Join the SCB Europe Section Board - Call for nominations by 15th October!

Dear SCB Europe Section Member,     

We invite you to submit nominations for the next Board of Directors (BOD) elections for the Society for Conservation Biology – Europe Section.  We have four seats that will be opening:    

BOARD MEMBER

We need candidates that are willing and capable to allocate time to the work on the SCB-ES Board. We do not need candidates unwilling to take on SCB-ES tasks on top of their usual workload.

Board Members’ duties include active input to BoD activities and the willingness to chair one of our standing committees.  We particularly seek for persons interested in conservation education and/or policy. BoD activities also include travel to two BoD meetings per year somewhere in Europe usually in February and October. 

If you know of anyone who would be a good candidate for these slots (including YOURSELF; self-nominations are quite common) please submit the following form by e-mail to:   

                

Mikko Mönkkönen, mikko.monkkonen@jyu.fi, BoD Member and Nominations Officer.

            

In subject indicate EXACTLY to facilitate my work:    

"SCB-ES elections"

The deadline for nominations is 15th October 2013.

Best regards,

          

Mikko Mönkkönen

SCB BoD Member and Nominations Officer   

                  

________________________________________________________________            

Nomination Form – Board of Directors, Society for Conservation Biology - Europe Section    

           

Nominations are sought for four members on the BoD

               

DEADLINE:  18th October 2013  

ELECTIONS:  28 October to 15 November 2013

TERM OF OFFICE: Board members 3 years starting 1 January 2014

                       

Nominees must be members in good standing of the Society for Conservation Biology and members of the Europe Section (join at: www.conbio.org) and have to accept running for election before the deadline.   

                       

By agreeing to stand for election, nominees indicate their willingness to serve the SCB-ES by attending all Board of Directors meetings during their term of office (three years for all officers). Board meetings occur twice a year somewhere in Europe.  In addition, Board members are expected to be actively engaged in directing the SCB-ES through committee work.     

               

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   

Nominee's Information   

            

Name of Nominee:   

Nomination Category:   "Board member"

Address:   

City:   

State, Province or Region:   

Postal Code:   

Country (of residence):   

Phone:   

Fax:   

Email:   

If you can provide a short biographical sketch of the Nominee, please do it:   

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your Information (if different)   

            

Your Name:   

Your Email Address:   

Board Elections - Results

The SCB Europe Section's elections are over, and we are happy to welcome (back) our re-elected new member Rob Marrs in the Board.

We thank our members for participating in the voting!

SCB-ES Board

SCB EUROPE SECTION ELECTIONS NOW OPEN

PLEASE LOG ON TO CONBIO.ORG TO VOTE

PLEASE VOTE BEFORE ELECTIONS CLOSE ON 5 DECEMBER

 Nominees for Board members

Name of Nominee: Dr Tim Graham MIEEM
Nomination Category: Board member

Tim is currently changing roles at a local conservation NGO, previously managing the Biodiversity Action Plan Partnership which led the implementation and delivery of the CBD at a local level in the UK, based on the UK BAP. Due to national and devolved frameworks emerging, Tim now develops partnership projects and partnership working to deliver biodiversity outcomes at a landscape scale. This has included managing regional projects to conserve Water Vole, starting grassland restoration projects, developing upland restoration projects and being the national lead on the Nemertean worm Prostoma jenningsi, endemic to a single pond in Lancashire, UK (currently, if not confirmed since 1999).

A strong interest in restoration ecology started with a masters in Land Reclamation and Restoration at Cranfield University, under Professor Jim Harris, and this developed into considerable interest in urban ecology and resulting research on urban wildflower meadows and integrating biodiversity into urban design at the Department of Landscape, University of Sheffield.

Outside of professional work I started and chair the local Mammal Group trying to develop mammal conservation and data in the area, I am a trustee and treasurer for North West Naturalists Union who encompass and preserve our skills and heritage in biological recording as well as developing key local data on species and habitats. I am also secretary for the Conservation Ecology group at the British Ecological Society, who try to promote the science of ecology and its practice relating to conservation outcomes and working with practitioners and the research communities. I also enjoy trying to get the chance to volunteer on projects around the world, including some great trips to Costa Rica and Indonesia, when time and money allow.

