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UPDATES FROM WORKING GROUPS AND REGIONAL SECTIONSFreshwater Working Group We encourage working group members to submit abstracts on freshwater related topics for the 2010 meeting in Edmonton. Let us aim to have a strong presence at the meeting. During the recent annual meeting of the American Fisheries Society, members of the working group and AFS discussed opportunities for collaboration. The idea that seemed most appealing for immediate action was the creation of "top 10" lists of freshwater conservation needs in the areas of research, policy, and outreach. Paul Angermeier (biota@vt.edu) is spearheading the research list, Laurie Fowler (lfowler@uga.edu) is leading the policy list, and Anna George is the outreach point person (alg@tnaqua.org). Please send them your ideas. The call for nominations for members of the working group's board will be announced soon. Four board positions will be open and we encourage members to nominate themselves or others. Nominees must be committed to the freshwater conservation cause and willing to put in time working for the cause. The working group's strategic plan is available at www.conbio.org/workinggroups/freshwater/ We encourage you to post freshwater conservation issues, publications, jobs, and resources to our email list, freshwater@list.conbio.org. You may sign on to the list at http://list.conbio.org/mailman/listinfo/freshwater/. If you cannot access this link, then forward your information to Aventino Kasangaki, our list moderator, at aventinok@yahoo.com. Aventino Kasangaki & Ken Vance-Borland Oceania On 26 and 27 November, the Oceania Section's Board of Directors will meet in Christchurch, New Zealand. If any members of the section have topics they would like discussed at that meeting, issues or complaints, or strategic areas on which they'd like to see the section focus, please email us (Nicola.Nelson@vuw.ac.nz). Dates have been set for SCB's 25th International Congress for Conservation Biology. The meeting will be held 29 November-2 December 2011 in Christchurch. Publication Conservation Biology recently published a focus on policy as viewed by SCB's regional sections. The Oceania Section was represented by Kingsford, R.T., J.E.M. Watson, C.J. Lundquist, O. Venter, L. Hughes, E.L. Johnston, J. Atherton, M. Gawel, D.A. Keith, B.G. Mackey, C. Morley, H.P. Possingham, B. Raynor, H.F. Recher, and K.A. Wilson. 2009. Major conservation policy issues for biodiversity in Oceania. Conservation Biology 23:834-840. The publication received extensive media coverage, showing that we can get the key message on the extinction crisis out in the public arena with a bit of effort. Thanks to Richard Kingsford for leading the publication. Illustrations of media coverage:
Nicola Nelson North America The section has initiated five policy goals for the section and SCB partners to accomplish in 2009-2012: (1) development of a blueprint that strategically targets key policies affecting biological diversity in North America, (2) evaluation of proposed changes to landmark environmental laws and regulations such as the U.S. Endangered Species Act, (3) proposed changes to the roadless conservation rule in the United States, (4) climate change policy under development by the U.S. Congress and Obama administration, and (5) building partnerships through coordination of policy needs of the section, Canada subsection, and burgeoning chapters. Conservation policy blueprint. Noss et al. (2009) discussed the need for a blueprint for conserving biological diversity in North America. In response, the section recently launched a series of workshops to develop policy goals. The first workshop, focused on the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, was held in Flagstaff in October 2009. Workshops are anticipated at the global SCB meeting in Edmonton (July 2010) and at a joint meeting of the North America and Austral and Neotropical America sections in Mexico (2012). The workshop in Flagstaff, which followed the 10th Biennial Conference of Research on the Colorado Plateau, focused on challenges from energy development, decreasing water availability, and climate change. Endangered species management. SCB has played a pivotal role in endangered species policies in the United States through peer review of species listings, delisting proposals, changes to critical habitat, and recovery plans. The section will continue to review policies that affect endangered species, including the next draft of the recovery plan for the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina), anticipated in spring 2010. Members of the section also are working with the Obama administration to reverse more than 50 endangered species decisions by the Bush administration that reduced protections for listed species. Proposed changes to the roadless conservation rule. SCB members maintain an ongoing presence in policies affecting roadless areas on U.S. National Forests, including detailed comments on a recent proposal by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter to reduce protections for the state's roadless areas. Climate change legislation and policies. New policies and legislation on climate change continue to be a priority of the section and SCB's policy director, John Fitzgerald. SCB recently developed a set of principles for legislators and the U.S. administration to consider. Examples include a goal of reducing emissions of carbon dioxide to 350 ppm as soon as possible and protection of old forests in the United States as part of the nation's commitment to carbon sequestration. Building partnerships among the section, subsection, and chapters. We continue to work with the nascent Canada subsection and with members of chapters to address mutual policy needs. Noss, R.F, E. Fleishman, D.A. DellaSala, J.M. Fitzgerald, M.R. Gross, M.B. Main, F. Nagle, S.L. O'Malley, and J. Rosales. 