem-based approaches for climate change mitigation measures. The workshop also aims to enhance the coordination of capacity-building efforts on issues related to biodiversity and ecosystem-based carbon sequestration and the conservation of forest carbon stocks.

The workshop is the first in a series of three regional workshops to ensure effective consultation with Parties on the topic of relevant REDD-plus biodiversity safeguards, and it will be followed by regional workshops for other relevant regions in this context, notably Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.

More information: http://www.cbd.int/doc/notifications/2010/ntf-2010-218-redd-en.pdf

4.11 Annual Symposium of the British Ecological Society (BES): Forests and global change

28-30 March 2011

Cambridge, UK

An international conference of temperate and tropical forest ecologists, providing an opportunity to integrate perspectives on the changing nature of forests across biomes. The conference will address emerging themes in forest ecology based on new data from spatially dispersed permanent plot networks, fully mapped stands and satellite imagery. As well as plenary sessions featuring keynote speakers there will be opportunities for contributed talks and posters.

Sessions will cover:

· Forest dynamics, functional traits and species coexistence mechanisms - integrating new data-sets to develop a global perspective

· Community assembly and biogeography - the evolutionary history of forests across biomes

· Ecosystem services and forest conservation - the future of forests in a changing world

The symposium is organised by David Coomes, University of Cambridge, UK and David Burslem, University of Aberdeen, UK.

More information:

http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/meetings/current_future_meetings/2011_annual_symposium/index.php

4.12 26th IGBP Scientific Committee Meeting

28 March-01 April 2011

Washington DC, United States

More information: http://www.igbp.net/page.php?pid=143&year=2011&month=3

4.13 S-IALE Symposium: Sustainability in Dynamic Landscapes

3-7 April 2011

Portland, Oregon

The 2011 US-IALE Annual Symposium will be held in Portland, Oregon. The theme of the 2011 Symposium is Sustainability in Dynamic Landscapes. Meeting dates are April 3-7, 2011. Portland offers numerous amenities that we believe will provide an excellent meeting experience. The city is widely recognized for its commitment to sustainability and progressive land use planning. The meeting venue is Green Seal Certified.

Portland and the Pacific Northwest offer a beautiful setting for the 2011 Symposium and outings. Portland itself is rich in parks and recreation opportunities. Within the Pacific Northwest region exist some of the most diverse and scenic landscapes including the Columbia River Gorge, Pacific Coast, the Willamette Valley, and Cascade Mountains. Diverse ecosystems exist within the region including temperate rain forests, drier forest types, alpine areas, coastal beaches, high deserts, and low-lying valleys. Regional industries include wine, hops, grass seed, Christmas trees, forestry, outdoor tourism, high tech, shoes and apparel, fishing, and shipping.

The conference program will place an emphasis on landscape sustainability. We look forward to welcoming you to the 2011 US-IALE Symposium in beautiful Portland, Oregon!

More information: http://www.usiale.org/portland2011/

4.14 20th Workshop of the European Vegetation Survey (EVS)

6-9 April 2011

Rome, Italy

We are pleased to announce that this Workshop is a joint meeting with the Circumboreal Vegetation Mapping Group and that one session will be devoted to the topic of ‘Boreal Vegetation’.

The topic on this 20th anniversary of the founding of the EVS will be “Original Aims Revisited: Vegetation Survey, Data Analysis & Information Systems, Applications”.

The 20th Workshop of the IAVS Working Group for the European Vegetation Survey will take place in Rome from Wednesday 6 April to Saturday 9 April 2011, with a post-Workshop Excursion to the gully and gorge landscape of Tuscany, 11-14 April.

Registration, Lectures and Poster Sessions will take place in the Orto Botanico (Botanic Garden) of Sapienza Università di Roma Dept. of Enviromental Biology, Largo Cristina di Svezia 24, 00165 Roma and Plenary Sessions will be in the Auditorium of the Accademia dei Lincei in the Palazzo Corsini, Via della Lungara 10, 00165 Roma, next to the Botanic Garden.

More information: http://www.evsitalia.eu/

4.15 European Conference on Biodiversity and Climate Change - Science, Practice & Policy

12-13 April 2011

Bonn, Germany

Biodiversity loss and climate change are among the most pressing challenges of our times, and are strongly interconnected. Not only will climate change directly affect biodiversity but mitigation and adaptation measures taken by society could also have significant effects, both positive and negative, on biodiversity.

Conservation strategies will need to be adapted to cope with a changing climate; there is a need to explore how this should be done, and share experiences of putting adaptation principles into practice. There is also growing awareness that addressing biodiversity loss and climate change in an integrated manner can have a range of multiple benefits for society, including synergies with sustainable development goals. However, considerable uncertainties remain surrounding the two-way interactions of biodiversity and climate change and good practice examples of ecosystem-based approaches to mitigation and adaptation are still rare.

Against this background, the conference sets out to meet a growing demand for sharing knowledge and experiences in the field of biodiversity and climate change in Europe. Taking a transdisciplinary perspective, the aim of the conference is to bring scientists, conservation practitioners and policymakers together in order to improve both the integration of research outputs into practical conservation projects, and the identification of further research needs.

The conference will be based on talks by invited speakers. Session themes will include the following:

· Impacts of climate change and related human response activities on biodiversity

· The scientific basis for adapting nature conservation policies, strategies and measures to climate change

· Integrated and ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation and mitigation

· Economic approaches to valuing ecosystem services in relation to climate change

· From science to practice: improving the science policy interface

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

The conference invites scientists, practitioners and policy-makers interested in the interlinkages between biodiversity and climate change in a European setting. By bringing these groups together we hope to stimulate discussion and develop ideas that link the realms of science, practice and policy.

ORGANIZERS

The conference is an initiative of the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) in collaboration with the European Network of Heads of Nature Conservation Agencies (ENCA).

DATES, VENUE and LOGISTICS

The conference will be held in the Research Centre Caesar in the city of Bonn, Germany. It will start in the morning on Tuesday 12 April 2011, and end in the afternoon of Wednesday 13 April 2011. Attendance at the conference is free of charge, but participation is limited to 200 participants.

