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INTERNATIONALIZATION OF SCB: SECTION UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
The process of creating of seven international sections of SCB is well underway. These sections will facilitate increased participation in SCB and conservation issues by members throughout the world, and thus will strengthen the discipline of conservation biology around the globe. For more information on this process, see http://www.conservationbiology.org/SCB/Activities/Sections/ or recent issues of the SCB newsletter. Please note that membership in SCB is a prerequisite for membership in a regional section. Instructions for joining SCB, including an online membership form, are available at conservationbiology.org. Reduced membership dues are offered to residents of the World Bank's list of low and middle income countries.
A Section for Asia The process of creating an SCB Section in Asia has been initiated. Conservation biologists who live and work in Asia are invited to participate in a discussion about forming an Asia Section at the 2002 annual meeting. Details about this discussion will be posted as they develop at www.conservationbiology.org/SCB/Activities/Sections. Anyone with a particular interest in helping to lead this effort should write to Asia@conservationbiology.org.
The Challenge of Bringing SCB to AfricaThe membership drive has gone well and we have crossed the 100 member threshold to start a section. Now we are now preparing to conduct elections. Those who work in Africa know that the already tough economic situation is only worsening; belts are tightening everywhere. The SCB membership fee, though significantly subsidized, remains out of reach for many that we would like to welcome to the Africa Section. Moreover, converting local currency to US dollars is not easy. However, the benefits of being part of a coordinated network of people working in Africa are not trivial. If we are serious about increasing the African membership to improve information exchange, collaborations, networking, and conservation practices, we must try to find ways to make membership affordable to Africans for the long term. The good news is that a number of people responded to my earlier appeal to sponsor new members. Sponsors include the Born Free Foundation, Aram Calhoun, Mac Hunter, Alicia Linzey, Sanjayan Muttulingam, Helene Straet-Laurey, Hilko Wiersema, and myself. We welcome the 18 new members from Africa. They come from diverse regions including Madagascar and include conservation policy makers, educators, and practitioners. However, we still have a long list of individuals who could contribute meaningfully to the Section, and benefit from it, but need assistance to cover the membership fee. Once again, we invite you to consider investing in Africa by sponsoring one or more Africans for 2002. Membership plus a print and online subscription to Conservation Biology is US$47 (US$32.50 for students). Membership plus a subscription to Conservation Biology In Practice is US$30. Please contact us through africa@conservationbiology.org if you can make a contribution to this effort. One of the main goals of the Africa Section is to make SCB accessible in Francophone Africa. Email allows us to talk to anyone almost anywhere and we have made many new and important connections through it. We continue to work on establishing a parallel system to NeoCons to provide Conservation Biology abstracts in French, and to provide past issues of the journal on CD-rom. We are currently seeking funding for this initiative. We will launch the Africa Section at the 2002 annual meeting with the symposium Living with wildlife in Africa. Subcommittee chair Chris Chimimba has organized a series of talks about present-day conservation challenges and opportunities in Africa. We are striving to ensure that leading African conservationists can attend this important meeting and to this end we thank the Born Free Foundation for sponsoring accommodation and per diem costs for six African participants. During 2002 we will continue with our membership drive. In January and February we will be accepting nominations for officer positions and regional representatives. Elections will be conducted by email at the end of March. In June elected officials of the Africa Section will meet for the first Section Committee meeting. The goals and objectives of the Africa Section will be discussed and confirmed. We also will launch the Section with the symposium mentioned above. Paula Kahumbu, Acting Chair
Relevant PublicationThe new American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) publication Partnerships for strengthening conservation biology in Africa reports on an international workshop held in September 2001. The workshop was co-organized with SCB and the International Livestock Research Institute. The report summarizes the workshop's discussions, highlighting the fact that collectively, the capacity for conservation science and its application is great across Africa. The challenge is to further develop this existing but fragmented capacity, creating linkages among institutions at subregional and regional levels, and building on the linkages to promote better science in the management and preservation of Africa's biological diversity. Priority steps are identified in the areas of setting research agendas, communication and application of research, graduate education, women in conservation biology, and conservation science in primary and secondary schools. First steps now underway towards creating an Africa section of SCB are also described. The report includes summaries in French and Portuguese. After mid-February 2002, the report will be available free of charge at http://www.aaas.org/international/ssa or from Africa Program, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20005, (202) 326-6651, FAX (202) 289-4958, africa@aaas.org.
Marine Section Update The number of members of the newly formed Marine Section of SCB now exceeds 100. The Section has formed a governing board and soon will select a representative to serve on SCB's Board of Governors.
