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UPDATES FROM WORKING GROUPS AND REGIONAL SECTIONS
UPDATES FROM WORKING GROUPS AND REGIONAL SECTIONS
SOCIAL SCIENCE WORKING GROUPLooking Ahead: Social Science and SCB The Social Science Working Group celebrated its fifth anniversary in 2008. In recognition of this milestone, and to chart a course for the next five years, the Working Group's Board of Directors initiated a strategic planning process. Results of this process are now available at www.conservationbiology.org/sswg; to provide feedback, please email sswginput@gmail.com. Program review, 2003-2008 The first step in our strategic planning process was a program review of the Working Group's progress and contributions during its first five years. David Bray of Florida International University led this review, surveying past and present board members, interviewing key individuals inside and outside SCB, and examining internal documents of the Working Group and the published literature on social science in conservation of biological diversity. Bray's review highlights the following. -- The Working Group is an historic achievement as the first effort in any professional society to formally integrate social and biological sciences for conservation of biological diversity.
Formative assessment To further assess our performance and to identify our membership's collective priorities for the future, the Board complemented the strategic review by surveying the Working Group's membership. Lynne Doner Lotenberg, an independent expert in social marketing, led this assessment on behalf of the Working Group. Results indicate that -- Members are excited about the idea of a "Social Science Working Group" as it provides a home for their work and they believe an interdisciplinary approach is key to successfully conserving biological diversity.
Strategic plan, 2009-2014 The program review and formative assessment, together with feedback from members and SCB's Executive Office, were the foundation for development of our new strategic plan. Initially outlined during a two day Board retreat and refined over several months, the strategic plan charts a course for the Working Group over the next five years. While the Working Group's mission remains unchanged, the new strategic plan -- currently in draft form -- proposes future investment in a mix of novel foci and longstanding areas of emphasis. We seek to make continuous progress toward five goals over the next five years: 1. Science. Advance scientific understanding of conservation as a social process.
2009 annual workplan Based on the new strategic plan, we developed our workplan for 2009. Key activities include delivering a short course at the 2009 annual meeting, building a more diverse membership, organizing symposia on key conservation questions, and assisting with preparations for 2010 SCB meetings in Edmonton and elsewhere. The Board thanks the Working Group's members for help in developing the strategic plan. We welcome feedback and look forward to your help in making this vision a reality. Daniel Miller Conservation and Music Rich Wallace, chair of the our Program Committee, recently undertook a "conservation musicology" project. Seeking popular songs pertaining to climate change but finding few, Rich surveyed our members and subscribers to two other listservers (about 1500 people in all), broadening the subject to songs about human impacts on the environment. The resulting list includes 185 different artists and 277 different songs (not including eight entries where an artist produced an environmentally themed album or has devoted all or a substantial part of their career to songs about the environment). The list eventually will be posted on the Working Group's Web site to facilitate access, corrections, and updates. In the meantime, to receive a copy of the list, please email Rich (rwallace@ursinus.edu). Additional suggestions are welcome!
FRESHWATER WORKING GROUP2009 SCB Annual Meeting Many thanks to Eren Turak for leading the process of submitting proposals for a freshwater symposium and workshop for the 2009 annual meeting. We are pleased to announce that both of these proposals were successful. We look forward to your participation in the symposium Integrated protection and restoration of wetlands, rivers and subterranean aquatic ecosystems and the workshop Global conservation assessment for freshwater biodiversity. For further information, please contact Eren (Eren.Turak@environment.nsw.gov.au). Working Group Elections Elections were held during the last quarter of 2008, and we are pleased to welcome new and returning board members Eren Turak, Michael Marchetti, Aventino Kasangaki, Lisa Bonneau, and Suleyman Gul. We are extremely grateful to our retiring board members Carlos Carrera-Reyes and Simon Linke for their service. Mordy Ogada became President of the Working Group on 1 January after serving as President Elect for two years, and board member Jeanne Nel was elected to the position of President Elect. We thank our outgoing president Ken Vance-Borland for his visionary leadership during his term of office. Ken will be our Past President and an ex officio board member for the next two years. The Working Group strives to represent on its board all Sections of SCB. The 2009 Board includes the following members. Lisa Bonneau, United States
Strategic Plan Our strategic planning process ended on 22 December 2008 with adoption of the strategic plan by a vote of the Board. The strategic plan, available at www.conbio.org/workinggroups/freshwater/, is now an official Working Group document that we hope will be embraced by all members. Freshwater List To join the freshwater email list, go to http://list.conbio.org/mailman/listinfo/freshwater/. The volume of messages is relatively low. Postings typically address freshwater conservation issues, publications, jobs, and resources. Aventino Kasangaki
