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Workshop Abstracts These abstracts provide general descriptions of the objectives and content of each workshop. Bridging the divide: how land use planners and conservation biologists join forces to achieve resource protection in California organized by Liz Chattin (Ventura County, California Planning Division) In this workshop, we will explore how land use planners, policy makers, and biologists can more effectively work together to accomplish habitat conservation in California. While the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that cumulative environmental impacts be evaluated in the development of regional and individual land use plans, planning agencies overwhelmingly fall short of the mark when it comes to adequately assessing cumulative impacts for land use projects and comprehensive planning (General Plans, Regional Plans, and so forth). Land use planners are constantly under political pressure to balance habitat protection against competing economic and housing needs, and most planners lack the necessary tools to make informed land use decisions. The true costs of development are often not calculated or mitigated on both the local and regional levels, which results in an increasingly fragmented landscape and mitigation funds that are woefully inadequate to properly offset the impacts. We will discuss what planning tools are necessary to make better land use decisions regarding conservation, how the biological community can play a more integral role in land use planning, and what local and statewide government restructuring is needed to improve conservation planning and protection of our rapidly dwindling natural resources. Capacity-building for SCB chapters in the 21st century organized by Ingrid Hogle (SCB Local Chapter Advisors Committee), Fiona Nagle (SCB Local Chapter Advisors Committee), and Gerald Niemi (University of Minnesota, Duluth) In the 21st century, we face increasingly complex environmental problems that require increasingly interdisciplinary and "borderless" solutions. One way we can improve our understanding and address these problems is through stronger ties among conservation professionals, academics, students, and activists. SCB chapters, as local independent extensions of SCB, play a key role in building this conservation community. Some of their responsibilities and contributions include continuing education for professionals; hosting of regional meetings; information and resource sharing among members; leads on jobs, funding, and project needs; venues for public and political advocacy; and moral and social support. In addition, they often undertake local conservation projects such as environmental restoration and environmental education for schoolchildren and members of the broader public. This workshop will include presentations on strategic planning, chapter formation, non-profit issues, member retention, relationships between chapters across borders, balancing activism and science, environmental education, community outreach, and regional symposia. This pre-conference exchange of ideas among local chapter members and those interested in starting local chapters advances SCB¡¦s goals in four ways: (1) enhances chapter growth, (2) improves inter-chapter communication, (3) increases support for chapters within the larger SCB community and (4) facilitates a network of chapters across the globe. Conservation tools and tips from psychology organized by organized by Carol Saunders (Chicago Zoological Society), Amara Brook (Santa Clara University), and Gene Myers (Western Washington University) Most conservation problems are caused by human behavior, and solving these problems requires understanding and changing that behavior. Although psychology is the discipline most focused on the study of human behavior, psychology’s role in biodiversity conservation has been surprisingly minimal compared to the other sciences. Conservation psychology is a relatively new field that seeks to understand why people help or hurt the natural environment and how to promote conservation. The goal of this workshop is to introduce this field of research and provide examples of how it might be useful to biologists, social scientists, and conservation practitioners. We will begin with brief overview talks about some principles and methods from psychology that can be applied to biodiversity conservation. Workshop participants will then join a discussion about how the various disciplines complement each other and the potential for collaborative research. Because the history of conservation psychology mirrors that of conservation biology, we hope to provide an avenue to explore partnerships between the two fields. We also hope to attract members of the Social Science Working Group to discuss how the social sciences can best work together toward biodiversity conservation goals. This workshop should result in a greater awareness of what the field of conservation psychology offers and generate ideas for how to strengthen programmatic and research connections across disciplines. Developing a framework for building individual and institutional capacity for conservation organized by Marianne Carter (BP Conservation Programme), Robyn Dalzen (BP Conservation Programme), and Will Banham (Wildlife Conservation Society) In order to provide appropriate training and capacity building for effective individuals and institutions for conservation, it is necessary to (1) define the different types of individual conservationists and institutions, (2) for each of these, define the required competencies for effective individuals and attributes for effective institutions, and (3) identify the most appropriate ways in which those competencies and attributes can be realized. A comprehensive framework bringing together these elements will prove an important capacity building tool at an international level to identify gaps and plan interventions. By helping to equip potential conservation leaders with support, knowledge, skills, and attitudes, the BP Conservation Programme hopes to enable them to better conserve biodiversity. Such a tool will assist the program in identifying where to input resources and helping potential individual and institutional leaders in an appropriate way to obtain the optimum chance for success. This workshop aims to gather feedback on a preliminary competencies framework. Participants will explore how the framework will assist in identifying current gaps in individual leadership and institutional capacity internationally and in deciding how best to fill those gaps. Workshop outcomes will contribute to the development of a tool that will be used to identify needs for capacity building actions at a local level. Disaster vulnerability and environmental change: engaging conservation science organized by Ken Wilson and Erika Zavaleta (The Christensen Fund) The apparent increase in human vulnerability to "natural" disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean Tsunami , has brought questions of how environmental change increases risk more than ever into the public consciousness. Debate has surfaced over both the growing frequency of extreme events (for instance, the record number of hurricane landfalls in 2004 and 2005 in the United States) and the long-term impacts of activities like clearing of coastal vegetation and disruption of river-sediment transport systems. These disasters also provide tragic teaching moments, when the public focuses, if only briefly, on issues of