Further details on registration will follow however expressions of interest are welcome to katrin.kraus@uni-greifswald.de

More information:

http://www.bfn.de/fileadmin/MDB/documents/wiruberuns/veranstaltungen/enca_announcement.pdf

4.16 Annual Association of American Geographers Meeting

12-16 April 2011

Seattle, United States

The 2011 Annual Meeting will take place at the Washington State Convention Center and the Seattle Sheraton Hotel.  Onsite check in, the exhibition hall, breakout sessions and plenary sessions will take place in the Convention center, while breakout sessions and many reception events will take place in the Seattle Sheraton.

The AAG Annual Meeting is an interdisciplinary forum open to anyone with an interest in geography and related disciplines. Presentations from scholars, researchers, professionals, and students are welcome.

During the meeting you will join fellow geographers, GIS specialists, and environmental scientists for the very latest in research and applications in geography, sustainability, and GIScience. Sessions are also being organized around special themes, like:

· The Changing Roles of the University in Society

· Geography and the Humanities

· Asian Geographies and Collaborations in Research and Education

· Space-Time Integration in Geography and GIScience

The meeting program will also feature:

· Presentations and posters by leading scholars and researchers from more than 60 countries

· Exhibits showcasing recent publications, new geographic technologies, and employment opportunties for geographers

· An international networking reception

· Field trips to explore the rich cultural and physical geography of the Pacific Northwest

More information: http://www.aag.org/cs/annualmeeting

4.17 4th International and interdisciplinary Symposium on „Biodiversität und Naturausstattung im Himalaya”

15-17 April 2011

Erfurt, Germany

Lectures on all subjects of botany, zoology, ecology, geology, geography and anthropology are  welcome (esp. systematics/taxonomy, phylogeny, faunistics, biogeography, pedobiology, climatology).

More information: http://www.naturkundemuseum-erfurt.de/veranstaltungen/detail/artikel/4-internationales-und-interdisziplinaeres-symposium-zum-forschungsthema-biodiversitaet-und-naturaus/

4.18 3rd International Geography Congress: Sustainable Natural Resources Management under Changing Climatic Scenarios

06-08 May 2011

Kozhikode, Kerala, India

The exploitation of natural resources is considerably growing due to ever increasing requirements.  The rapid industrialisation and the increasing demand of growing population have caused a great impact on land-water-air.  Thus, the sanctity for land, water and air, which human beings have been keeping at emotional and spiritual levels, has  started eroding and leading to a number of  environment related problems.  This peculiar situation is detrimental to the society.  Holistic natural resources based spatio-temporal planning, development and management is essential to improve upon the present degraded eco-system for sustainable resources management.

This International Congress aims to highlight the various environmental problems associated with development and changing climatic scenarios. The problem of climate change and ensuing transformations that are to manifest in various sectors of human life on the earth is an important area where the Space Technology is strongly involved. Environmental perspectives and the scientific approaches including modern technologies are bringing spatial solutions to environmental and societal problems. Geoinformatics along with its accessories like GIS and Remote Sensing helps in assessing the results of various environmental hazards and disasters. This Congress welcomes all geographers, hydrologists, academicians, researchers, technologists, environmentalists, engineers, planers   policy makers, social workers and research students from geography and allied fields to share their research experiences.

More information: https://sites.google.com/a/cwrdm.org/cwrdmseminars/home/international-geography-congres

4.19 CCAFFE2011: Climate Change, Agri-Food, Fisheries and Ecosystems

19-21 May 2011

Agadir, Morocco

After the huge success of the International Conference on "The Integration of Sustainable agriculture, Rural Development, and Ecosystems in the Context of Food Insecurity, Climate Change, and the Energy Crisis", held in Agadir in November 2009, the second related conference is expected to sustain the debate within the mentioned context about the below key themes, taking into consideration the current evolutions and required adjustments in perspective and approach. ICCAFFE2011, like the previous Conference, is an acknowledged and distinguished multinational forum that provided early focus on global warming, agri-food, fisheries, and ecosystems from an interdisciplinary approach as well as from a North-South perspective. It is designed to bring together scientists, experts, policy-makers, practitioners, and non-state actors from key disciplines, institutions, companies and networks from all over the world to share research outcomes and relevant experiences; contribute to the setting of future research and policy agendas; and explore necessary networking with regard to their relevant debates. 

This conference will in addition address recognized gaps in knowledge, introduce the outcomes of research initiatives to world decision makers (international research centers, funding agencies for development, government representatives, international organizations, foundations…), make significant contribution to the building of workable futures and associated priorities, and explore the way forward in a world where challenges are increasingly observable and where remediate actions are required urgently.

Researchers and experts from institutions in Northern and Southern countries and from a wide spectrum of disciplines (including: social sciences, ecology, meteorology, agronomy, economics, , engineering sciences,  marine sciences, etc.) are invited in order to enrich and widen the scientific exchanges. Decision and policy-makers are the second part of the Conference’s target group. Stakeholders from all spheres (especially ministries and other national and territorial institutions, professional organizations, development institutions, advisory and support services, and NGOs) are important invitees. The exchange and interaction between the two categories of actors (researchers/decision-makers) are at the heart of the Conference objecttives.

More information: http://nrcs.webnode.com/scientific-events/iccaffe2011/english-version/

4.20 13th Meeting of the Biogeography Working Group of the VGDH (Verband der Geographen an Deutschen Hochschulen) (Association of Geographers at German Universities)

21-22 May 2011

Institute of Geography, University of Hamburg, Germany

More information: soon available at http://www.geowiss.uni-hamburg.de/i-geogr/biogeographie/index.html

4.21 International Day for Biological Diversity

22 May 2011

Multiple Venues

More information: http://www.cbd.int/meetings/

4.22 24th Annual Conference of the Plant Population Biology Section of the Ecological Society of Germany, Switzerland and Austria (GfÖ)

2-4 June 2011

Oxford, UK

Welcome to the 24th Annual Conference of the Plant Population Biology Section of the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the PopBio 2011. The meeting will be held at St Catherine's College in Oxford and organized by Plant Sciences in Oxford and CEH. We will offer a traditional PopBio meeting with two and a half days of exciting talks and posters, a conference dinner and an excursion.