 
Name of Nominee: Prof. Rob Marrs
Nomination Category: Board member

Rob is currently the Bulley Professor of Applied Plant Biology within the School of Environmental Science at the University of Liverpool. He has wide-ranging interests in understanding how ecosystems change and how they can be manipulated towards specified end-points. Rob served the Board already for three years, chaired the successful education committee, and contributed significantly to the organization of the 3rd EuropeanCongress of Conservation Biology. He has been editor of the influential journal Biological Conservation and is involved in the development of the Centre for Environmental Evidence and its new journal Environmental Evidence. Rob is keen to develop training across Europe for students of conservation biology, expanding summer schools and assisting with the planning of ECCB 2015.

Board Elections - Call for Nominations is open until 29th October

We invite you to submit nominations for the next Board of Directors (BOD) elections for the Society for Conservation Biology – Europe Section.  We have 1 seat that will be opening:    

BOARD MEMBER

We need candidates that are willing and capable to allocate time to the work on the SCB-ES Board. We do not need candidates unwilling to take on SCB-ES tasks on top of their usual workload.

Board Members’ duties include active input to BoD activities and the willingness to chair one of our standing committees.  We particularly seek for persons interested in conservation education and/or policy. BoD activities also include travel to two BoD meetings per year somewhere in Europe usually in February and October. 

If you know of anyone who would be a good candidate for these slots (including YOURSELF; self-nominations are quite common) please submit the following form by e-mail to:   

                

Mikko Mönkkönen, mikko.monkkonen@jyu.fi, BoD Member and Nominations Officer.

            

In subject indicate EXACTLY to facilitate my work:    

"SCB-ES elections"

The deadline for nominations is 29th October 2012.

Best regards,

          

Mikko Mönkkönen

SCB BoD Member and Nominations Officer   

                  

________________________________________________________________            

Nomination Form – Board of Directors, Society for Conservation Biology - Europe Section    

           

Nominations are sought for one member on the BoD

               

DEADLINE:  29th October 2012    

ELECTIONS:  5 November to 5 December 2012

TERM OF OFFICE: Board members 3 years starting 1 January 2013

                       

Nominees must be members in good standing of the Society for Conservation Biology and members of the Europe Section (join at: www.conbio.org) and have to accept running for election before the deadline.   

                       

By agreeing to stand for election, nominees indicate their willingness to serve the SCB-ES by attending all Board of Directors meetings during their term of office (three years for all officers). Board meetings occur twice a year somewhere in Europe.  In addition, Board members are expected to be actively engaged in directing the SCB-ES through committee work.     

               

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   

Nominee's Information   

            

Name of Nominee:   

Nomination Category:   "Board member"

Address:   

City:   

State, Province or Region:   

Postal Code:   

Country (of residence):   

Phone:   

Fax:   

Email:   

If you can provide a short biographical sketch of the Nominee, please do it:   

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your Information (if different)   

            

Your Name:   

Your Email Address:    

New members on the Board - Welcome!

Margherita Gioria is the principal investigator of a project aimed at evaluating the impact of agriculture on Ireland's freshwater biodiversity. Over the years, she has worked extensively on evaluating changes in biodiversity associated with anthropogenic activities, including the introduction of invasive alien species, climate change, and the intensification of agricultural practices. Her main research interests are the measurement of patterns of biodiversity at multiple spatial scales, the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, the effects of global changes on biodiversity, the ecology and biology of invasive species, and the impact of plant invasions on ecosystems, including the susceptibility of invaded communities to secondary invasions. Her research activities have a strong laboratory, field, and theoretical component. Recently, her research has focused on the development of an analytical framework aimed at identifying surrogate taxa for biodiversity based on cross-taxa relationships and on the response of multiple taxonomic groups to the same set of environmental variables. Margherita has been provided guest lectures on specific topics including invasion ecology, biological monitoring, research methods, and multivariate analysis. She has supervised a number of undergraduate and masters students working on evaluating the conservation value of ecosystems or habitats such as golf courses, esker pond systems, springs and headstreams.

