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INTERNATIONAL SECTION NEWSAFRICAAUSTRAL AND NEOTROPICAL AMERICA ASIA AUSTRALASIA EUROPE MARINE NORTH AMERICA
AFRICAThe Africa Section ratified its Bylaws, and has been defining and outlining the specific activities of our officers, as we are still at an early stage in our development as a section. We are preparing a database of conservation biologists who are African nationals, as well as a contact list to develop linkages with other institutions, including universities in Africa. These activities meet both our short term and long term goals of increasing membership, creating community, and contributing to capacity building. The Africa Section will meet during the 2003 annual meeting, and all interested SCB members are encouraged to attend. We are interested in hearing ideas for how the section can benefit conservation biology and conservation biologists in Africa. For more information on the section please contact Paula Kahumbu (Paula@kws.org) or Beth Kaplin (bkaplin@antiochne.edu). Beth Kaplin
AUSTRAL AND NEOTROPICAL AMERICA
Events at the 2003 Annual MeetingThe development of sections as mechanisms for successful international cooperation among SCB's members will surely increase the flow of technical and financial resources for strengthening conservation capacity in regions outside North America. Communication among sections requires not only the participation and incorporation of members in each geographic region, but also sharing of information and assistance among sections throughout the world. To facilitate such efforts, ANA has organized a symposium, to be held during the 2003 annual meeting, that will (1) inform SCB members about the future plans of the ANA Section, (2) encourage participation, comments, and suggestions, and (3) identify common interests and concerns with members of other sections. During the symposium, members of the ANA Board will present a summary of the proposed three-year strategic plan for the section, an analysis of the current status of conservation biology in the region (e.g., training opportunities and scientific output), and a synopsis of the Cuban National Conservation Strategy as a case study of a successful conservation initiative from the region. Finally, there will be an open discussion to solicit input from current and potential members of the section. One of the major concerns of ANA is to make informed decisions about what to do and how to carry out useful actions. As identified during the Board of Officers meeting in September 2002, training and scientific products are among the most important objectives and limitations of the discipline of conservation biology in Austral and Neotropical America. Several members accepted the challenge of gathering information about these issues, and their results will be presented during the symposium. Education in conservation biology in Latin America and the Caribbean, organized by Miguel Marini, will provide an overview of the current status of education in conservation biology in the region. A preliminary survey among 47 universities from 12 countries found that 72% of the universities offer at least one course in conservation biology, most using lectures on theory, field exercises, and readings of scientific papers. The typical course in the region covers (1) general aspects of conservation biology, (2) biodiversity, (3) fragmentation, island biogeography, and metapopulations, (4) concepts in ecology and evolution, (5) extinction, (6) threats and human impacts, (7) sustainable development and use of biodiversity, and (8) management and solutions. Cristian Olivo also will present an analysis of the scientific contributions of the section and its perspectives. The final results of these two surveys will help to define future education policies throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and to facilitate improved scientific cooperation. We invite all members from ANA and other sections to this symposium, to join the ANA section or participate in its activities, and to continue building the SCB of the future. Miguel A. Vázquez, Javier Simonneti, and Miguel Marini
Integrating Conservation Actions in MesoamericaDuring the past Congress of the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation, we participated in the workshop Integrating Conservation Actions in Mesoamerica. The main objective of the workshop was to identify potential areas and mechanisms of collaboration between organizations with regional agendas. Participants included the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation, the Central American Commission of Environment and Development, the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Wildlife Conservation Society, Conservation International, World Conservation Union, Birdlife International, and the Instituto El Zamorano. Each organization gave a presentation on its mission, working regions, and future vision. Institutional overlaps and gaps were synthesized to identify areas of collaboration and action needs. Two final presentations illustrated the importance of working together: a synthesis of regional conservation priorities and threatening infrastructure projects and a brief synthesis of the state of Central American protected areas. During the second day, participants were divided in two groups to discuss protected areas and corridors (defined as areas outside legal protection). Each group discussed potential collaboration in terms of priority regions and issues. The exercise allowed all the institutions to sit around the same table and assess their strengths and complementarities to fulfill their common agenda: biodiversity conservation. At the end of the workshop, the group of representatives of the participant organizations signed the Declaration of Heredia, an agreement expressing their willingness to strengthen regional cooperation and to generate a common agenda to fortify and consolidate conservation actions and sustainable development in Mesoamerica. The door is open for other organizations to join this collaborative initiative. The Declaration was extremely well received by the participants of the congress. It represents a great success for the conservation of Mesoamerica. Now, time to work together! For more information on the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation, including its next congress in Chiapas, or to read the Declaration of Heredia, visit www.socmesoamericana.org. Carlos Galindo-Leal, Matt Foster, Leo Sotomayor, and Rafael Calderon Manantlán Institute of Ecology of the University of Guadalajara Wins National Nature Conservation Award On 27 November 2002, the President of Mexico, Vicente Fox Quesada, presented the "Recognition for Nature Conservation" in the academic / research category to the University of Guadalajara's Manantlán Institute of Ecology and Conservation of Biodiversity (IMECBIO-South Coast Campus). This newly instituted national award was created by the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) of the Mexican federal government to recognize significant accomplishments in one of the world's most important countries for the preservation of biological diversity. IMECBIO has achieved international and national prominence for creating the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve, presently considered one of the priority conservation sites in North America. IMECBIO also has constructed innovative conservation / development initiatives by forging strategic alliances with local indigenous and ejido rural organizations, municipal governments, and the federal agency managing the biosphere reserve. SCB has a long history of interaction with IMECBIO. The latter organization hosted SCB's 1994 Annual Meeting in Guadalajara, Jalisco and co-hosted the workshop on Nature Conservation in Cuba, held at the 2001 meeting in Hilo, Hawaii. Eduardo Santana, one of IMECBIO's representatives for the award, has served on the Board of Governors of SCB and on various SCB committees during the past ten years.