We are happy to announce the keynote speakers of PopBio 2011:

Dr Miguel Verdú, Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificacion -CIDE-, Spain

Dr Anna Traveset, Mediterranean Institute of Advanced Studies CSIC UIB, Spain

Prof Rosie Hails, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), UK

Dr Kat Shea, Penn State University, USA.

Prof John, N. Thompson, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA

Information about accommodation, traveling and registration fees will be provided in December. The registration will be opened in January 2011. The registration and abstract deadline will be 31st March 2011.

More information: http://dps.plants.ox.ac.uk/popbio2011/

4.23 8th European Dry Grassland Meeting: Dry Grassland of Europe: biodiversity, classification, conservation and management

13-17 June 2011

Uman, Ukraine

Subtopics:

a) Large-scale investigations of dry grasslands: biodiversity and classification

b) Dry grasslands in agricultural landscapes: their functions, changes and management

The meeting is organized by the European Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and National Dendrological Park ‘Sofiyiv-ka’ of the NAS of Ukraine, M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany of the NAS of Ukraine.

More information: http://www.edgg.org/edgg_meeting_2011.html

4.24 54th Annual IAVS Symposium: Vegetation in and around water

20-24 June 2011

Lyon, France

A preliminary list of proposed topics for papers includes:

• Biogeochemical approaches to understanding plant communities and ecosystem

functioning

• Modeling biodiversity: tools and concepts

• New insights in descriptive vegetation science

• Biological invasions: towards general models and increased predictability

• Conservation, management and restoration of plant communities

• Understanding wetland functions and services: a challenge for conservation

• Alpine vegetation: threats in a changing world

• Anthropogenic impact on vegetation: climate, land-use, habitat alterations

• Describing biodiversity patterns at multiple scales: from the patch to the biome

We encourage any proposal of new topics and sessions. Please contact the symposium organizers. We invite you to submit abstract(s), preferably related to the topics listed above. Communications may be presented orally or as posters. The second circular will contain more detail on the topics of the Symposium and submission of abstracts.

More information: http://iavs2011.univ-lyon1.fr/en

4.25 Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) and of the Africa section of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB)

12-16 June 2011

Arusha, Tansania

The 2011 Meeting promises to be a very exciting one, notwithstanding that it is also the Year of the Forests, declared by the United Nations. Submissions from relevant disciplines can be made within the broadest context of the meeting theme “Adaptability to Climate Change and Attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for Forest Ecosystems”. Critical to the theme is MDG 7 on environmental sustainability, thus “Sustainable development can be ensured only by protecting the environment and using its resources wisely”, and to “Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss”. http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/goals The MDGs commit the international community to an expanded vision of development, one that vigorously promotes human development as the key to sustaining social and economic progress in all countries, and recognises the importance of creating a global partnership for development.

More information: http://www.atbc-scbafrica2011.org/

4.26 Joint conference of SWS, WETPOL and Wetland Biogeochemistry Symposium

3-8 July 2011

Prague, Czech Republic

The conference WETPOL (Wetland Pollutant Dynamics and Control) was initiated at the University of Ghent, Belgium where the first meeting was held in 2005. In 2007, the second WETPOL conference was organized in Tartu, Estonia and, in 2009, Barcelona, Spain hosted the third meeting.

The Wetland Biogeochemistry Symposium was first organized at the Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge in February 1991 to promote advanced research and application on biogeochemical processes that regulate elemental cycling in wetlands. During the 10th symposium held in Annapolis, Maryland, in 2007. After this meeting, the participants agreed to develop stronger ties with  SWS and in February 2008, Wetland Biogeochemistry became an official section of SWS.

More information: http://www.sws2011.com/

4.27 XVIII International Botanical Congress

23-30 July 2011

Melbourne, Australia

The Australian botanical community invites you to Melbourne, Australia in July 2011 to participate in the XVIII International Botanical Congress. Australia has a vibrant scientific community active across all botanical disciplines and its researchers play a prominent and highly collaborative role in international biological sciences.

The Australian flora, with its many endemics and strong Gondwanan element, provides a unique opportunity full of inspiring experiences for the botanical visitor. Its ancient landscape includes vast deserts, tropical and temperate rainforests, floristically rich heathlands and unique eucalypt forests. Marine environments include a rich flora and the most extensive coral ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef.

Australia’s botanical community is eager to welcome our colleagues from around the world to the 2011 IBC for an intellectually stimulating and socially memorable occasion.

More information: http://www.ibc2011.com/

4.28 96th Annual Meeting Ecological Society of America: Earth Stewardship: Preserving and enhancing earth's life-support systems

7-12 August 2011

Austin, Texas, United States

Recent ESA meeting themes have included ecological restoration, linking research and education, planning sustainability of a global society, and global warming.  Earth stewardship continues this emphasis on application of ecological perspectives and knowledge to global concerns.  We must find simultaneous solutions to a suite of interconnected problems that threaten the ability of the earth to provide the services and resources on which we depend.  This will require integration of knowledge from the local to the global scale, from the sciences, humanities, and engineering, and from sources ranging from traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples to the most modern technological advances.  In an age when the world's human population is increasingly isolated from the life-support systems of the earth, fostering a "sense of place" and global responsibility is critical to this effort.  Ecologists have a special understanding of the complex, multi-scale interactions underlying the earth's life-support systems and must be leaders in society's movement to earth stewardship in the 21st century.

More information: http://www.esa.org/austin/

4.29 IALE World congress 2011

18-23 August 2011

Beijing, China

On behalf of the IALE Executive Committee and the Congress Organizer of IALE-China Chapter, we would like to invite you to participate the 8th IALE Congress in Beijing, China.

The theme of the world congress is landscape ecology for sustainable environment and culture. The goal of the congress is to highlight the frontiers of the science of landscape ecology and promote communication and understanding between different cultures. The meeting will bring participants from all over the world to discuss landscape change due to intensified influences of nature and human society. It will include discussion on landscape resilience and adaptive capacity, application of landscape ecology in understanding cultural landscapes, biodiversity responses to climate change, landscape economics, adaptive management and etc.