Pierre Ibisch is professor for Nature Conservation with the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development. He is currently holding a research professorship for "Biodiversity conservation and natural resource management under global change"; among others, they implement research projects on the adaptation of conservation to climate/global change. He has a strong background in conservation and development in South America where he has lived and worked for about 9 years. He served in the policy committee and has been member of the Board once (2005-2007), a great experience in exciting times when the SCB-ES started to mature and made great progress. For a while, he chaired the Policy Committee and was actively involved in the preparation and realization of the first two European Conferences for Conservation Biology (ECCB). He promoted the integration of sustainability issues into the section's work. They created a first European 'footprint offset' conservation project, and strived for a green Prague meeting. He is linked to the global SCB Environmental Footprint Committee.

Gábor Lövei is an ecologist and entomologist. He was born and educated in Hungary, but has been working in the field of ecology, ornithology, and entomology in several European countries, China, New Zealand, and Africa. Currently is a Senior Scientist at Aarhus University, Denmark, and Adjunct Professor at the Plant Protection Institute, Beijing, China. His scientific activity includes research in conservation biology with special focus on invasion ecology, biodiversity on cultivated land, environmental biosafety of transgenic plants, biological control of arthropod pests, bird migration, tropical ecology and scientific communication. Author of >120 peer-reviewed papers, editor of 8 books. Founding Director of the Training Center in Communication, Nairobi, Kenya, with long teaching experience in the area of scientific writing and communication. Within the Society, Gábor (with Rob Marrs) held two successful training courses in scientific writing at the two European Conservation Biology conferences, and teaches in the Greek Summer School.

Mikko Mönkönnen is professor in applied ecology at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, and currently the head of the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences. He did his PhD in ecology studying the biogeography and community ecology of forest birds in Europe and North America after a year at the Canadian Wildlife Service. Since that his research interests have widened to cover landscape ecology and ecological economics of forest dwelling species including mammals, insects, fungi and plants. His current research interests focus on finding cost-efficient tools at the landscape level to reconcile economically sustainable use of forests and maintenance of forest biodiversity. This is becoming even more challenging with the global climate change and intensification of human land-use practices. He has a long experience to collaborate and communicate with regional and national level authorities on practical environmental issues. He has noticed that efficient communication and mutual involvement among scientist, conservation practitioners and policy makers is a prerequisite for efficient conservation practice but even more important is the ability to think big yet willingness to act step-by-step.

Andrew Ramsey is a principal lecturer in the Centre for Wildlife Conservation at the University of Cumbria, UK. He has been involved with the SCB since 2004, and is an active member of the European and Global education committees. This work has included teaching and organising courses at SCB global meetings and European congresses, and being heavily involved in the Greek Summer Schools. Most of his research involves interdisciplinary work developing strategies to maximise biodiversity benefits within economically active woodland ecosystems in the UK, Greece, Austria, Finland and Malaysia. He is also involved in research on red squirrel habitat networks, chemical communication strategies in brown bear, and conservation of freshwater mussels. Andrew has been involved in a range of initiatives, including leading the development of thriving undergraduate courses, postgraduate courses, linking conservation biology to the media, as well as teaching on a wide range of programmes.

Board Elections - 5 seats are open. Now the time has come for you to join the BoD or to nominate somebody!

In the upcoming Board of Directors (BoD) elections for the Society for Conservation Biology - Europe Section (SCB-ES) we have 5 seats open for Board Members. Ideally we would like to have two to three candidates for each position with a good balance of nationalities and gender.

We need candidates that are willing and capable to allocate time to the work on the SCB-ES Board. We do not need candidates unwilling to take on SCB-ES tasks on top of their usual workload! Work includes active input to BoD activities and the willingness to chair one of our standing committees. BoD activities also include travel to two BoD meetings per year somewhere in Europe usually in February – October.