NORTH AMERICASCB's recommendations to Obama's Adminstration are being received favorably. Updates on the full range of our activities will appear in the May newsletter. Remember to hold 5-8 October for a productive meeting in Flagstaff. Erica Fleishman
MARINEThe Fundraising Committee for the International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC; www.conbio.org/IMCC) is well on the way to meeting its goal of $265,000. More than half of this goal already has been met through generous donations from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, National Park Service, Nature Conservancy, Packard Foundation, Rufford Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy. With several donations pending, the IMCC should be fully supported. Phaedra Doukakis The Marine Board formally submitted comments in support of the recent designation of three new U.S. Marine National Monuments by Past President George Bush. The combined area of these new monuments, more than 500,000 square km, is greater than any other protected area in the world. Board members worked with leaders from the Marine Conservation Biology Institute to draft a letter that was approved by SCB's Policy Committee and then sent to President Bush's chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, James Connaughton. Mr. Connaughton was instrumental in the promotion and eventual designation of these protected areas. The new marine monuments now exceed the world's two largest marine protected areas, Papahânaumokuâkea Marine National Monument (362,000 square km), designated by Bush in 2006, and Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Reserve (344,000 square km). The new protected areas include the Mariana Trench, the deepest location in any ocean, as well as areas surrounding three uninhabited islands in the Northern Marianas, Rose Atoll in American Samoa, and seven islands along the equator in the central Pacific Ocean. The designations will protect thousands of species of fishes, invertebrates, marine mammals, terrestrial and marine plants, and sea birds in some on the most pristine coral atolls on Earth. Jennifer Smith
EUROPEAt the end of 2008, the Europe Section held its annual elections. Four positions on the Board were open this year, including President Elect. We had an impressive slate of candidates, and thank all who ran for office. Please remember that Section committees offer exciting opportunities to become actively involved in the work of the Section. Congratulations to the four new members of the Board. Andras Baldi (Hungary) returns to the Board as President Elect. Andras previously served as a board member and chair of the Local Organizing Committee for the first European Congress of Conservation Biology (ECCB); Andras also serves on SCB's Conference Committee. Barbara Livoreil (France) was reelected for a second term as a board member and currently chairs our Communications Committee. We welcome Raphael Arlettaz (Switzerland) and Bengt Gunnar Jonsson (Sweden), who each were elected to serve a three-year term. Thanks to departing board members Andrew Pullin, Javier Bustamante, and Per Sjogren-Gulve for their work on behalf of the Section; we especially thank Andrew for his leadership as President. Martin Dieterich became President of the Section on 1 January. Martin directs the Institute for Landscape Ecology and Nature Conservation (ILN Singen) and is Associate Professor with the Agricultural University of Hohenheim (Germany). Martin has been a member of the Section's Board since 2003. He launched and chaired the Section's Policy Committee from 2003 to 2006. Martin's goals include making the Section more visible in the European conservation scene, becoming more active in conservation policies, and increasing the number and activity level of members. The Section's committees were active during the last months of 2008. The Education Committee welcomed two new members, bringing their active membership to eight from six countries (Croatia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). After the successful organization of the Greek Summer School on conservation biology in 2008 (www.cbcd.eu/gss), the Committee is currently fundraising for the next school, which will be held 1-9 August 2009. This school, aimed at senior undergraduate and MSc students from all over Europe, will have 15 places available. A second Conservation Biology School (ISCB) is directed at 15-20 MSc and Ph.D. students and is co-organized by the Croatian Biological Society, the Section, and the Center for Marine Research of the "Ruder Boskovic" Institute. An international team of instructors, guest speakers, and field lecturers from Europe, the United States, and Canada will present the latest trends, case studies, and state of the art knowledge. The intensive nine-day course will be held in the historic city of Rovinj from 15-23 June 2009. Students who complete the course successfully will receive a certificate and seven ECTS credits towards their university degree. More information is available at www.hbd1885.hr/iscb. In December 2009, the Section's Policy Committee led a visit of conservation biologists to the European Parliament and the European Commission in Brussels. Meetings were arranged with four Directorates-General from the European Commission: Environment (Directorates Nature & Biodiversity and Life), Agriculture and Rural Development, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and Research. The group also met with members of European Parliament and representatives of the European Environmental Bureau. Many relevant conservation issues were discussed during the successful visit, such as the Natura 2000 network and protection of biological diversity as climate changes, the European strategy on invasive species, the establishment of Marine Protected Areas, and the representation of conservation science in the framework programs. The protection of roadless areas in Europe, an initiative