ASIAThe Asia Section is the last of the designated SCB regional sections to come into existence and we are pleased to announce that we have arrived! Our first organizational meeting took place at the 2002 annual meeting in Canterbury and was well attended. Several fundamental decisions were made at that time and a Steering Committee was formed. Pralad Yonzon of Nepal graciously agreed to chair that committee. Geographically the Asia Section covers a vast and diverse area--some nine times zones wide, it stretches from the Mediterranean to the Pacific, and from Siberia to Sir Lanka. Hence, one of our first orders of business was to subdivide the section into regions. Four regions were proposed and adopted: East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia / Middle East. To adequately represent the diversity of cultures, climates, and conservation issues within the section, we decided that the Board of Directors would consist of 12 members, with at least one member from each region and no more than two from any one country. We also decided that a maximum of three board members could reside outside Asia. Recruitment into the section was rapid, and the required minimum membership of 100 was reached by November 2002 (membership now stands at 263). Elections were called in January 2003 and a slate of 20 candidates put forward. The results of the election were announced on 29 March. Hiroyoshi Higuchi of Japan received the highest number of votes and has agreed to serve as President of the Board. He also will be representing the East Asia region. The other 11 Board members, their country of residence, and the region they represent are
A Region of ConflictThe eyes of the world recently have been focused on Asia for less auspicious reasons. War in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the threat of war in Kashmir and elsewhere, has dominated world news. What frequently escapes the attention of the popular press is the heavy toll that such armed conflict takes on the environment. In September 2002, a UNEP post-conflict mission traveled to Afghanistan to assess the environmental impacts of past conflict there. The mission was comprised of 20 international and Afghan scientists and experts, including Project Coordinator Peter Zahler and wildlife expert Charudutt Mishra (both members of SCB's Asia Section). Teams of experts visited more than 70 sites in Afghanistan to assess such vital environmental issues as wildlife, protected areas, pollution "hotspots," water resources, deforestation, waste and sanitation, air quality, and desertification. The work also addressed issues such as environmental impact assessment, framework environmental laws, regional cooperation, and Afghanistan's participation in international environmental conventions. The UNEP environmental assessment report for Afghanistan (and photographs from the mission) can now be accessed at http://postconflict.unep.ch. Tom McCarthy
AUSTRALASIASCB-Australasia has been busy recruiting new members and membership of the section now stands at 308. The breakdown of membership is fairly evenly split between "regional" members (155) and "other" members (153). We are working on increasing awareness and membership of SCB-A in the region. In December 2002, we awarded two prizes of a two-year membership in SCB (with Conservation Biology) for the best student poster and paper at the Ecological Society of Australia / New Zealand Ecological Society meeting in Cairns. We will continue this theme by awarding another student prize at the New Guinea biological conference in Papua New Guinea in August 2003 and at other future meetings. We are also liaising with Harry Recher and SCB in the hope of formalising relations between the journal Pacific Conservation Biology and SCB. The conservation committee of SCB-A thanks the many SCB members who provided input regarding activities and services the committee should undertake. Several possibilities are under consideration and volunteers lined up to assist. Our first step will be to compile a directory of conservation biologists who are active in the region or willing to provide expertise and assistance to conservation practitioners and students in the region, particularly those from nations with limited resources. The directory will help conservationists in the Pacific region find biologists who can help them, perhaps by answering questions, forwarding reference materials and reprints, assisting with analyses and editing, and so forth. Inclusion in no