If you know of anyone who would be a good candidate for one of these slots (including YOURSELF; self-nominations are quite common) please submit the following form by e-mail to:

Dr. Ozgun Emre Can, emre.can@daad-alumni.de, BoD Member and Nominations Officer, before 15th OCTOBER 2010.

In subject indicate EXACTLY to facilitate my work: "SCB-ES elections"

Please note that the deadline is 15 October 2010.

Best regards,
Ozgun Emre Can, Ph.D.
SCB-ES BoD Member and Nominations Officer

IF YOU NOMINATE SOMEONE APART OF YOURSELF DO IT WITH TIME SO I CAN ASK FOR HIS/HER ACCEPTANCE BEFORE THE DEADLINE.
________________________________________________________________

Nomination Form – Board of Directors, Society for Conservation Biology - Europe Section
Nominations are sought for four members on the BoD.
DEADLINE: 15 October 2010
ELECTIONS: 1 to 30 November 2010
TERM: 3 yr starting 1 January 2011

Nominees must be members in good standing of the Society for Conservation Biology and members of the Europe Section and have to accept running for election before the deadline.

By agreeing to stand for election, nominees indicate their willingness to serve the SCB-ES by attending all Board of Directors meetings during their term of office (three years for all officers). Board meetings occur twice a year somewhere in Europe. In addition, Board members are expected to be actively engaged in directing the SCB-ES through committee work.

--------------------------------------------------------------
Nominee's Information

Name of Nominee:
Nomination Category: "Board member"
Address:
City:
State, Province or Region:
Postal Code:
Country (of residence):
Phone:
Fax:
Email:
If you can provide a short biographical sketch of the Nominee, please do it:

-----------------------------------
Your Information (if different)

Your Name:
Your Email Address:

------------------------------------

2008 Election Results

We have now the results of the 2008 annual election for new members on the Board of directors. András Báldi (Hungary) will be the new President Elect. Raphaël Arlettaz (Switzerland), Barbara Livoreil (France) and Bengt Gunnar Jonsson (Sweden) have been elceted as new directors on the board. We would like to thank Linda Olsvig-Whittaker, Markku T. Kuitunen, Gavin M. Siriwardena, Sajid Mehmood, Jeremy Cherfas, Piere Ibisch, and Judit Vörös for running in this elections. The new members will take seat on January the 1st, when Andrew Pullin (President), Per Sjögren-Gulve and myself, Javier Bustamante, will end their term on the Board.

Candidates for "Board Member" 2008

This November we have to elect three new members of the Board of Directors (BoD), to take the chairs of those that end a three years term. We have 9 candidates for "Board Member". Here you have the names of those running for the election with their election statement. I indicate the country in which the candidate is resident. There can be no more than two board members resident in the same country in the BoD

Linda Olsvig-Whittaker (Israel)

"I am a conservation biologist in the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA). In that context, most of my professional cooperation is with Europe. At present I am participating in EBONE, a pan-European conservation project under the FP7 framework (see www.ebone.wur.nl for more information on this project) as a workpackage leader. I previously served on the board of directors of the SCB Asia Section for six years, successfully helping to establish that Section, but after being elected for two terms, I reached my limit on that board. That was fun and interesting, but in fact my closest connection is with European conservation, which probably serves as the best model for what we are doing here in Israel.

Personal background: Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology (1980, Cornell University, under R.H. Whittaker) with special emphasis on plant community ecology, a strong background in informatics and multivariate statistics, and ten years as a research scientist in the Ben Gurion University's Institute for Desert Research (1984-1994) before moving to the INPA. Here I am responsible for conservation informatics, database management, data analysis, monitoring and inventory. In that context I participated as a workpackage leader in both the European BioCISE and BioCASE projects (establishing the European version of GBIF). I am still the national node contact for BioCASE. I am also a workpackage leader in EBONE.

