The Student Affair Committee of the European Section is created!

During the last meeting of the Board of Directors of the European Section of the SCB, in February 2010, the Student's Affair Committee of the European Section of the SCB has been officially recognized.

We, at the Student Affair Committee, want to be the voice of students in the Europe Section, promoting student participation in the Society, in its activities and in conservation biology in general.

For this, we wish to create opportunities for students such as promoting interaction with the European community of conservation professionals, organizing workshops on particularly relevant topics (e.g., grant writing, publishing, paper reviewing, teaching), and facilitate student participation at ECCB meetings, starting with the upcoming one in Glasgow.

We have our web page (http://scb-students.wikispaces.com) which we update with upcoming events in the conservation field such as congresses, courses or student competitions, career opportunities, and also current job openings and a list of grant and scholarship funds, along with current news. The “Wiki” format makes it easy for anyone to add their own event or news, so anyone should feel free to use it and announce their own news, event or position. There is also an option to receive notices (RSS feed) whenever new activities or news are placed in the site.

We also make use of the existing Europe Section mailing list (europe@listserv.conbio.org) to send student related news and activities. So if you are interested make sure to subscribe!


The first chair of the SAC-ES is Nuno Curado. He currently works for an environmental NGO in Portugal, in a LIFE+ project. He got to know the SCB-ES in their Summer Schools and in the ECCB’s, which he believes are great ways for students to become involved in conservation and in the Society.


We are currently looking for people who are interested in joining and making an active contribution to the SAC-ES. So, if you are a student, professor, recent graduate, or motivated for student issues, send me an email to nfcurado@hotmail.com and join us!


On behalf of the SAC-ES
Nuno Curado

ECCB Ecofriendlyness grant goes to National School of Forestry carbon off-set and biodiversity restoration project

"We’re looking at the whole system – not just carbon in the trees but also in the soil, and there are biodiversity benefits too; it isn’t just about quickly growing some spruce!"

A bid from the University of Cumbria's National School of Forestry has been selected by the Board as a partial off-set for the European Congress of Conservation Biology which was held in Prague in 2009. The bid to establish a new native oakwood at Greenah Crag on the University’s estate was led by the National School of Forestry’s Dr Andrew Weatherall, Dave Atkinson and Dr Owen Nevin.

Ninety percent of Atlantic oakwoods, Europe’s temperate rainforest, are found in western UK. High rainfall and humidity throughout the year due to the oceanic climate means these are internationally important for the number and abundance of rare lower plant species. This habitat has the European Special Area of Conservation designation (Natura 2000 network). This project will demonstrate how combining funds from carbon offset projects with state funding for afforestation can increase native woodland cover in Cumbria, England and the UK. The increase in native woodland will have conservation benefits for a range of woodland flora and fauna.

The BoD meets in Freiburg (Germany) 19-21 February 2010

The BoD of the European Section of the Society for Conservation Biology will meet at Freiburg/Breisgau. The Baden-Württemberg State Ministry has offered for us to hold our next Board meeting at the wine research Institute in Freiburg/Breisgau. This will include a field trip to a project "Nature conservation in Vineyards" and a talk on the implementation of Natura 2000 in Baden-Württemberg by the head of the regional conservation administration. In principle the State Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Nature Conservation has expressed his interest to welcome the BoD.

Freiburg is a beautiful city in the upper Rhine valley and famous for its eco-approaches (Ecological Capital of Germany). Its university is quite famous. I have close links to the on site regional conservation administration. Foto: Aerial Picture Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, 16 August 2004, Thomas Maier (CC)

EEA proposed forest biodiversity indicators fail to meet their objectives

Given the upcoming year 2010, when progress towards the 2010-target is to be assessed, relevant and credible indicators of European biodiversity are of outmost importance. On important aspects of European forest biodiversity the indicators suggested by the European Environment Agency (EEA) fails to provide the needed evaluation.

In a recent report from the EEA (Anon 2007), sets of indicators are presented for European biodiversity aiming at evaluating the 2010-target. Concerning forest biodiversity three indicators are suggested; Ecosystem coverage, Forest growing stocks and Dead wood. Of these only the last has any relevance for the biodiversity trends in European forests.

- Ecosystem coverage of 13 different ecosystem types is suggested and any kind of tree covered area is one of these indicators. The claim is that this indicator "has a high relevance for biodiversity because it indicates the area of available habitats and ecosystems across Europe". This is simply not true. We have seen major ecosystem shifts within European forests through the logging of old-growth natural forests, use of exotic tree species, fertilization, drainage and various types of pollution. A simple measure of tree covered areas masks all these factors having profound negative effects on forest biodiversity.

- For indicator “Forest growing stock” is stated that "Growing stock is an important and well‑accepted proxy for biodiversity". The increase in growing stock seen in several European countries has come as a consequence of intensive forest management including, clear-cutting, thinning, exotic tree species, fertilization, drainage and plant breeding. These activities all have negative consequences for forest biodiversity as they cause loss of natural forest habitats and genetic variation. In no respect does “growing stock” serve as a valid “proxy for biodiversity”

The clear failure to identify relevant indicators of European forest biodiversity is surprising and raises the question behind this failure. I assume that the intentions have been the very best and that something in the process has gone wrong. With due respect to the individual experts taking part in the process, I do note that with a few exceptions the experts are officials from various organizations, authorities and ministries. The limited involvement of scientist is obvious. I cannot evaluate if this is a deliberate choice of the EEA or a lack of interest from the scientific community to participate. For whatever reason, the result is that the SEB 2010 lack relevant and credible indicators on forest biodiversity and hence should not be used to evaluate the 2010-target.

Anon 2007. Halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010: proposal for a first set of indicators to monitor progress in Europe. EEA Technical report No 11/2007.