 The topics are:

 ·         Resilience and adaptive capacity of socio-ecological landscape systems

·         Accommodating biodiversity responses and engineering restoration in adapting to climate

change

·         Landscape economics: valuing ecosystem services at the landscape scale

·         Adaptive landscape management: Rethinking monitoring approaches, indicators, and the role of

models

·         Landscape ecology and its application in understanding cultural landscapes and the maintenance

of indigenous knowledge

·         Landscapes and humans: linking landscape pattern perception and human well-being (includes

urban areas)

·         Sustainable energy and sustainable landscapes

·         Landscape genetics (application of network theory, conservation and connectivity)

·         Multi-functional landscapes

·         Landscape ecology of ecosystem disturbances

·         Landscape ecology and coastal and marine sustainability

We expect to provide a rich academic and social experience that participants in IALE World Congresses have always enjoyed.

More information: http://www.iale2011.org/

4.30 4th SER International World Conference, 20th Annual Meeting of the Society, 2nd Meeting of the Ibero-American and Caribbean Ecological Restoration Network

21-25 August 2011

Mérida, Mexico

The Society for Ecological Restoration International (SER) and its partners from Latin America invite you to Merida, Mexico – in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula – August 21-25, 2011 for SER’s 4th World Conference on Ecological Restoration. The theme of SER2011 is “Re-establishing the Link between Nature and Culture”. SER2011 will bring together restoration professionals, researchers, and students from diverse backgrounds including the earth sciences, landscape architecture, ecological engineering, natural resource and land management, public policy and economics, and indigenous peoples and community organizers. It will provide a critical platform to assist us in defining the principles of restoration, understanding its methods and goals, and closing the gap between the science of restoration ecology and the practice of ecological restoration.

More information: http://www.ser2011.org/

4.31 16th EGF Symposium 2011: Grassland farming and land management systems in mountainous regions

28–31 August 2011

Raumberg-Gumpenstein, Austria

The EGF Symposium 2011 is arranged and hosted by the Agricultural Research and Education Centre Raumberg-Gumpenstein (AREC) in Austria.

Scientific programme:

· Meeting the challenge of grassland management in disadvantaged areas

· Organic, low-input and alternative grassland farming systems

· Grassland as a source of biodiversity and public goods

· The programme will offer plenary and poster sessions

More information: http://www.egf2011.at/

4.32 41th Annual Meeting of the Gesellschaft für Ökologie (GfÖ): Ecological Functions, Patterns, Processes

5-9 September 2011

Oldenburg, Germany

True to this motto we hope to stimulate scientific discussions circling around the functional responses of species and communities towards environmental changes and effects on ecosystem processes, as well as temporal and spatial components of ecosystem organization that support biodiversity. The meeting aims at representing the full scope of ecological research at the different levels of organization (from genes to landscapes) without neglecting its societal importance. Therefore, a vital discussion on the role of applied ecological research for environmental planning should form a distinct part of the meeting.

More information: http://www.gfoe-2011.de/?cat=000&LANG=en

4.33 ALE-D Annual Meeting 2011

12-14 October 2011

Berlin, Germany

The Conference will notably treat questions of modern landscape ecology methods.

More information: http://www.iale.de/home/veranstaltungen/ankuendigungen.html

4.34 2nd World Biodiversity Congress (WBC -2)

8-12 September 2011

Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

After the United Nation Conference on Environment and Development was held in Rio in 1991, many countries have formulated or are implementing a series of action plans associated with their own environmental protection, biodiversity conservation and priority development. Judicious planning and meticulous implementation of different innovative programmes of United Nations, Governments, and Research institutions, Private Organizations, Universities and NGOs have paved the way for the conservation of biological diversity on our earth.

The Second World Congress on Biodiversity will provide a forum for reorienting policies and programmes for any country in more productive and sustainable biodiversity Utilization and conservation.The four day congress organized by Century Foundation, Bangalore, India at Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia will help to develop an agenda to ensure conservation of bio-resources and ecosystem protection for sustainable development. It will bring together the international scientific community involved in the study of biological diversity and a unique opportunity to deepen our understanding of nature and natural resources and experience the wonderful Borneo Island.

More information: http://www.worldbiodiversity2011.com/

4.35 Annual Meeting of the British Ecological Society (BES)

12-14 September 2011

University of Sheffield, UK

The BES is exceptionally pleased to announce that the 2011 Annual Meeting will be held at Sheffield University - a university renowned for its scientific excellence.

Following on from the first class plenary speakers at the 2010 Annual Meeting, we have already confirmed the speakers for the prestigious BES and Tansley Lectures.

More information:

http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/meetings/current_future_meetings/2011_annual_meeting/index.php

4.36 12th EEF Congress

25-29 September 2011

Avila, Spain

The European Ecological Federation (EEF, www.europeanecology.org) cordially invites you to attend the 12th EEF Congress, that will take place in Ávila, Spain. It is hosted and organized by the Spanish Terrestrial Ecology Society (AEET, www.aeet.org) in collaboration with the Portuguese Ecological Society (SPECO, http://speco.fc.ul.pt).

The motto of the Congress is “Responding to Rapid Environmental Change,” which highlights the work of the scientific ecological community to unravel the global change crisis and lead its mitigation.

More information: http://www.eefcongress2011.eu/

4.37 XIVth IWRA World Water Congress

25-29 September 2011

Porto de Galinhas / Recife, PE, Brazil

IWRA, the Congress International Scientific Committee (ISC), and the Secretariat of Water and Energy Resources of the State of Pernambuco, Brazil (SRHE), are pleased to invite interested participants to the XIVth Congress in Porto de Galinhas, near the city of Recife, during the period September 25-29, 2011. Core support for the Congress is provided by IDRC, Canada’s International Development Research Centre, which supports research in developing countries to promote growth and development. The result is innovative, lasting local solutions that aim to bring choice and change to those who need it most.

The XIV Congress will address Adaptive Water Management: Looking to the Future. The ISC, composed of members from regional and international bodies, universities and research organizations, has planned four central themes:

1) adaptive water management

2) water resources and global change

3) governance and water law

4) knowledge systems.

Plenary sessions and keynote speakers will set the broader context to frame individual, more detailed sessions.

More information: http://www.worldwatercongress.com/en/#

4.38 World Conference on Marine Biodiversity

26-30 September 2011

Aberdeen, Scotland, UK

The World Conference on Marine Biodiversity has the overall aim of bringing together scientists, practitioners and the public to discuss and advance our understanding of the issues surrounding the importance of biodiversity in the marine environment. The conference will address issues of marine biodiversity across a deliberately wide range of relevant spheres and interacting topics.