My special contribution is probably that I am fairly good at organization and strategy. I was the communications officer for the Asia Section for six years and helped to set up the first section conference in Kathamandu, Nepal. I am fairly good at logistical and technical problems. Also, as an ecologist and conservation biologist, I have worked in both academia and government, hence have a fairly broad perspective on conservation."


Barbara Livoreil (France)

"After a PhD in ethology, I have been working as a scientific officer for 10 years in a small NGO in France. My duties are manyfold, from developing and implementing scientific programs for the conservation of Hermann’s tortoises, to consulting, educating and communicating about conservation sciences. This very local, community-based approach teaches me a lot about “conservation in the real world”, on a daily basis, with local people and problems. On the other hand, member of SCB since 1998, I joined the European Section in 2001 and rapidly got involved in its Policy Committee. Member of the Board of Directors and recently chair of the Communication Committee, I really enjoy the wonderful team-spirit of the still-growing SCB, and the European and international insights of conservation it conveys. Linking local to global is a major challenge, and science can be a very useful tool to ensure the best possible solutions. Helping to promote sciences at all level is my wish and commitment, in order to build up a better, sustainable and biodiverse world."


Raphaël Arlettaz (Switzerland)

"My ultimate goal is to bridge the gap between conservation research and concrete implementation in practice so as to obtain real changes for endangered biodiversity. My double position actually enables me to work efficiently in these two complementary fields. First, I am heading the first chair of conservation biology ever created (2001) in a Swiss university (Bern), where research – with a strong relevance for practical conservation issues – focuses above all on endangered vertebrate species inhabiting agro-ecosystems and alpine ecosystems. Second, I am leading a field station of the Swiss ornithological institute in the Alps, where one both conducts monitoring work and implements conservation action in close collaboration with governmental agencies and various stakeholders, with recommendations and guidelines stemming from the outcome of the research of my group at university. I’d like to help the European Section of the Society of Conservation Biology to work out similar joinventures between scientists and practitioners so as to bridge the great divide between conservation research and implementation."

Markku T. Kuitunen (Finland)

"Prof. Markku Kuitunen (born 22.11.1953) has 26 year's experience in research and education of environmental issues and conservation biology. His quality is to consider issues within large topics. His basic education lays in ecology and environmental management. However, he masters not only the vertebrates, invertebrates and plants, but also chemistry, social sciences, statistics and philosophy. He has visited in large number of universities or natural museums all over the world, lived in Hungary, Australia and worked one year in USA at the Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota.

Professionally his research is focusing the linkage between human and natural systems, particularly to assess the constraints how human induced environment limits on the existence of other living organisms. He has been intensely interested in the values of biological diversity and their conservation or restoration, and the role of education in shaping these conservation issues. The primary research applies these principles on the levels of landscapes, populations, individuals, and humans. In practice, I prefer on considering the questions of ecological impacts when assessing the human caused alterations on natural systems. He has taught many courses in Ecology, Conservation Biology, Environmental Management and EIA for the last twenty-five years."

Gavin M Siriwardena (United Kingdom)

"I have been fascinated by the natural world, and by birds in particular,since I was a child and have an equally long interest in conservation. At school, I also discovered a strong interest in science and followed all these interests up by focusing on biology. I studied zoology at Cambridge University, concentrating on ecology and behaviour, and went on to study for my PhD at Leicester University, working on vocal communication in carrion crows. Between and after my degree courses, I kept up my involvement in conservation by taking short contract and volunteer work with major NGOs in the UK (the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust). Subsequently, as a post-doctoral researcher, I have worked at the British Trust for Ornithology since 1996, working mostly on the ecology and demography of farmland bird populations. This work has focused on analyses of long-term data on abundance and demography and, latterly, on landscape-scale experiments investigating behavioural and population responses to agri-environment measures. I have published a dozen or so papers as first author, in journals such as Journal of Applied Ecology, Ibis, Ecography and Bird Study, and have spoken and/or organized round table discussions at a range of national and international conferences.

I am very keen to join the board of the European section of the SCB, both to expand my own scientific horizons and to use my skills and experience to help conservation science in whatever way I can."

