Recent meetings in Nairobi and London have led to the formation of interim steering committees for Africa and Europe sections of SCB.

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 www.conservationbiology.org. Reduced membership dues are offered to residents of the World Bank's list of low and middle income countries.

If you are on SCB's email list you should already have received an invitation to join the Africa and Europe sections. If you would like to join now (at no cost), please send an email to africa@conservationbiology.org or europe@conservationbiology.org, respectively. (You can be an official, voting member of just one section, a non-voting member of any number of sections.) Background information on international sections can be found under the activities section of SCB's website, www.conservationbiology.org.

Formation of marine and Australia/New Zealand/Pacific Islands sections is already underway; write marine@conservationbiology.org or oznz@conservationbiology.org, respectively. For South and Central America and the Caribbean an ad hoc steering committee is being assembled; leaders for North America and Asia are still needed.

Strengthening conservation biology in Africa: A meeting of African conservation biologists

Thirty-five conservation scientists and practitioners gathered at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, Kenya in September 2001 to discuss ways to strengthen conservation biology in Africa, especially through regional and international partnerships. Participants came from south, west, east, and central Africa and Madagascar, and represented a broad cross-section of stakeholders. The workshop was co-organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Africa Program, ILRI, and SCB. Major supporters were the U.S. National Science Foundation and the South Africa National Research Foundation.

The workshop sessions focused on conservation science in NGOs and public agencies, graduate education, long-term research, women in conservation biology, creating an Africa section of SCB, and conservation biology in primary and secondary education. In addition, there were topical talks on marine and invertebrate conservation in Africa. Breakout groups were tasked with identifying concrete and practical projects to meet specific needs in African conservation biology.

It was noted during the workshop that Africa has made and continues to make important strides in the field of conservation biology. Research and training institutions in Africa have existed for decades, but today conservation science in parts of Africa is faltering. There is a need to develop and build on existing capacity in order to promote better science in the management and preservation of Africa's spectacular wildlife heritage. It was felt that one important step in this direction would be the creation of an Africa SCB Section. (For a full report of the workshop's proceedings, available in December, contact Alan Bornbusch, abornbus@aaas.org.)

Moving towards an Africa SCB section

One immediate outcome of the meeting was the formation of an interim steering committee to create an Africa section. The section aims to be a pan-African conservation network to bring scientists and practitioners together in a virtual and real way through various activities identified by the group. The section also will strengthen an African voice within SCB.

The interim committee has agreed to focus on a membership drive prior to elections for office bearers in March/April 2002. Modalities for elections as well as the office bearer positions will be developed to ensure that there is regional representation from within Africa. The Southern African Wildlife Management Association has raised the possibility of a joint undertaking with SCB, the details of which are under discussion. The committee has also identified as a high priority finding ways to provide French translations of abstracts from Conservation Biology.

We expect to officially launch the section at the SCB meeting in Canterbury, England in July 2002. We are also hoping to showcase emerging conservation issues in Africa at that meeting and encourage Africans to present their research findings. A special symposium on African conservation issues, Living with Wildlife in Africa, has been proposed.

The Interim Steering committee includes Paula Kahumbu (Acting Chair), Trinto Mugangu (representing central Africa), William Oduro and Egnankou Wadja (west Africa), Chris Chimimba and Joan Jaganyi (southern Africa), and Nyawira Muthiga (marine ecosystems). Alan Rodgers and Paula will represent east Africa. Sanjayan Muttulingam and Alastair McNeilage represent non-African members.

We soon plan to create an email-based African bulletin that will distribute information on the contents of Conservation Biology and Conservation Biology In Practice, as well as additional information relevant to Africa such as research and funding opportunities, meeting notices, and so forth. This will be available free to members and non-members alike and anyone is encouraged to send information for posting.

We would be grateful for your assistance in publicizing the Africa section, and would appreciate hearing from anyone interested in assisting the section in a voluntary capacity (fund raising, web design, information exchange, and so forth). We also would like to hear from people interested in sponsoring African memberships. We look forward to this exciting venture and to working with you.

Paula Kahumbu
Alan Bornbusch
Mac Hunter

Europe Section launch set for July 2002

The discipline of conservation biology is widely practiced under various guises throughout Europe, but is not well served by relevant professional societies. That is all now set to change with the proposed formation of a Europe section of SCB. The section will be launched in July 2002 at the first SCB annual meeting to be held in Europe.

SCB was formed in the United States in 1987 with the vision of becoming an international society for conservation biology professionals. Its highly respected journal Conservation Biology fulfils its international mission. Nevertheless, the membership of SCB and the main focus of its other activities has remained largely North American. This has been of increasing concern to SCB, which now wishes to maximize the international impact of the science and practice of conservation biology.

The Board of Governors has approved a process to form seven international sections [see SCB Newsletter 7(4):2]. Accordingly, an interim steering committee has met to begin the process of establishing a fully constituted section for Europe. The committee has proposed a set of objectives to provide the vision for the section and established a timetable to launch the section. The 2002 meeting offers European conservation biologists their first tangible SCB activity on home soil. The section launch will herald further professional activity in support of conservation biology in Europe.

Section objectives

• Promote and communicate excellent conservation biology science and practice in Europe
• Serve as a pan-European contact network between conservation biologists, conservation agencies, and NGOs
• Encourage interdisciplinary approaches to conservation issues in Europe
• Advocate the inclusion of science into European biodiversity policy, decision-making, and management
• Contribute to the international activities of SCB

March 2002. Nominations will be sought to form a governing board of the section, with a closing date of 31 March 2002.

April 2002. Elections to the governing board will be held among voting members of the proposed Europe section, with a closing date of 30 April 2002. The interim steering committee has proposed that the section should be established initially with a board of 12 voting members, with no more than two representatives from any one European country.

May and June 2002. The committee will develop a constitution and bylaws and elect its officers.

July 2002. The Europe section will be launched at the annual meeting in Canterbury. The officers and board of the Europe section will solicit members' ideas and wishes for developing an ongoing program of activities in Europe. Detailed information about the annual meeting is available at http://www.ukc.ac.uk/anthropology/dice/scb2002/.

The interim steering committee looks forward to your active participation in establishing a flourishing program of activities for the section and your contribution to the international affairs of SCB. Individuals interested in the possibility of joining the section, but not yet prepared to commit, are encouraged to attend the annual meeting as non-members and see for themselves the potential both of SCB and its Europe section.

Interim steering committee

Luigi Boitani (Italy), Djuro Huber (Croatia), Jose Iriondo (Spain), Nigel Leader-Williams (United Kingdom), Georgina Mace (United Kingdom), Jari Niemelä (Finland), Francois Sarrazin (France), Per Sjögren-Gulve (Sweden)

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