launched by the Policy Committee, was received with particular enthusiasm. The Committee is also contributing to the upcoming ECCB in Prague. This includes organizing a Special Session on Natura 2000 and the implementation of nature conservation directives of the European Union. In May and June of 2008, the Section conducted a survey of members that addressed their needs and requirements, opinions on the Section's activities, and suggestions on how to increase membership. Ninety-six respondents completed the survey (approximately 20% of the membership), more than half of whom were researchers. About 50% of the respondents subscribed to the European listserv. Most of them learned about the Section via the Web site or SCB publications. The most important reason to join was "to stay informed in conservation issues" in the global and European contexts and to receive Conservation Biology. For more than 72% of the respondents, organization of the ECCB is a very important activity of the Section. Approximately 70% of the respondents considered developing contacts with policy makers and becoming more involved in European conservation policy debates as high-priority tasks for the Section. SCB meetings and summer schools also were ranked as very important by 37% of respondents. Most respondents indicated that they were satisfied with the Section's work, but many recommended that the Section improve its visibility in Europe and be more active in communication within the membership and between the Board and the members. We are actively working to develop new communication initiatives including a blog, http://euroconbio.blogspot.com/. The Web-based survey was extended to include SCB members who reside in Europe but are not members of the Section. There was a slightly lower level of participation (13% completed the survey) and, according to their responses, it is not clear that one can join the Section when registering as an SCB member. The majority of respondents (59%) were not aware that joining the Section was a possibility when they registered, while a few respondents thought they had joined the Section or did not know how to join. More information about the survey is available at www.conbio.org/sections/europe/news.cfm. A major task for the Section in the coming months will be preparing for the second ECCB. The Board will be meeting with the Local Organizing Committee in February to review submitted abstracts and to finalize the scientific program. Visit www.eccb2009.org for current information. Early-registration discounts are available until 30 April. As always, the board encourages the participation of Section members in the activity of the Section. Contact the Board with any questions or comments at europe@conservationbiology.org. Owen Nevin
AUSTRALASIAIt is the start of an active year for our Section, beginning with a name change. At the end of 2008, the Board recognized that "Australasia" does not accurately describe the region that our Section actually covers. There was real confusion about which countries are part of the Asia section and which are part of the Australasia Section. Since our Section covers the regions of Australia, New Zealand, Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia -- by far the largest terrestrial Section in SCB -- we unanimously agreed to change our Section's name to Oceania. This name and SCB's definition of our Section's geographical boundaries agree with those of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The suggested name change will be submitted to SCB's Board for approval at their March retreat. The Board welcomes any comments on the change (please send me an email at james.jameswatson@gmail.com). One of our key objectives for 2009 is to contribute significantly to development of conservation policy in the region. Richard Kingsford (University of Sydney) is leading a collective effort to develop of a series of policy white-papers that will identify the chief conservation concerns in the region. The white papers also will elaborate on sensible policies that might be enacted by governments, and other stakeholders, to address these concerns. We see this as an appropriate way for SCB to generate real conservation outcomes in the region and in work with governments, nongovernmental organizations, and other stakeholders. We aim to involve as many local conservation scientists and policy makers in this process as possible, so please contact me if you are interested in participating. Another aim for 2009 is to continue building capacity and involvement in SCB in the countries of Micronesia, Polynesia, and Macronesia. We recognize that because New Zealand and Australia have a relatively large number of members, there is often a focus on these two countries. We aim to address this imbalance, and hopefully to convene a regional meeting outside of New Zealand and Australia. Following the outstanding success of our first Section meeting in Sydney, we are holding a Section meeting in Hobart, Tasmania at the end of 2009. Logistic details will be available soon. We are also building toward a global SCB meeting that we hope to hold in New Zealand in 2011; we will present a proposal for this meeting to SCB's Board of Governors in the near future. A final objective for 2009 is to build membership and momentum within the Section. If you have colleagues who are conservation scientists in the region, please encourage them to join their professional society. If you have some spare time and want to become more involved with SCB, please do not hesitate to contact me, or any of the board members, as there are many ways that people can develop conservation policy and capacity in the region. The Board thanks Craig Morley and Karen Firestone for their leadership and dedication during their terms as President and Treasurer-Secretary of the Section over the past several years. James Watson
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