2009. Priorities for improving the scientific foundation of conservation policy in North America. Conservation Biology 23:825-833. Dominick DellaSala Europe Since the August newsletter was distributed, we held the second European Congress of Conservation Biology in Prague. After much planning and preparation, the meeting was declared a great success by organizers and participants alike. More than 1300 European conservation biologists from 65 countries gathered for the meeting. Their expertise included protection of biological diversity, biology, and social sciences. They discussed their latest research, exchanged perspectives on conservation of biological diversity, and sent an urgent message to European Union environment ministers. The four days of the congress included about 840 scientific presentations on topics including design of protected areas, maintenance of biological diversity in farmlands and forests, and conservation genetics. Topics of paramount importance such as the Natura 2000 network, the interface between economics and conservation, sustainable decision-making based on scientific knowledge and evidence, and invasive species were highlighted in plenary addresses by the Czech minister of the Environment, Ladislav Miko, Spanish ecological economist Joan Martinez-Allier, Cambridge professor of conservation biology Bill Sutherland, and the Czech expert on invasive plants, Petr Pysek. Issues related to market valuation of biological diversity were discussed in the context of an ongoing study on the economics of ecosystem services and biological diversity. Participants in the congress urged economists to address errors in their basic theorems and models on which many policy decisions affecting biological diversity are based. The congress also voted to send a call to action to European Union environment ministers gathering in Stromstadt, Sweden to discuss visions of future policies on biological diversity. This message, "Need for priority actions rather than visions -- biodiversity conservation beyond 2010," was well received by those at the Stromstadt meeting. The scientific program of the congress reflected the participants' diverse backgrounds, research, and cultures, yet there was great coherence in the priorities expressed and it was clear that conservation biologists from across Europe have many common goals. The meeting catalyzed new collaborations and highlighted the desire and need for collaboration among natural scientists, social scientists, educators, practitioners, and decision makers. The third congress will be held in 2012. The board soon will be reviewing expressions of interest in hosting this meeting, and will invite several full proposals. We expect to announce the site in early 2010. The section soon will hold annual elections. Three positions on the board of directors are open this year. Profiles of the candidates and voting instructions are available at www.conbio.org. All section members are eligible to vote, so please visit the website and exercise your democratic right. As always the board encourages the participation of section members in the activities of the section. Voting is an important element of section membership and we look forward to seeing a much improved level of participation in this year's election. To contact the board with any questions or comments email europe@conservationbiology.org or visit www.conbio.org/Sections/Europe/, which details committee activities and opportunities to become involved. Owen Nevin Austral and Neotropical America Flyers describing the Austral and Neotropical America Section and its activities are available for download at http://conservationbiology.org/Sections/ANA/. Please feel free to print and distribute this information. Formation of Cuban chapter. A number of the section's board members have volunteered to sponsor one year of membership for a Cuban colleague. This will help form a Cuban chapter within SCB. The membership costs only US$10 per year and gives members online access to Conservation Biology and other high-quality journals. If you are interested in sponsoring a Cuban colleague, please contact the section's director of conservation, Felipe Melo (fplmelo@gmail.com). Education director Nora Bynum is recruiting individuals to serve on the section's education committee. Each potential member should have a project or activity that they are willing to lead or organize, such as a course for section members, or an idea for keeping section members apprised of educational opportunities. If you are interested, please contact Nora (nbynum@amnh.org) as soon as possible. Sandra Pompa Mansilla & Nora Bynum Asia The Asia Section was proud to have served as host for SCB's 2009 meeting in Beijing. We were particularly pleased to see so many conservation biologists from within our region, and we sought to expand the section's membership. We discussed major challenges facing conservation biology in Asia, recognizing that many of them are due to external factors beyond the effective influence of conservation biologists; yet conservation biology has much to offer many other sectors of societies in addressing problems such as agricultural production, watershed management, and wetlands management. We also welcomed the incoming president of the Asia Section, David Hulse, who is based at the Ford Foundation's office in Jakarta (D.Hulse@fordfound.org).
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