environmental services. Conservation science needs to engage in, and more deeply inform, this debate. This workshop will explore three questions about the links between conservation and disaster mitigation. (1) To what extent do highly visible disasters that follow extreme natural events reflect the declining state of ecosystems? (2) To what extent can conservation provide "disaster insurance," reducing human vulnerability and increasing resilience to extreme natural events? (3) How should the conservation science community be involved in disaster prevention, mitigation and recovery? Our speakers and discussion will focus in particular on coastal areas, where human population densities are highest and conservation can little afford to ignore their interests and well-being. How do we know it's working? State of the art program evaluation for conservation science and policy organized by Subhrendu Pattanayak (RTI International) and Paul Ferraro (Georgia State University) For too long, scientists and practitioners have depended on intuition and anecdote to guide conservation investments. To maximize the conservation impact of our limited resources, the conservation field must adopt a culture of rigorous program evaluation. Without such a culture, identifying which of the competing conservation approaches will make best use of scarce conservation dollars in the 21st century conservation is impossible. We will start by showing how current "monitoring and evaluation" efforts focus on descriptive indicators (i.e., administrative metrics of change) instead of the fundamental evaluation question: what would have happened if there had been no intervention? (a counterfactual event that is not observed). Presentations will draw on ongoing program evaluations in the United States and the tropics to discuss methods—experimental and quasi-experimental—that can be applied to draw reliable inferences about causal effects. Evidence on such effects can help identify, design and justify effective interventions. We also will discuss the relative merits of alternative methods when the state-of-the-art methods cannot be applied. Each conservation project that builds in these methods will make a small but vital contribution towards filling the large gap in our knowledge about the most effective conservation investments. Human demographic change and biodiversity conservation: impacts and opportunities for the conservation sector organized by Judy Oglethorpe (World Wildlife Fund) The workshop aims to provide a state-of-the-art review of adverse impacts of migration, fertility, and HIV/AIDS on biodiversity, and to provide conservation practitioners with strategies to tackle these threats. Global human population is expected to grow from 6.5 billion in 2005 to 9.1 billion in 2050, with increased consumption of natural resources, loss of habitat, and pollution. Human migration to biodiversity-rich areas is also likely to increase, driven by population growth, environmental degradation, globalization of trade, and climate change. HIV/AIDS is reducing life expectancy and economic productivity in some regions, with serious impacts on conservation capacity, natural resources, and land use. A number of cutting-edge responses to adverse demographic impacts have emerged at different scales, often involving conservation practitioners collaborating with other sectors. Experts will outline global trends and major negative impacts on biodiversity, and present responses for conservation programs. These include integrated family planning-health-environment projects at site and landscape level and ways to scale up and complement them. Migration interventions include prevention and mitigation of impacts in areas of destination, at field and policy levels. HIV/AIDS responses include ways to protect conservation staff and community capacity, and to reduce impacts on land and natural resource use while promoting sustainable livelihoods. Merging art and science for applied conservation tools: an overview of interdisciplinary programs and professional applications organized by Colleen Corrigan (The Nature Conservancy) and Jim Tolisano An enormous number of professional artists are actively engaged in work that can enhance environmental education, public awareness, and participation in biodiversity conservation activities. The main goal of our workshop is to introduce participants to a spectrum of conservation applications that combine both art and science, using case studies and demonstrations by artists and environmental professionals who have crossed traditional academic boundaries to creatively enhance their work. We anticipate that the audience will have an opportunity to interact with the moderators and invited speakers and will leave the workshop with a greater understanding of how art and science can be merged in their own professional engagements. The participating artists will use formal and informal presentations to allow workshop participants to observe and learn from practitioners applying visual, sound, movement/theater, and educational methods in their work. The workshop will provide participants with hands-on opportunities to experience and assess specific artistic tools and techniques available to support conservation science practices and methods. The workshop will also establish a communication network among academics, professionals, and practitioners in both the science and arts in order to facilitate ongoing dialogue about projects and new developments integrating art and science to promote conservation. We expect that a committee or node will be created to maintain the communication network through a designated Web or other site. Satellite telemetry of marine megavertebrates: the coming of age of an experimental science organized by K. David Hyrenbach (University of Washington), Kristen Hart (Florida Integrated Science Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies), and Michael Coyne (Duke University) The study and conservation of marine mega-vertebrates is challenging because these species often range across international boundaries, make extensive use of vast and dynamic oceanic habitats, and inhabit the high seas beyond national jurisdictions. The advent of satellite tracking technology in the 1980s opened a window into the poorly understood habits and habitats of highly-migratory marine turtles, mammals, and birds. The growing popularity of satellite tracking warrants a thorough evaluation of past progress, current limitations, and future trends. This workshop will (1) review state-of-the-art data filtering and analysis approaches, (2) enhance cross-fertilization across taxonomic groups, and (3) stimulate comparative and retrospective analyses of telemetry data using standardized methods. The intended audience includes satellite tracking researchers, graduate students, tag manufacturers, and journal editors. This 2-hour workshop will involve three 15-minute presentations, followed by an open group discussion. First, we will review published satellite tracking studies of marine megavertebrates. The second presentation (by invited speakers) will discuss recent data filtering and track interpolation methods. Finally, we will present novel methods for satellite tracking and remote sensing data integration, available online through Seaturtle.org. Subsequently, the entire group will discuss steps towards the standardization of analytical methods, and the development of "best practices" criteria. | |||||||||||||||||
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