21st Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology

The 21st Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology, One World, One Conservation, One Partnership, will be held from 1 - 5 July 2007 in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The Local Organising Committee (LOC) welcomes proposals for symposia, workshops and organised discussions. All proposals must be submitted by 16 October 2006 to 2007@conbio.org The Local Organising Committee expects to select these sessions by 8 December 2006.

The theme of the 2007 annual meeting is One World, One Conservation, One Partnership and emphasises the need to move away from national, regional and disciplinary territoriality in support of a joint effort to conserve the world's biodiversity by uniting towards a common goal. Preference will be given to proposals that relate to one of the four major themes of the meeting (see below). We encourage organizers to address unifying conceptual issues (ecological, social, or both) rather than presenting a series of stand-alone case studies. Topics should differ from those presented at recent SCB annual meetings (see www.conbio.org/2006 for lists). Individuals may not submit more than one proposal. As a general rule, no individual may give more than one presentation at the meeting. Please ensure that your invited speakers have not accepted multiple invitations.

We also encourage organisers to think carefully about the format that best meets their goals. Symposia tend to present information to an audience, with limited opportunity for interaction. Workshops, whether geared toward students or professionals, are more interactive and often have an educational component. Organised discussions are participatory and may be relatively informal.

Symposia will be included in the main scientific program. Workshops and organised discussions will be scheduled to have minimal conflict with symposia and contributed paper sessions (the day immediately before the meeting or during lunch).

All organisers, symposium speakers, and invited participants must register by the early deadline of 16 March 2007.

It is the responsibility of organisers of symposia, workshops and organised discussions to obtain funding for their own expenses and the expenses of their invited speakers or invited participants. The LOC is not responsible for obtaining funds to support speaker travel to the meeting and cannot guarantee that any support will be available. Preference may be given to proposals for which organisers can demonstrate that funds are likely to be available.

The selection of symposia, workshops and organised discussions is a highly competitive process and we encourage proposals from individuals / groups involved in cutting edge conservation science who can demonstrate an alignment with the goals of the SCB.

MEETING THEMES

1. Partnerships for effective conservation
   Biodiversity conservation is dependent on partnerships at all levels; ranging from international agreements to co-management arrangements with local communities. The most effective implementation often occurs at informal levels involving interest groups, NGOs, academic institutions and management agencies. Topics could include current and future implementation challenges of conservation, and how these can be overcome.
   
2. Global change and conservation challenges beyond boundaries
   Global effects such as climate change challenge the current temporal and spatial paradigms in conservation. For example, bio-geographic, political and management boundaries may be re-aligned over time and thus challenge the ongoing utility of current formal and informal conservation areas. Discussions on new approaches to conservation planning and implementation are invited taking cognisance of large scale and long-term effects of global change.
   
3. Linking freshwater, marine and terrestrial conservation
   Terrestrial, marine, and freshwater systems form a network of life, with threats, resources and organisms moving among them. Due to this inter-connectedness, impacts on biodiversity can not be considered in isolation and are often more noticeable away from the point of impact or over time. Non-human induced factors shape populations and communities, which in turn respond by evolving or adapting in order to deal with change. The challenge is to quantify these changes in communities, populations or species across these various systems in order to appropriately protect biodiversity.
   
4. Interactions between biodiversity and society
   Biodiversity adds value to society by providing ecosystem goods and services and contributing to human survival and well-being. How does resource use and economic, social and cultural pressures influence the balance between maintaining natural capital, biodiversity and societal benefits? What approaches and innovations are required to ensure sustainable delivery of these services to society at large and into the future? This is a wide-ranging theme and presentations could investigate ethical perspectives, highlight ideas for and application of new technologies, or discuss approaches to awareness, education and advocacy.

SYMPOSIA

The LOC will accept proposals for two-hour (up to eight presentations) or four-hour (up to sixteen presentations) symposia. Presentation length must be in multiples of 15 minutes (e.g., 15 minutes or 30 minutes) so that the timing of symposium presentations can be coordinated with contributed paper sessions. The last 15 minutes of the symposium may be left open for discussion, thereby reducing the number of presentations by one. Symposia will be included in the main scientific programme.

Proposals must not exceed 1200 words and must include the following information.

1. Symposium title
2. Organiser(s) name, affiliation, and complete contact information, including email address
3. Length (two or four hours)
4. Proposed theme and justification (why the topic is appropriate and significant for presentation at One World, One Conservation, One Partnership)
5. Expected outcomes and, if appropriate, plans for communication of results
6. A tentative list of speakers, presentation titles, and whether each speaker has agreed to participate
7. Whether any necessary funding for organiser and speaker expenses has been secured (for example, are funds available for speaker travel, other expenses?)

WORKSHOPS AND ORGANISED DISCUSSIONS

Workshops and Organised Discussions will be scheduled before the meeting or during lunches.

Proposals must not exceed 1200 words and must include the following information.

1. Workshop or discussion title (specify whether workshop or discussion)
2. Organiser(s) name, affiliation, and complete contact information, including email address
3. Length and preferred location in program (pre-meeting or lunch). Pre-meeting workshops and discussions may be proposed for a maximum of eight hours. Lunch sessions may be a proposed for a maximum of one and a half hours.
4. Proposed theme and justification (why the topic is appropriate and significant for One World, One Conservation, One Partnership)
5. Expected outcomes and, if appropriate, plans for communication of results
6. Format of workshop or discussion and any special logistic requirements (e.g., a room with internet access)
7. Maximum number of participants that can be accommodated
8. Method of selecting participants (invited, open registration, or a combination). If any participants will be invited, include a tentative list of individuals and indicate whether each has agreed to participate.

    

Submit the proposal as a Word document.

For more information, contact the

Local Organising Committee SCB 2007
Centre for African Conservation Ecology (ACE)
Department of Zoology, P O Box 77000
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth 6031
tel +27 41 504 4278; fax +27 41 504 1778
email: 2007@conbio.org; www.conbio.org/2007