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.

ECCB 2012 to be held in Glasgow

The Board of Directors of the Society for Conservation Biology - Europe made a decision on the upcoming 3rd European Congress of Conservation Biology. There were four excellent bids and the decision was not easy. However, after two days of discussions, the BoD unanimously voted for Glasgow.
So please mark already in your calendar:
3rd ECCB, Glasgow, 28 August - 01 September 2012.

Call of Interest - 3rd European Congress of Conservation Biology

The Europe Section of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB-ES) is seeking a host and venue for its 3rd European Congress of Conservation Biology to be held in 2012.

You can download the pdf version of this document here.

After the successes of the ECCB2006 (Eger, Hungary, 1000+ participants) and ECCB2009 (Prague, Czech Republic, 1200+ participants, www.eccb2009.org), we expect that the 3rd Congress will be similarly well attended. At this stage, the Board of Directors of SCB-ES is seeking expressions of interest in holding the 3rd European Congress of Conservation Biology in 2012 (ECCB2012).

Expressions of interest should contain the following (max. 2 A4 pages):

1. The location (country, city and proposed host institution).
2. The local organisers and contact details.
3. The advantages of this location in terms of access, transport andinfrastructure; brief summary of conference facilities.
4. The attractiveness of this location from an ecological perspective.
5. Suggestion for the timing of the conference, with justification (e.g. relevance to a key theme or possibilities for holding the meeting jointly with another organisation).
6. Special accommodation possibilities to attract student participants.
7. Profit sharing will be negotiated at a later date; at this stage, however, interested host institutions must agree to take financial responsibility forthe congress in case of any loss.

Expressions of interest should be sent to András Báldi at baldi@nhmus.hu by October 31st 2009. Short-listed expressions will be invited to submit full proposals by January 31st 2010.

Great Success of attendance at the Second European Congress of Conservation Biology

News from Prague. From the 1st to the 5th September the Second European Congress on Conservation Biology took place at The Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague. More than 1200 Conservation Scientist, students, manager and policy makers from 56 countries meet for this very important event, that takes place every three years in Europe. There was a 20 % increase in attendance compared to previous meeting in 2006 in Eger, Hungary. In this way the ECCB becomes, uncontested, as the main Conservation Biology scientific meeting in Europe. Very interesting and provocative plenary talks were given by Dr. Ladislav Miko, Minister of Environment, Czech Republic, Dr. Joan Martinez-Alier, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Dr. William Sutherland, University of Cambridge, and Dr. Petr Pysek, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.

The next ECCB (European Congress of Conservation Biology will take place in 2012. We hope to see you there.

ECCB 2009 Steering Commitee Meeting

The Steering Committee of the 2nd European Congress of Conservation Biology met with the Local Organizing Committee at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague. The meeting started at 8:00 with a visit to the venue where the congress will take place. The Committee was really happy with the facilities offered by the University Congress Center. The place looks really wonderful. There will be two rooms with around 500 people capacity that will be connected by a video conference system and that will be used for the plenary talks. The Conference Center has capacity for up to twelve parallel sessions, although we hope to be able to keep the congress with no more than 8 or 10 parallel sessions.
At 9:00 we started the formal meeting. The LOC presented how is the current situation. Abstract submission is now closed and the congress has received over 1200 abstracts. This is a 50% increase in abstract submission compared to ECCB 2006!. So we are expecting around 1500 participants in Prague. It is going to be a huge congress!
The Steering Committee meeting was very successful. The BoD was very happy with all that has been accomplished by the Local Committee. Distribution of information about the congress has been really good as can be seen from the number of different countries submitting abstracts.

ECCB 2009 - Extended abstract deadline 13th February!

Extension of deadline for abstract submission

The organisers would like to thank all those who have shown such high interest in ECCB 2009. Due to numerous requests the abstract submission deadline has been extended untilFriday 13th February, 2009!!!
If you haven’t yet submitted an abstract, don’t miss this last opportunity to shape the program. There will be no further extension. Complete instructions are available at www.eccb2009.org/index.php/callforpapers. If you have any queries or questions do not hesitate to contact ECCB 2009 Congress Secretariat: conference@eccb2009.org (mailto:conference@eccb2009.org ).
Looking forward to meet you in Prague,

Petr Zasadil
Chair of Local Organising Committee

ECCB abstract submission

I was deeply involved into the organisation of the 1st ECCB in Eger, 2006. Then, we invested a lot efforts to provide possibilities for social activities. Now I have some insight to the organisation of the 2nd ECCB too. I can confirm that the organisers do a great job. Did you find on the registration page the many exciting programs, from bat watching to exploration of the university's own brewery? Imagine a day, start with beer tasting in campus, then all day science, and finally some bat watching! And many more - this is what the organisers offer.
At the moment, however, the main task is on the conservation biologist community. That is, to submit abstracts until 31 January. Although the abstract-counter nicely increasing day after day, we should still urge our friends and colleagues to join the congress. Please help ECCB and the Europe Section of SCB with spreading the information about the congress as widely as possible.

András Báldi

2nd European Congress of Conservation Biology. Abstract submission is now open!

2nd European Congress of Conservation Biology; “Conservation biology and beyond: from science to practice”

The organisers (SCB – European section & Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague) would like to provide some information regarding the congress.

Authors are invited to submit abstracts of papers (speed presentations, oral presentations, posters or invited symposia presentations) according to the topics of the scientific programme (see below). Call for oral/poster abstracts is open from October 01, 2008 to January 31, 2009.

For submitting abstracts please use this link http://www.eccb2009.org/index.php/callforpapers

More information is available on the aforesaid congress Web site.
The general topic areas will cover many disciplines related to nature
conservation:

Alien and invasive species;
Artificial light and noise pollution;
Biodiversity and conservation in Non European Countries;
Biogeography;
Climate change and biodiversity;
Conservation at the science-policy interface;
Conservation capacity building;
Conservation genetics;
Conservation in a socio-economic context;
Conservation in agricultural landscapes;
Economics of biodiversity;
Ecosystem management: theory and practice;
Ecosystem services;
Education and outreach;
Ex-situ conservation;
Fire ecology and management;
Forestecology and management;
Freshwater and wetland ecology;
Game ecology and sustainable hunting;
Grassland ecology and management;
Habitat fragmentation and metapopulation dynamics;
Impact of transport infrastructures;
Inventory and monitoring;
Landscape ecology and conservation;
Marine conservation;
Methods and analytical tools;
Natura 2000;
Population ecology and conservation;
Protected areas: planning, design and management;
Recovery of endangered species ;
Risk assessment and uncertainty;
Scientists and managers: bridging the gap;
Spatial ecology and conservation;
Urban ecology and conservation;
Other _____________________

Please note that the call for Symposia & Workshops is now closed and a list of those accepted will be posted soon.
Established registration fees will be announced soon on the congress Web site.
Registration will open from November 01, 2008!!!

For more details about the congress please visit the website
www.eccb2009.org ( http://www.eccb2009.org/ ).
For general information or expressions of interest, please contact the
Congress Secretariat at conference@eccb2009.org.

We are looking forward to meet you in Prague!