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The city of Bonn, Germay will host the 9th UN Conference of Parties on the Convention about the Biological Diversity (CBD) and the 4th Meeting of Parties on the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The European Section will be among the several exhibitors on the Expo of Diversity, a satellite event of the CoP from 27-30 May (http://www.plaza-of-diversity.org/1182.html ). We will advertise the upcoming 2nd European Congress of Conservation Biology on the Expo. Come and meet us at the Section's booth!
Registration is open for the Greek Summer School “Introduction to Conservation Biology":a summer international school to promote conservation science”, organised by the SCB-ES in collaboration with the University of Ioannina and the Center of Biological and Cultural Diversity, Greece. The summer school will be held in Papingo, Greece 31 August to 7 September 2008. Registration is open until 25 June 2008. For further information and online registration visit http://www.cbcd.eu/gss/
The work of the Policy Committee has recently led to the Section resubmitting the Bialowieza Resolution to the new Polish Minister of Environment, Prof. Maciek Nowicki in April. The Resolution (available at http://www.conbio.org/sections/europe/Policy/BialowiezaResolution.pdf) was first submitted in 2003, when Poland was not yet a member of the European Union. Now, Bialowieza Forest (Eastern Poland), the last primeval lowland forest in Europe, is a Natura 2000 site. However, most of its area (82%) still undergoes commercial logging and forest management. The SCB has expressed his desire for the protection of the whole forest, as a unique European biodiversity treasure and a reference point in scientific research and conservation.
Meeting with Ladislav Miko in Brussels
The SCB-ES Board continues to work to enhance the profile and reputation of the section among practitioners, academics and government administrators at both the national and European level and while we were in Brussels we had the opportunity to meet with Ladislav Miko, Director of the Protecting the Natural Environment section of the Directorate General for the Environment in the European Commission. This was a very productive meeting which has led to the SCB’s involvement in the Commission’s The Economics of the Global Loss of Biological Diversity project. We hope to develop and build on this relationship in the future.
New Committee Chairs elected
During the Board meeting in Brussels the Board had the task of filling the committee chairs which were vacated when Cagan Sekercioglu, Pierre Ibisch and Renato Massa finished their terms of office on the Board at the end of 2007. We are pleased to announce that Gábor Lövei was unanimously elected as chair of the Membership Committee and in 2008 will be working along side Javier Bustamante, the Section’s Elections Officer to become familiar with this role before Javier’s term of office expires at the end of 2008. Nuria Selva, already an active member of the Policy Committee, was unanimously elected as chair of that group. Vassiliki Kati became chair of the Education Committee after another unanimous vote.
The ECCB will take place from 1-5 September 2009 at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague and has the theme “Conservation biology and beyond: from science to practice.” For key dates see the ECCB announcement in this section or visit the congress website for up-to-date information (www.eccb2009.org). We are currently accepting proposals for symposia and workshops to be held at the Congress; the deadline for submission is August 31st 2008 and further details are available on the website.
BoD meeting in Brussels, February 2008
In February the Board of the European Section met at the IUCN Regional Office for Europe in Brussels. During the meeting the Board reviewed the Section’s activities in 2007, developed a work plan for 2008 and dedicated a day to further preparations for the 2nd European Congress of Conservation Biology (ECCB).
New Co-ordinator from 1st February 2008
During 2007, the board decided to that the Section would benefit from the appointment of a part time development coordinator. We were able to take this bold step as a result of the very successful ECCB meeting in Eger, Hungary in 2006. We are pleased to announce that on 1 February, Barbara Mihok began working in support of the Section. Barbara will be based at the Hungarian Museum of Natural History and will focus on maintaining and strengthening the European membership of SCB. Europe@conbio.org
Barbara Mihok has an MSc in Biology and is currently finishing her Ph.D. in forest ecology in Hungary. She is trained in development of civil organizations and studied environmental conservation at Oxford.
Board elections
The Section held its annual elections at the end of 2007. Four positions on the board were open this year with none of the current board members running for reelection. Congratulations to the four new members: Gabor Lovei (Denmark), Nuria Selva (Poland), Ozgun Emre Can (Turkey), and Petr Zasadil (Czech Republic).
Gabor Lovei is a Senior Scientist in the Applied Ecology Group of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. He is an invertebrate ecologist and ornithologist who mainly works in agro-ecosystems in Europe and New Zealand. He brings a valuable range of skills and experience to the board.
Nuria Selvais based in Poland and is currently involved in large-carnivore conservation projects. Working with carnivores has exposed Nuria to the conservation-policy interface and she has been actively involved with the Section's Policy Committee for several years. We look forward to working with her in her new role as a board member and chair of that committee.
Emre Can is also a carnivore conservation biologist. A native of Turkey, he completed his BSc in Biology at the Middle Eastern Technical University, Turkey before completing an MSc on wolf ecology at CIHEAM, France. He returned to METU for another Master's and since then has worked with national and international NGOs (including WWF, WSPA, WCS, UNDP) in Turkey conducting carnivore research and management projects. We are pleased to see continued Turkish representation on the Section's board.
Petr Zasadil is Vice-Dean for Research in the Faculty of Forestry and Environment in the Czech University of Life Science, Prague. Petr is a welcome addition to the board and destined to be one of our busiest members -- he is also chair of the local organizing committee for the second European Congress of Conservation Biology, which his institution will host.
2nd European Congress of Conservation Biology – venue and dates selected
As noted, the venue and dates for the second European Congress of Conservation Biology have been selected. The Section and Czech University of Life Science warmly invite you to join us at their campus in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, from 1-5 September 2009.
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