More specifically the conference aims to:

· Review our knowledge of marine biodiversity and its role in marine ecosystem functioning

· Assess the most critical threats to marine systems and consider management strategies

· Discuss sustainable development and socio-economic impacts on the marine sector

· Identify future research priorities

The conference will be aimed at the widest possible groups of participants stakeholders from academics to industry and include elements specifically targeted at the public and school children. 

The conference structure and format is designed to maximise interaction between participants mixing oral presentations, poster, workshops and exhibition. The conference will have an interdisciplinary focus and is organised into generic themes rather than by species or habitats to maximise interdisciplinary linkages.

Conference Themes

· Taxonomy

· Biodiversity

· Changes in Biodiversity with Time

· Marine Technology: Platforms and Sensors for the 21st Century

· Blue Biotechnology

· Ecosystem Services

· Climate Change

· Marine Extremes

· Bioinformatics and Data Delivery

· Advances in Statistics in Relation to Marine Biodiversity Science

· Marine Policy and Law

· Marine Biodiversity and Human Health

· Integrative Frameworks of Linking Physical Dynamics and Biodiversity

· Biodiversity - Ecosystem Function

· Linking Biodiversity - Ecosystem Function and Services

· Biodiversity, Education and Outreach

· Environmental Physiology

· Human Impacts of Biodiversity 

More information: http://www.marine-biodiversity.org/

4.39 Tropentag 2011

5-7 October 2011

Bonn, Germany

More information: http://www.tropentag.de/

4.40 IGU Regional Conference 2011

14-18 November 2011

Santiago, Chile

Chile is proud to host this Regional Geographic Conference, so it will be a great pleasure for us to receive you here in our country.

The venue for the Regional Cartographic Conference is the "Liberator Bernardo O`Higgins" Military School.

More information: http://www.ugi2011.cl/index.html

4.41 2nd World Conference on Biological Invasions and Ecosystem Functioning

21-24 November 2011

Mar del Plata, Argentina

BIOLIEF 2011 will be a forum for the presentation, discussion, and synthesis of research on biological invasions in its  broadest sense. The conference will place a particular emphasis on studies concerning the impact of invasive species on  ecosystem functioning and/or services, irrespective of taxonomic groups or ecosystem types. However, studies on any other  ecological aspect of biological invasions will also be welcome. Topics such as the spread of invasive species into  ecosystems, the biogeography and history of species introductions, and the community- or species-level impact of biological  invasions will also have an important coverage in the final conference program.

More information: http://www.grieta.org.ar/biolief/

4.42 25th International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB)

28 November – 2 December 2011

Whare Wananga o Waitaha, Christchurch, New Zealand

The Society for Conservation Biology International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB) is recognized as the most important international meeting for conservation professionals and students. ICCBs are a forum for addressing conservation challenges. They are the global venue for presenting and discussing new research and developments in conservation science and practice. Most importantly, they connect our global community of conservation professionals and serve as the major networking outlet for anyone interested in conservation. Attendance has increased 60% in the past six years, reaching 1600 at our 2007 meeting in South Africa.

More information: http://www.conbio.org/Activities/Meetings/2011/about/about.cfm

5Reports on Past Meetings and Events

5.1 6th Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity: Getting the biodiversity targets right - working for sustainable development

1-5 February 2010

Trondheim, Norway

The sixth Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity was held February 1-5, 2010, and has considered status and lessons learned from the 2010 target and will provide CBD with a sound basis for developing post 2010 biodiversity targets. New targets will be discussed under the CBD in May 2010 and will be set under CBD and the United Nations in the second half of 2010.The conference was hosted by the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD). The organizer of the conference was the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management.

Program and Chairmen’s Report

The program contained many relevant and interesting speakers, reflecting key issues and challenges for the development of post 2010 biodiversity targets. A short version of the Chairmen’s Report with the main messages and supporting text is available below, as well as the text of the final Chairmen’s Report.

The short version of the Chairmen’s report – with the main conclusions and recommendations – has been made available as information documents on the CBD Secretariat’s home pages for the SBSTTA14 and WGRI3 meetings in Nairobi in May 2010. Norway also hosted a side event at SBSTTA 14 on Thursday May 13 and presented the main conclusions and recommendations from Trondheim.The Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA14) on 21 May agreed on specific proposals on outcome-oriented goals and targets, and their recommendations to WGRI3 may be found here.

The Working Group on Review of Implementation (WGRI) met May 24 – 28 in Nairobi to review implementation of the Convention and the present Strategic Plan and to make recommendations on updating and revising the Strategic Plan for 2011 – 2020 and on new goals and targets. The final report from WGRI discussions and WGRI recommendations can be found here. CBD’s Strategic Plan for 2011 – 2020 and new targets will be discussed and approved at the tenth Conference of the Parties (COP10) in Nagoya, Japan, 18 – 29 October 2010.

ParticipationA little over 300 representatives from 100 countries attended the conference, including participation from governments, UN agencies and relevant institutions and organizations.

More information: http://www.trondheimconference.org/

5.2 SAFARI Symposium: Remote Sensing and Fisheries

15-17 February 2010

Kochi, India

The SAFARI Initiative (Societal Applications in Fisheries and Aquaculture using Remotely-sensed Imagery) held an International Symposium on Remote Sensing and Fisheries from 15-17 February 2010 at the Abad Plaza in Kochi, India. This symposium highlighted case studies using Earth Observation data, with contributions from key fisheries systems around the world. Topics included:

· Operational Use of Remote Sensing for Fish Harvesting

· Earth Observation Ecosystem Indicators to assess Fish Health, Growth and Recruitment

· Use of Remote Sensing in Aquaculture

· Implications of Climate Change on Fisheries

· Food Security and Sustainability

· Remote Sensing in the detection and monitoring of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) as pertaining to fisheries and aquaculture

· Earth Observation Satellite Data in Fisheries Models

· Remote Sensing Applications in the Management of Coastal Zones and Fisheries

More information: http://www.geosafari.org/kochi/

5.3 9th Workshop on Vegetation Databases

24-26 February 2010

Hamburg, Germany

With nearly 150 participants from more than 30 nationalities, the 9th international Meeting on Vegetation Databases in Hamburg, from 24 February – 1 March was a full success.