way obligates anyone to extra work, but it makes you more accessible to people who might need expertise not available locally. Additionally we hope the directory will facilitate communication among conservation biologists with similar interests in our vast region. The directory will be made available in electronic or hard copy to remote locations and will be posted on the web as a PDF document. The committee will strive to keep the directory up-to-date. If you would like to be included, please send your name, full contact details, relevant web site(s), and a short paragraph (100 words or less) on your expertise and interests to SCB-A, Directory of Australasian Conservation Biologists, c/o Andrew Mack, Wildlife Conservation Society PNG Programme, P.O. Box 277, Goroka, EHP, Papua New Guinea, FAX +675-732-2461, amack@wcs.org (email preferred). Angie Penn and Andrew Mack
EUROPEThe first months of existence have been an active time for the European Section, with progress being made by several section committees. The membership subcommittee produced a draft plan to increase the number of European members in SCB. Highlights of the plan include identification of a contact person in each country. This person will communicate with scientific societies and other groups to disseminate information about SCB and benefits of membership. One plan is to register the SCB European Section as a co-sponsor of national meetings of biological and environmentally-oriented societies. To help begin the membership drive, contact András Baldi, baldi@ludovika.nhmus.hu. The policy committee produced a draft resolution supporting the protection of the Bialowieza Forest in Poland. The forest provides habitat for the European Bison, wolf, bear, and 38 other vertebrate carnivores and is the last largely intact lowland forest ecosystem in central Europe. A 10,000 ha national park protects about 10% of the remaining old growth forest, with the rest being threatened by logging interests. The resolution was approved with 103 votes in favor and zero opposed. The approved resolution will be sent to European national environmental offices and to the EU commission. Contacts aimed at developing opportunities for growth of section activities have also been made with the Nature and Biodiversity unit of the Environmental Directorate, with the European Platform for Biodiversity Research Strategy (EPBRS), and with BioPlatform, the EU's biodiversity research network. To participate in this work, contact the policy committee chair, Martin Dieterich, dieterim@fh-nuertingen.de. The communication committee established an email list server to contribute to the section's goal of improving the means of communication between SCB members, conservationists, managers, and national policy bodies. This moderated list is currently hosted by the Yahoo groups website, and is open to everyone regardless of SCB or Yahoo membership. The list server functions to disseminate information on job openings, opportunities for collaboration, scholarships, assistantships, funding, and professional meetings broadly related to biodiversity conservation. To subscribe, send an empty email to euro_cons_bio-subscribe@yahoogroups.com, then reply to the confirmation message. The European Section's communications committee would appreciate your subscription, and also your efforts to increase awareness of the list among colleagues, especially those from outside of academia. The list has seen light traffic over its first weeks of existence, so your mailbox will not be flooded. To help develop further communication and web tools for the European Section, contact Peter Pearman, pearman@zool.unizh.ch. The internationalization of SCB is presenting a wealth of opportunities for European Section members to participate in SCB's international committees. At the recent SCB Board of Governors Meeting in Tuscson, Arizona, at which the section was represented by Peter Pearman, several committee chairs expressed their enthusiasm for greater participation by Europeans in defining the international direction of SCB. The European Section presented a statement of the challenges accompanying the goal of expanding European participation in SCB. Concomitantly, publication editors and standing SCB committees on policy, membership, and education expressed interest in identifying European Section members to expand the composition of their activities and committees. Contact section president Luigi Boitani, l.boitani@pan.bio.uniroma1.it, for more information.