Governing BoardStructure. As this newsletter goes to press, the Section has elected a five-person governing board: Leah Gerber, Elise Granek, Carolyn Lundquist, Elliott Norse, and John Ogden. Four members of the governing board will serve as officers. (President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer). At least three countries and two oceans are represented on the governing board. One member of the governing board will serve as a representative on SCB's Board of Governors (BOG). Elections. The Section's elections are unstructured, meaning that the person who receives the greatest number of votes has the option of serving as President. The four people receiving the next greatest number of votes form the rest of the governing board. The governing board then elects the remaining officers (Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer) and appoints one person to be the representative on the BOG. The qualifications for running to represent the Marine Section on the BOG are active membership in SCB and ability to attend the annual meeting and mid-year SCB BOG meeting. Marine board members are responsible for their own expenses to attend meetings. BOG members living outside the U.S., however, are eligible for hardship funds to help defray expenses.
Goals of the Marine SectionThe Marine Section has two major functions: linking SCB members with marine interest and alerting the SCB Policy Committee to important marine conservation issues. The Section may need volunteers to help facilitate dissemination of information and organize future symposia. The Marine Section is new and its success depends on its members. Section members may establish standing committees to address Section needs and ensure marine interests are well represented in SCB. Several people have declared their interest in helping with the Section; their names are included below along with the names of the interim steering committee members. We hope that other interested members will join this group in organizing the infrastructure for the Section and facilitating Section business. Interim Steering Committee. Dee Boersma (acting Chair), Liz Lauck, Bruce Leighty, John Ogden, Amy Bohorquez, Anne Salomon, Beth Flint, Beth Walls, Burr Heneman, David Hyrenbach, Elaine Soulanille, Elise Granek, Gatley Ross, Jennifer Ruesink, Jeremy Bisson, Jerry Crow, Karl Flessa, Kathy Kuletz, Linda Lembeck, Marjorie Wonham, Mark Brown, Marlow Pellatt, Sallie Beavers, Sheila McKenna.
Marine List ServeIn order to communicate with each other quickly we have created a list serve: marinelist@conbio.org. To join, send a message to info-marinelist@conbio.org containing SUBSCRIBE as the first and only line in the message body. You will receive a message indicating success or failure. Any SCB member who would like to join the Marine Section should send an email to Marine@conservationbiology.org. P. Dee Boersma
Austral and Neotropical America SectionIn early December 2001, an Interim Committee to establish a SCB section for Austral and Neotropical America (ANA) was formed with participants from ten countries (see below). Before an ANA Section governing board can be elected, 100 SCB members in good standing must express their interest in affiliating with the section. This can be done upon joining SCB or renewing your membership, or by updating your information on the SCB website (www.conservationbiology.org). Annual SCB dues for members in developing countries are only US$25 (with online access to Conservation Biology). We invite all SCB members with interest in Austral and Neotropical America to support the creation of the ANA Section, and to help us strengthen the discipline of conservation biology in this part of the world. It is not necessary to be a biologist--professionals from all disciplines are required to address the complex problems of biodiversity conservation. After at least 100 SCB members have joined the Section, the Interim Committee will invite any of them to run for a seat on the ANA governing board. We expect to complete this process before the 2002 annual meeting. Interim Committee for creation of the ANA Section
Europe Section Update Thanks to a system of identifying country contacts as well as by direct messages to SCB members in Europe, we have now had over 100 members join the Europe Section. In March we will be seeking nominations in order to start the process of electing a governing board for the Europe Section.
Australasian Section UpdateThe Australasian Section (Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific Islands) aims to promote excellent conservation science and practice throughout the region, serve as a regional contact network between conservation biologists and diverse conservation agencies, encourage interdisciplinary approaches to conservation issues in Australasia, advocate the inclusion of science into biodiversity policy, decision-making, and management in Australasia, and contribute to the international activities of SCB. The Australasian Section steering committee has received commitments from 3/4 of the number of members required to establish a section and further recruitment is underway. We aim to obtain 100 voting members of the Section by April 2002. This will enable us to elect officers in time to be officially launched as a section at the 2002 annual meeting. The interim steering committee looks forward to your active participation in establishing a flourishing program of activities for the Australasia Section and your contribution to the international affairs of the SCB. If you are a SCB member living or working in the Australasian region and wish to become a member of this section please send an email to OzNZ@conservationbiology.org Meg Montgomery
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Please see the SCB website or contact the Executive Office for information on sections not listed above.
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