A total of three keynote lectures, 25 talks, and approx. 60 posters were presented (see list of contributions). The contributions covered a wide variety of topics centred on the usage of vegetation and other floristic databases for the analysis of effects of climate change and global change (landuse change, eutrophication, biotic invasions) on flora and vegetation. Moreover, various large vegetation databases from all continents, software tools, and analytical approaches were presented.

For the first time, the best contributions by authors below 34 years in age were awarded with Young Investigators Prizes in the categories oral contributions and posters.

Further, there have been four software workshops before or after the regular conference programme, all of them extremely well attended:

- Workshop 1: How to deal with spatial autocorrelation? (Ingolf Kühn)

- Workshop 2: BIOTA Base (Software): exploring an alternative solution for the storage of large vegetation datasets (Manfred Finckh)

- Workshop 3: R Workshop I: multivariate vegetation analyses and ordination methods (Florian Jansen)

- Workshop 4: R Workshop II: handling spatial data (Jens Oldeland)

 A fifth workshop from 27 February to 1 March dealt with the foundation of a supranational (dry) grassland vegetation database for SE Europe. During this workshop, a new regional subgroup of the European Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) for Southeast Europe (SEEDGG) was founded, which is chaired by Iva Apostolova, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Geographically, this subgroup covers Poland (southern part), Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia (southern part of European sector), Kazakhstan (European sector), Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. Its aims are:

establishing a comprehensive database of steppe vegetation and related grasslands in SE Europe

using the database for analyses of diversity patterns, large-scale consistent classifications and for conservation planning joint field work to collect high-quality data on grassland diversity in little known regions of SE Europe connect the researchers from the different countries in this region of Europe Membership is free and all interested colleagues can join by sending an e-mail to Jürgen Dengler.

 Presently, three major publications from the conference are in preparation:

Special Feature “Ecoinformatics and global change” in Applied Vegetation Science, guest-edited by J. Dengler, J. Ewald, I. Kühn, and R. K. Peet (registration closed)

Special Volume “Vegetation databases for the 21st century” of Biodiversity & Ecology, guest-edited by M. Finckh, J. Dengler, J. Ewald, F. Jansen, and J. Oldeland (submission until 30 June 2010)

World Index of Plot-Based Vegetation Databases. This is a comprehensive metadatabase of available digitized relevé data, for which already 54 databases with approx. 1.5 million relevés have registered. It will be published both open access online (continuously updated) and in a once-off attractive print volume (submission until 30 June 2010). The citation of the print volume allows to give appropriate credit to the originators of large databases when their data are used for analyses. If YOU (including non-participants!) wish to have your database included in the World Index, please register it at http://www.botanik.uni-greifswald.de/373.html. It takes only one minute, and you then will be informed when the upload of metadata starts.

More information: http://www.botanik.uni-greifswald.de/report.html?&L=1

5.4 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (COP 15 CITES)

13-25 March 2010

Doha, Qatar

His Excellency the Minister of Environment, Abdulla bin Mubarak bin Aboud Al-Madadi, welcomed all participants, and expressed his pride that this meeting of the Conference of the Parties in Qatar was the first to be held in the Middle East. He noted that CITES was one of the most successful conservation conventions, especially through its aims of balancing environmental and development issues. Agenda, proposals, decisions and other documents are available online.

More information: http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/index.shtml

5.5 2010 US-IALE Twenty-fifth Anniversary Symposium: Is What Humans Do Natural?

5-9 April 2010

Athens, Georgia

Abstract program and presentation schedule are available online.

More information: http://www.usiale.org/athens2010/index.php?id=index

5.6 106th Annual Association of American Geographers Meeting

14-18 April 2010Washington, DC

The Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers features presentations from many leading scholars and experts on the latest in research, policy, and applications in geography, sustainability, and GIScience was held in Washington DC.

More information: http://www.aag.org/cs/events/event_detail?eventId=6

5.7 The 53rd International Symposium of the Association for Vegetation Science "Changing Gradients in Vegetation and the Environment"

18-23 April 2010

Ensenada, Mexico

The main theme of the symposium was changing Gradients in Vegetation and the Environment”. Major topics:

• Vegetation biodiversity along environmental gradients

• Arid zone vegetation in general

• Sky island ecosystems

• Marine influences on coastal deserts

• Mediterranean-climate ecosystems throughout the world

• Human impacts and restoration1• Disturbance pulses in marginal environments: magnified effects

• Climatic change and its projections in plant communities

Participation: 180 persons representing 33 countries.

Presentations: 105 papers and 45 posters.

Note: a significant number of Europeans had to cancel participation at the last moment owing to disruption of air travel caused by the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Participation & presentation data reflect 126 known participants plus 54 others listed in the program, some of whom did not manage to attend.

More information: http://www.iavs2010.org/

5.8 Conference on the Occasion of the 200th Anniversary of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin: Continents under Climate Change

21-23 April 2010

Berlin, Germany

The aim of the congress was to strengthen the awareness of the impacts on different natural environments and socio-economic systems. In the best tradition of the Humboldt brothers the scientific results of climate impact research have to be transferred to society. The congress was destinated to scientists, decision makers, students and the interested public. At the beginning of the post-Kyoto-process the congress should be a reminder of the overall importance of climate change.

More information: http://www.hu-berlin.de/climatechange2010/

5.9 The NatureServe Conservation Conference 2010 “Biodiversity without Boundaries” and The Southeast Natural Heritage Conference - "Come Network with the Network!”

26-30 April 2010

Austin, Texas, United States of America

The United Nations declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity in order to “showcase the contribution of research to the understanding of biodiversity and to policies and management practices that help to stop its loss.” Biodiversity Without Boundaries 2010 brought together conservation leaders, thinkers, and practitioners from across political and organizational boundaries for a stimulating conference that showcased the same. Agenda and presentations are available online.

More information:

http://www.natureserve.org/visitLocal/conference/pastConferences.jsp

5.10 19th Workshop of the European Vegetation Survey "Flora, vegetation, environment and landuse at large scale"

29 April-2 May 2010

Pécs, Hungary

The Book of Abstracts and the program are available online.

