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NEWS FROM SCB COMMITTEES, BOARD STRUCTURE CHANGES

Education

In July 2009, SCB's Board of Governors restructured committees, combining the education committee with the student affairs committee. The resulting education and student affairs committee has revised its terms of reference accordingly.

The Education and Student Affairs Committee shall
(a) facilitate and carry out initiatives designed to promote the education--at all levels, including preparatory and continuing -- of the public, of biologists, and of managers in the principles and practices of conservation biology,
(b) promote a supportive environment for undergraduate and graduate students in SCB, including encouraging student participation in meetings and creating opportunities for interaction among students and professionals, and
(c) administer the student awards program.

We are inviting individuals to join the new committee. Committee members will be responsible for a specific task related to the new terms of reference and must commit to overseeing that task for a period of time not less than one year.

Potential tasks include
1. Head a subcommittee to work on SCB's education website
2. Serve as the secretary for the committee, including coordination with section, working group, and chapter representatives to collate updates twice each year for presentation to the Board of Governors
3. Coordinate with local organizing committees of SCB's meetings regarding education symposia, presentations, training courses, student participation, and other events and activities related to global meetings
4. Lead an effort to increase representation and retention of underrepresented groups in SCB's education activities, including advising other subcommittees on representation of underrepresented students and professionals

We welcome your suggestions for additional tasks you might like to lead related to our current terms of reference. If you are interested in serving on the education and student affairs committee, please send a note by 15 December to committee chair Eleanor Sterling (sterling@amnh.org). In your note, please include the task(s) to which you are willing to commit.

Policy

The former chair of the SCB's policy committee, Luigi Boitani, became president of SCB at the end of the members' meeting in Beijing. Luigi appointed Jeff McNeely to replace him as chair of the committee. The committee will now be preparing a new strategic plan that will take effect in 2010. The committee seeks to develop close working ties with the science and publications committee and the regional sections. Membership of the policy committee will be reviewed in the coming months, and nominations for new members are welcome. Suggestions for major policy issues that warrant attention from the committee also will be welcome as part of the strategic planning process. Send suggestions for both committee members and strategic plan elements to Jeff McNeely (jam@iucn.org).

The work of the policy committee during the past few months has focused on climate change and biological diversity, with particular attention to the major issues being considered at the meeting of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009. The role of biological diversity in adaptation to climate change will be emphasized, as will potential benefits and risks of the proposed measures included under reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD).

Structure of the Board of Governors Changes

The context in which we conduct the science and practice of conservation changes rapidly, and so does the context within which the business of SCB operates. As demands and opportunities change, and in order to undertake effectively its business of overseeing SCB's work, the Board of Governors requires members with a diverse range of experience and expertise. In response to these needs, SCB's membership voted in Beijing to change the structure of the Board. The vote changes our bylaws to allow open nominations of board members irrespective of professional affiliation. In addition, the number of at large elected board members has increased from six to nine. In part, this shift will be accompanied by an explicit effort to place board members as chairs of standing committees.

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