Sajid Mehmood (Pakistan)

"While the parts played by Biochemist/Molecular Biologist in the conservation biology is now became established. The Biochemist/Molecular biologist, however, have important contributions to make, the principal activities including the study of population dynamics and affinities of organisms in natural populations using molecular techniques and to study the ecological and genetic impact of certain/selected species and their impact on environment. Being as a Biochemist/Molecular Biologist I have concern about all these issues and want to work in these areas."

Jeremy Cherfas (Italy)

"I was one of the original founding members of the Society, after the meeting at Asilomar, and maintain an interest in the Society and its development. I particularly welcome the idea of regional chapters because, once they reach critical mass, they can contribute in both directions, giving people a sense of ownership of the Society and also feeding back and influencing the other chapters. My main interest is agricultural biodiversity and its conservation and use, and I would hope to build bridges between the two communities, which too often regard one another as in opposition."

Bengt Gunnar Jonsson (Sweden)

"Professor in Plant Ecology, focusing forest biodiversity and conservation policy. Received PhD at Umeå University, Sweden. Post-doc experience from Oregon State University, USA. Currently holds a position as professor at Mid Sweden University in Sundsvall and project leader in the “Forest Biodiversity Group”. Member of the faculty board of Science, Technology and Media at Mid Sweden University. Active member in Swedish advisory board for the Convention for Biological Diversity. Participating in numerous national reference groups on protected areas, monitoring of forest biodiversity and Swedish environmental targets. Organiser of several workshops, symposia, conferences and networks around forest biodiversity and forest history.

Together with climate change, the loss of biodiversity is the main challenge to our civilization. This requires devotion from not only political point of view but also from an active and responsible scientific community. Being involved some in the work of the Convention of Biological Diversity I have come to realize that despite decades of attempts there still exists a gap between policy makers and the scientific community. I think the future value of SCB rests on it ability to take a much more active part in the international process that truly can change the ongoing trends. However, the challenge also includes maintaining a solid scientific, quantitative base in biology and ecology as an important tool towards a sustainable future."

Judit Vörös (Hungary)

"I was born in Veszprém, Hungary in 1976. I have done M.Sc. in applied zoology at the University of Veterinary Science, Budapest, and I have completed my PhD in 2007 in taxonomy on the Eötvös University, Budapest. Since 2000 I work in the Collection of Amphibians and Reptiles of the Hungarian Natural History Museum, in the last four years as the curator of the collection. My main research interests are molecular taxonomy, phylogeny, phylogeography and conservation of amphibians and reptiles. I have experience mainly on European species, but participate in conservation projects of amphibians in New Zealand and Australia. Since many amphibians are threatened worldwide my mission is to contribute to research on reasons and consequences of amphibian decline. Lately one of my main projects is the research of the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis within the Hungarian amphibian fauna. As the member of the local organizing committee I contributed to the 1st European Congress of Conservation Biology."

If you want to cast your vote follow this link

Candidates for "President Elect" 2008

This year we have two candidates for "President Elect" of the European Section. With this post I will try to bring this year candidates closer to section members. The "President Elect" will serve three years at the BoD, and then become the section "President" for another three years. As you can see this is an important position. Election will take place from 1 to 30 November and they will start their term on 1st January 2009. Here you have the candidates and their election statements.

András Báldi from Budapest, Hungary:

"I am committed to the development of European conservation biology. I was member of the Board of Directors of the Section (BoD) from its foundation in 2003 until the end of my second term of office in 2007. During this time one of my main roles was as Chair of the local organising committee of the 1st European Congress of Conservation Biology, Eger, 2006. I also served in the Communications Committee of the Section and in the global SCB's Conference Committee, roles in which I have continued since leaving the BoD. Having learned many lessons organising the 1st ECCB I am also involved in the organisation of the 2nd ECCB in Prague, 2009.