More information: http://www.obki.hu/evs/

5.11 The European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2010

2-7 May 2010

Vienna, Austria

EGU General Assembly 2010 was a great success with 4,431 oral and 9,370 poster presentations in 594 sessions. At the conference 10,463 scientists from 94 countries participated, of which  27% were students, 15,000 copies of EGU Today distributed, keen media presence and reporting, and over 8,000 visits to the webstreams and 6,000 to the EGU 2010 blog. We thank all of you very much for your attendance and your active contribution to this great event.

More information: http://meetings.copernicus.org/egu2010/

5.12 23rd Annual Conference of the working group Plant Population Biology of the Ecological Society of Germany, Switzerland and Austria (GfÖ) “Plant Population Biology: Crossing Borders”

13-15 May 2010

Nijmegen, The Netherlands

This year (2010)  the PopBio meeting took place in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and was jointly organized by ecologists of the Radboud University Nijmegen (RUN) and the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO). The meeting was also the 23rd annual meeting of the GfÖ (the Ecological Society of Germany, Switzerland and Austria) section 'Plant Population Biology'. Please have a look at the abstract book for abstracts of all talks and posters (which were all present at the conference!).

Our keynote speakers addressed how transdisciplinary studies (hence the 'Crossing Borders' theme) are the way forward in plant population biology and we encouraged all contributors to show how progress in their studies depends on adopting and integrating approaches from other disciplines. The keynote speakers were:

Jessica Metcalf (Princeton U)

Marc Johnson (NC State U)

Alistair Jump (U Stirling)

Martijn Bezemer (NIOO)

Nicole van Dam (RUN)

More information: http://www.ru.nl/popbio2010/

5.13 Ecological Conference : Climate Change and Natural Resource Use in Eastern Africa : Impacts, adaptations and mitigation

19-21 May 2010

Kenyatta University Conference Center, Nairobi, Kenya

More information:

http://www.ecsea.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=135:annual-conference-2010&catid=18:annual-conference&Itemid=20

5.14 The 7th European Dry Grassland Meeting

28-31 May 2010

Smolenice Congress Centre, Slovak Republic

Conference proceedings are available online.

More information: http://www.edgg.org/edgg_meeting.html

5.15 TOP Biodiversity 2010 - Threats, Opportunities and Paces for Biodiversity

3-4 June 2010

Larnaca, Cyprus

The 1st International Bi-communal Conference on Biodiversity was held in Cyprus.

More information: http://research.intercollege-larnaca.com/index.php/conferences/top-biodiversity-2010

5.16 5th International Symposium-Workshop on Frugivores and Seed Dispersal (1985-2010) “Mechanisms and Consequences of a Key Interaction for Biodiversity”

13-18 June 2010Montpellier, France

View slides and listen to both plenary and oral presentations, and read posters presented at the FSD2010 symposium online.

More information: http://www.fsd2010.org

5.17 IGU Regional Conference 2010 “Bridging Diversity in a Globalizing World”, hosted by the Israeli National Commission for Geography

12-16 July, 2010

Tel Aviv, Israel

The IGU Regional Conference 2010 was held in Tel Aviv, Israel.

More information: http://www.igu2010.com/

5.18 The 2010 International meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) “Tropical biodiversity: surviving the food, energy and climate crisis””

19-23 July 2010 Bali, Indonesia

More information: http://atbc2010.org

5.19 International GMBA-DIVERSITAS conference “Functional significance of mountain biodiversity”

27-30 July 2010

Chandolin (Valais), Switzerland

The Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment of DIVERSITAS was celebrating its 10th year of activity in 2010 with an international conference in the Swiss Alps, on the overarching theme of functional significance of mountain biodiversity. We met in the centre of the Swiss Alps at the peak of the flowering season at a very scenic historic village. Download conference documentation online.

Keynote talks:

· Christian Körner, Basel, Switzerland: „Mountain Biodiversity, its causes and function in a changing environment“

· Richard Bardgett, Lancaster, UK: „Linking plant diversity, soil microbial communities and nutrient cycles“

· Sandra Lavorel, Grenoble, France „Using plant functional traits to understand the landscape distribution of multiple ecosystem services from subalpine grasslands“

· Markus Fischer, Bern, Switzerland „On the functional significance of mountain biodiversity“

· Mary T. K. Arroyo and Rosa A. Scherson, Santiago, Chile „Using molecular phylogenetic construction to deconstruct the high elevation flora of the South American Andes“

· Wilfried Thuiller, Grenoble, France: „Preserving the Tree of Life - Anticipating the functional and evolutionary consequences of climate change on Alpine biodiversity“

· Falk Huettmann, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA „Data Mining of GBIF data with the GMBA Mountain Portal Tool: examples from the third pole“

· Maarten Kappelle, San Jose, Costa Rica „Tropical Montane Cloud Forest biodiversity: General trends and large-scale, latitudinal and altitudinal patterns across the globe“

· Mark Williams, Boulder, Colorado, USA „NWT LTER as a prototype for understanding the controls on alpine biodiversity: the challenge of converting long term monitoring into science“

More information: http://www.gmba.unibas.ch/2010conference/2010conference.htm

5.20 95th ESA Annual Meeting

1-6 August, 2010Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

More information: http://www.esa.org/pittsburgh/

5.21 7th SER European Conference on Ecological Restoration "Ecological Restoration and Sustainable Development: Establishing Links Across Frontiers"

23-27 August, 2010

Avignon, France

450 participants of the 7th SER Europe conference in Avignon, France, representing scientists, practitioners, nature conservation organizations, businesses and administration officers from 37 countries, after having discussed current problems and challenges of ecological restoration and sustainable development, especially in Europe, came to the following, commonly shared conclusions:

1. Knowledge in ecosystem restoration has grown tremendously over the last decade, through the close relationship between restoration ecology, the discipline, and ecological restoration, the practice. Despite a need to further increase this knowledge in the future it is already now fully operational and capable of finding sustainable solutions for the aforementioned problems;

2. Examples include a. restoring Mediterranean forests for erosion control to reduce huge economic losses in the region; b. restore degraded peatlands for the ecosystem services of vital importance that they provide for society. These include climate change mitigation through CO2 storage, water retention capacity, and nutrient buffering; c. restore and reconnect degraded floodplains to rivers to act as flood prevention in the case of excessive precipitation; d. restore soil and soil systems, as they are the basis of all terrestrial ecosystems and agro-ecosystems, and must be protected in policy;

e. restore the balance of biodiversity in marine and terrestrial ecosystems in favour of native species by adoption of an appropriate invasive species policy.

