Measuring and decreasing SCB’s Ecological Footprint
The Ecological Footprint Committee (EFC) of SCB was born from a desire by the Society to improve our
understanding of how our operations can be modified to reduce resource consumption. Humans have the
potential to degrade our planet but we also have the intelligence to protect its resources, whether as
individuals or as whole groups, organizations and nations. The EFC is pursuing two primary goals: to
measure the ecological impact of SCB through ever-more complex Ecological Footprint Assessments,
and to engage SCB and its membership in specific projects that serve to, at least in some part, move
towards a carbon-neutral status for our activities as a Society. These projects shall also further the
conservation of biodiversity and contribute to the science of ecosystem service conservation. Through
giving back to the environment each time we meet, travel and consume resources in our daily lives, we
can set an example for others.
The search for a more eco-friendly profile of the SCB began several years ago. In 2007, via the global
Annual Congress in 2007, SCB joined with South Africa’s Eastern Cape Parks to restore a degraded
habitat complex at Baviaanskloof. The restoration of vegetated habitat is one of the primary tools
available to humans in our struggle to limit greenhouse gas impacts, particularly the generation of excess
carbon dioxide by air and road travel. The Baviaanskloof habitat is a rare and extremely diverse shrub-
desert complex that is fast diminishing as humans spread out on our planet. SCB members had the
option to contribute a small fee to the implementation of this project, which was delivered to the project
owner in exchange for the carbon offset rights, or greenhouse gas emissions reductions, that are
generated by the project. These offsets, in turn, are used to mitigate the carbon footprint of the SCB’s
operations, including the Annual Congresses. This project was supported by SCB members from 2007-
2009.
The European Section of SCB decided to organize explicitly eco-friendly congresses (European
Congress of Conservation Biology – ECCB). The 2009 ECCB meeting in Prague, with more than 1,200
participants, was the first one to be prepared and implemented according to an ‘eco-friendliness strategy,’
including important details such as the use of glass and china instead of plastic cups. A plenary evening
event was dedicated to the presentation and discussion of the Swedish documentary ‘The Planet’, a
movie that is especially addressing the ecological footprint. As part of the registration fee, an obligatory
amount was levied which is designated to a conservation project with climate relevance. After a call for
tender, the European Section decided to support a project in Cumbria, UK. The goal is to establish a new
native oakwood (5 ha) at Greenah Crag in Cumbria on land owned by Newton Rigg Enterprises Ltd,
which is the University of Cumbria farm estate operation. This habitat has the European Special Area of
Conservation designation (Natura 2000 network). This high level of priority for protection is deemed
necessary because the UK’s Atlantic oakwoods comprise only 61,000 hectares of very fragmented and
vulnerable woodlands. The new oakwood to be planted will also provide a genetically appropriate source
of seedlings for transplanting into Young Wood, the highest Atlantic oakwood in England.
In 2010, as the next carbon offset project and in conjunction with the 24th ICCB, SCB will partner with
Environment Canada, the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA), Nature Conservancy Canada (NCC),
Ducks Unlimited (DU), and the Alberta Fish and Game Association (AFGA) to purchase and manage 390
ha of the Wild Rose Ranch in southern Alberta. Again, the aim is to offset our carbon impacts by
requesting a donation from each ICCB participant, and we have again targeted a habitat type in trouble:
North American grasslands. Grasslands support diverse mammal and bird life in Canada, and the
sequestration of carbon in the soil of grasslands is considerable even compared with carbon-rich forest
ecosystems. SCB is in the process of finalizing the carbon offset management agreement with ACA and
AFGA, and we plan to support this project for the next 3 SCB Congress meetings, from 2010 until 2013.
It is well-established fact that grasslands store significant amounts of carbon, but this storage is
dependent on how the grasslands are managed. Hence, SCB has an opportunity to contribute not only to
offsetting our carbon emissions, but also to improving our ability to manage sensitive ecosystems. The
major threats to grasslands are overgrazing, soil erosion, and conversion to cropland, trends which are
difficult to resist because they relate to human food production. So, aiding this effort by so many
