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WHY IS SCB INTERNATIONALIZING?

SCB's process of internationalization took a huge step forward at our 2002 annual meeting, where hundreds of people attended seven organizational section meetings, one for each continent plus the marine realm. In the midst of all the enthusiasm there were a few skeptics who questioned SCB's motives. Is internationalization driven mainly by a desire to enroll more members? Could this be a neo-imperialistic attempt to increase the global influence of North American conservation biologists?

Before addressing these questions, it is important to note that nominally SCB is, and always has been, an international organization. Our founders were well aware that both biodiversity and conservationists are globally distributed. Furthermore, based on our membership survey [see SCB newsletter 7(4)], 95% of you want SCB to be a truly international organization. So first and foremost, we are internationalizing because it is what we always intended to do so and because our members want us to do it. Unfortunately, SCB ideals and reality sometimes have not been well matched, and we must now actively redress sixteen years of laissez-faire organizational development that has left SCB with too few members outside of North America.

Do we want to gain more members through internationalization? Of course we do; most professional conservationists are not yet members of SCB or any analogous organization, and we need their partnership to develop and strengthen the discipline. But having more members is a benefit of internationalization, not the impetus behind it.

Do we want North American conservation biologists to share their knowledge and perspectives worldwide? Yes, but it is equally important that North Americans listen and learn about the knowledge and perspectives of their colleagues from all corners of the earth.

This global sharing is fundamentally what internationalization of SCB is all about. Early in the internationalization process we considered catalyzing the formation of autonomous conservation biology societies around the world, but a member survey clearly showed that our members did not favor the latter alternative. Our members want to be part of a cohesive, global, professional society, and we are now making great strides in that direction. We still have a long way to go because the new sections are fledglings that will require much support to flourish. If you have not yet joined a section, now is a great time to start participating. If you have already joined a section, you can now join a second section.

Joining Two Sections

At the 2002 annual meeting, SCB's Board of Governors decided that each member of SCB may join two sections as a voting member. Many people have allegiances to two different places (especially those who live on land and work in the sea). Thus, we received numerous requests to make this change, notably from the leaders of the sections. There are two simple ways to join a section: either edit your online member profile at any time, or join when you renew your annual membership. To limit the potential influence of any one person, the Board of Governors also decided that a member may serve on the Board of Directors of only one section at a given time.

Mac Hunter, President

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