3. Acknowledge that certain ecosystems are unique, cannot be replaced and need to be protected. Consequently such areas should not be included in mitigation schemes.

4. Address the delays in implementation of Natura 2000 network as a matter of priority.

5. Support for the establishment of the Intergovermental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

6. Restore our “Green Infrastructure” in all aspects of our activities, by enhancing our natural capital, re-instating ecosystem service flows, and enabling biodiversity to flourish; and importantly and essentially integrate green infrastructure into the EU Common Agricultural Policy to strengthen vital ecosystem services such as erosion prevention, pest control and pollination, and into policies pertaining to other sectors. This needs to be properly resourced.

7. We welcome the new EU 2020 and 2050 biodiversity targets as adopted by the European Council in March 2010, which extends beyond conservation and maintenance of biodiversity to restoration of degraded ecosystems and ecosystem services; we strongly support this, and have the tools to implement an effective, efficient and engaging programme. These targets need to be taken into the global arena.

More information: http://www.seravignon2010.org

5.22 23rd EGF General Meeting on Grassland in a Changing World

29 August-2 September 2010

Kiel, Germany

The organisers of the 23rd EGF General Meeting and the German Grassland Society (AGGF) welcomed 400 participants at Kiel from 29 August to 2 September 2010. They made the EGF 2010 conference to all attendants a memorable event.

The mellow atmosphere of late summer provided a perfect environment for a successful arrangement and some of the most beautiful sites of Germany impressively presented themselves showing their diverse landscapes as well as variable forage crops.

Forage crops, covering more than 40 % of the agricultural land in Germany, play an important role in maintaining landscape biodiversity, besides being the backbone in feeding many domestic animals, e.g. cattle, sheep and horses. Only recently have they started to become a source for biogas production. Due to the increasing competition with alternative forage crops as e.g. maize produced for milk production, the share of permanent grassland is, however, decreasing in Germany. Thus, ecosystem services of permanent grassland beyond production functions play a dominant role in current discussions on the future of grassland and grass-arable rotations are discussed intensively in order to develop sustainable forage production systems for milk production.

More information: http://www.europeangrassland.org/de.html

5.23 The GfÖ 40th Anniversary Meeting 2010

30 August-3 September 2010

Giessen, Germany

More than 500 scientists from 34 nations discussed the future of the biological diversity on the 40th Anniversary Meeting of the GfOe. The adopted resolution is now available here (in German).

The main theme of the conference was: The Future of Biodiversity - Genes, Species, Ecosystems;

addressing the thematic areas

· Learning from the past

· Understanding today's world

· Exploring the future

· Applied biodiversity

· Open topics

More information: http://www.gfoe-giessen-2010.de/

5.24 BES Annual Meeting 2010. British Ecological Society

7-9 September 2010

Leeds, UK

Programme and talks are available online.

More information:

http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/meetings/current_future_meetings/2010_annual_meeting/

5.25 Tropentag 2010 “World Food System - A Contribution from Europe”

14-16 September 2010

Zurich, Switzerland

The Tropentag 2010 was organised by the North-South Centre at the ETH Zurich. The Tropentag is an annual international conference on tropical and subtropical agricultural research and natural resource management.

Abstracts and keynote addresses are available online.

More information: http://www.tropentag.de/

5.26 6th NEOBIOTA Conference “Biological Invasions in a Changing World - from Science to Management”

14-17 September 2010

Copenhagen, Denmark

The conference was supported by a number of outstanding experts dealing with different aspects of invasions in a changing environment, and welcomed an international audience with interest in this field. Specialist sessions allow for in-depth discussions on contrasting methodological approaches to biological invasions, including macroecological analyses, population models and molecular methods. There was also room for applied topics including impact, risk assessment, socio-economic aspects and control of invasive species in a changing world.

More information: http://cis.danbif.dk/neobiota2010

5.27 IUFRO Landscape Ecology Working Group International Conference: Forest, Landscapes and Global Change. New Frontiers in Management, Conservation and Restoration.

21-27 September 2010 Bragança, Portugal

A Book of Abstracts and a Book of Proceedings are available online.

More information: http://www.ipb.pt/iufro2010

5.28 1st International Conference of the IGU Commission C08.29: Mountain Response to Global Change

26-30 September 2010

Perth, Scotland

More information:

http://www.perth.ac.uk/specialistcentres/cms/Conferences/Perth2010/Pages/default.aspx

5.29 5th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties Serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP-MOP 5) and 10th Conference of the Parties (COP-10)

11 - 29 October 2010

Nagoya, Japan

CHAIR’S SUMMARY STATEMENT OF THE HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT

At the high-level segment of the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-10), convened over the past two-and-a-half days, Heads of State and Government, ministers and representatives of international organizations, as well as multi-stakeholder groups, including non-governmental organizations, business, indigenous people and women, have held active discussions in pursuit of the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Discussions encompassed a wide range of issues, and we have shared our common understandings on the key agenda items for strengthening future actions.

With respect to the overall policy direction on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, participants reiterated that it is vital to integrate such policies in reducing poverty, achieving sustainable development and promoting a green economy.

Regarding the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, particularly the Aichi Targets, it was underlined that they must be both ambitious and realistic, and include concrete, measurable indicators.

In reference to biodiversity and climate change, it was emphasized that it is vital to promote sustainable forest and ecosystem management, thereby enhancing carbon sinks, conserving biodiversity, and improving the livelihoods of indigenous and local communities.

Regarding the sustainable use of biological resources, it was pointed out that it is important to improve livelihoods through the sustainable use of biological resources. The importance of promoting information-sharing on good practices was also stressed. Many delegates expressed their support for initiatives at the international level, such as the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative.

For the effective implementation of the Convention, participants underlined the need to promote the proactive participation of multi-stakeholders, such as indigenous people, local communities, local governments, businesses and parliamentarians. The importance