Focus: HungaryThe first Hungarian conservation biology congress was held 14-17 November 2002 in Sopron. Conservation biology in Hungary dates to the 1960s, when Pál Juhász-Nagy urged a more evolutionary approach to conservation. This was the first congress devoted entirely to conservation biology and was attended by more than 400 participants, who presented eight plenaries, 24 talks, and 180 posters. The broad range of institutional affiliations of the participants reflected the integrative approach of the discipline. university, college: 48%
Diversity of sponsorship was obvious as well. In addition to the Nature Conservation Authority (the main sponsor), several national parks, research institutes, the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund, and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences supported the congress. Perhaps the greatest achievement was that both researchers and conservation practitioners contributed to organizing the congress. A short questionnaire in Hungarian, developed by András Báldi, was distributed to all participants. Sixty-six responses were received, a return rate of approximately 17%. The first questions asked about attitudes toward the development of the discipline of conservation biology in Europe. Respondents replied that a regular congress, a website, and a national journal on conservation biology are desirable. Two notable points were the perception of the importance of activities for conservation biology at a European level, suggesting that linguistic barriers to international activities are diminishing, and the perception of the importance of meetings and the internet as means of communication. More than two-thirds of respondents were unfamiliar with SCB (currently only three SCB members are from Hungary). However, once informed, 40% of the respondents expressed interest in becoming a member of SCB and 8% stated their willingness to contribute to the activities of the European Section. These results suggest many Hungarian conservationists and researchers want greater international interaction, and suggest timely opportunities for the expansion of SCB activities in Europe. Luigi Boitani, Peter Pearman, and András Báldi MARINEThe Marine Board members have been busy finalizing details for two symposia sponsored by the Marine Section that will be held at the 2003 annual meeting. The two symposia, Comparing Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystems: Implications for Conservation Theory and Practice and Marine Reserves: A Global Perspective, have been scheduled for Wednesday 2 July. A plenary session by Oregon State University marine ecologist and 2003 SCB Distinguished Service Award recipient Jane Lubchenco also is scheduled for 2 July. In addition, Lubchenco will be presenting a video developed by the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO), The Science of Marine Reserves. The short video presentation and discussion session will occur at an evening session in Duluth. And to continue marine traditions, the Marine Section will be hosting an additional social event at the annual meeting. Times and locations for each event will be announced at the meeting. If you are interested in assisting with planning or hosting of any of the marine events, please contact Carolyn Lundquist (c.lundquist@niwa.co.nz). Our Board members also have been busy with other activities to increase the voice of marine conservation. President John Ogden and Board member Elliott Norse organized a session at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Ocean Use Planning: Towards Sustainable Use of the Ocean, held on 16 February 2003. Board member Leah Gerber represented the Marine Section at SCB's Board meeting in March in Arizona. For more information on the section or to join the marine listserv (marinelist@conbio.org), visit http://conbio.net/SCB/Activities/Sections/Marine/ or contact any of the Marine Section's officers. Carolyn Lundquist NORTH AMERICAIn December 2002, the Bush Administration proposed sweeping revisions to the regulations governing planning and management of the U.S. National Forests. In response, the North America Section convened a committee of scientists to file comments on the proposed changes on behalf of the section. The panel was chaired by Norm Christensen and included Erica Fleishman, John Marzluff, Adina Merenlender, Scott Mills, Peter Moyle, Barry Noon, and Don Waller. In April, the committee submitted its report to the Forest Service. The scientists applauded portions of the proposed regulations that would foster a more collaborative, holistic approach to resource planning. However, the committee also concluded that "other proposed changes are misguided and, if implemented, will likely ncrease threats to biodiversity and, thereby, diminish ecosystem functions and services provided by our National Forests." The full report is available on SCB's web site. David Wilcove
NEONFour years ago the U.S. National Science Foundation proposed a National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), a collection of well-equipped ecological observatories around the country. The underlying concept was that ecological research needs major, equipment-intensive sites. These sites would be analogs of oceanographic research vessels--resources too expensive for any one investigator but that might be shared among multiple independent investigators. NSF estimated that each observatory would require at least US$10 million for construction, with annual operating costs of US$3 million. Congress twice declined to appropriate the requested funds. In March 2003 the American Institute of Biological Sciences released a white paper on the first results of its Infrastructure for Biology at Regional and Continental Scales (IBRCS) project (Holsinger et al. 2003). The objective of IBRCS, funded by NSF, was an elaboration of the scientific rationale for NEON. To develop this paper the IBRCS Working Group drew on three sources: its members, who represented major ecological groups and disciplines, information from prior planning workshops, and public comments from town meetings. The White Paper identified a critical need to learn how local ecological processes can be scaled up to ecoregions, biomes, or continents. This requires simultaneous collection of relevant data over broad geographical and temporal scales. NEON's goal should be to investigate the structure, dynamics, and evolution of ecosystems in the United States and to investigate the pace and consequences of biological change resulting from natural and human influences. The practice of single investigators or small teams working at single sites cannot effectively address ecological challenges rooted over large scales. Each regional observatory in the NEON network (up 16, each in a different ecosystem) will itself be a network of facilities, such as field stations or national parks. Each observatory will include an extensively-instrumented core site and many satellite observatories. The White Paper suggested that policy for the network be set by an open, membership-based coordination organization. NEON also is expected to provide effective channels of outreach and education. Conservation biologists realize that although we cannot quantify the national extent of any problem with as few as 16 sites, gaining insights into conservation issues requires both vision and logistical wizardry. Participation of SCB in the NEON Coordinating Organization may increase the potential of NEON to contribute effectively to conservation research. Raymond O'Connor was elected to represent SCB on the IBRCS Working Group Literature Cited Holsinger, K.E., and the IBRCS Working Group. 2003. IBRCS white paper: rationale, blueprint, and expectations for the National Ecological Observatory Network. American Institute of Biological Sciences, Washington, D.C. http://ibrcs.aibs.org/reports/pdf/IBRCSWhitePaper_NEON.pdf.
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