My plan for the coming years is to re-join the BoD as president-elect. The activity and achievements of the BoD are great and I look forward to a leadership role in this dynamic group. The key points in the further development of the Section are, first, to find funding for a permanent saff and office in Europe. At the moment the BoD is working voluntarily in free time, which inevitably limits development. Second, to increase visibility and reputation of the Section, which will increase our membership. Then, we can be more actively involved in continental nature conservation policy as experts, and to the activities of the global SCB. Building mutually beneficial cooperations with other relevant European organisations will be necessary.

My main research area is on the effects of farmland management on biodiversity. See my papers and a CV at www.nhmus.hu/~baldi. I have one wife, three children, many friends."

Pierre Ibisch from Eberswalde, Germany:

"I envision a steady development and institutional maturing of the European Section which more and more gets involved in science-based advocacy for changes in policy, economy and the whole society. Being a biologist who was forced to get involved in many other disciplines in order to be an effective conservationist, I am deeply convinced of the concept of transciplinary work. For SCB Europe, as the only pan-European and science-based conservation organisation, I see great potential for making a difference. Our task is to show not only the consequences of current impacts to biodiversity, but also explain to society and decision makers the possible futures, based on best as well as on worst-case scenarios. Equally, we must discuss priorities for action – in and for Europe - and propose constructive solutions and effective, viable strategies.

Thus, the development of the European Section of the Society for Conservation Biology is an important endeavour. I got involved when I just had come back to Europe after having worked for a pretty long time in Bolivia, South America (altogether about 9 years). There, my main topics were biodiversity research, conservation science and action, as well as natural resource management and sustainable development. I was lucky to combine applied research with action (e.g., protected area management, national conservation planning, support of the national biodiversity strategy). In 2003, I eagerly accepted the invitation to work with the Policy Committee of the European section, and later to be a candidate for the Board of Directors. Having lived and worked on two continents, it is fascinating to see European biodiversity conservation from an ‘overseas’ perspective and to analyse the differences in scale, scope and approach of both problems and strategies.

After my election as member of the Board of Directors, I enjoyed working with the great people on the board who reflect the diversity of Europe, a real diversity in terms of geographical origin, disciplines, interests and strengths. I served on the Board of Directors for one term. During this term I became chair of the Policy Committee and I was member of the Scientific Committee of the first European Congress of Conservation Biology in Hungary (“Diversity for Europe”; ECCB 2006 in Eger). After being elected as dean of the Faculty of Forest and Environment of our University of Applied Sciences Eberswalde (in north-eastern Germany close to the border of Poland), due to work overload, I decided to not run for re-election. I am still participating in the Policy Committee, and I am also on the Steering Committee of the next European Congress of Conservation Biology in Prague. In this context, I try to promote issues related to the event’s and our society’s ecological footprint. Recently, I have been called to participate in a new ‘footprint committee’ of the global SCB. I feel that, as conservation society, we have to address the lifestyle question much more clearly than done by now.

I am a trained biologist with a doctoral thesis on biodiversity research (epiphytes) and a habilitation thesis on national conservation planning (Bolivia). Apart from being dean of the faculty, I am working as Chair of Nature Conservation with teaching duties especially in our international study programmes such as International Forest Ecosystem Management (B.Sc.). Some years ago I have initiated our new and innovative study programme Global Change Management (M.Sc.) that deals with issue of natural resource management and global change (mitigation of global environmental change, adaptation to unavoidable changes). I am mainly dedicated to applied sciences such as adaptive conservation management, especially in the context of global (environmental) change. Being a kind of expert of a Neotropical plant family (Bromeliaceae), from time to time, I relax with some botanical work (e.g., describing species). I am married and have three children who make me permanently worry about the quality of their future on this Earth, which is currently shaped by exponential growth of human population, resource consumption and environmental problems. After abstaining myself from elections for the European Board of Directors (end of last year), I noticed how much I miss this opportunity of supporting a body that has a mission related to the interface of science and practice/policy. This is the reason why I accepted the new nomination to be a candidate. If elected I will reduce my workload at our faculty - this is, as I learned before, a necessary condition for an effective SCB work."

If you want to cast your vote follow this link