Commission on Biogeography and Biodiversity C04.03

Commission on Biogeography and Biodiversity C04.03

Chairman: Prof. Dr. Udo Schickhoff, Institute of Geography, University of Hamburg, Bundesstr. 55, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany, ph.: +49 40 42838 4911, Fax: +49 40 42838 4981, E-mail: , Internet: http:// www.geowiss.uni-hamburg.de/i-geogr/

Newsletter

1/2010

Welcome to this most recent newsletter of the Commission on Biogeography and Biodiversity. The focus of this edition is again on recent activities of the Commission. Moreover, you will find an invitation to the IGU Regional Geographic Conference in Santiago/Chile 2011 and detailed information on upcoming as well as on past meetings and events. In 2010, the Commission held another annual meeting in India, again appreciating the remarkable upsurge of biogeography as a sub-discipline in that country. The ‘International Geographical Union (IGU) Commission Seminar Land Use, Biodiversity and Climate Change’, 11th-13th December 2010, was organized and hosted by the Department of Geography, Cotton College, Guwahati, Assam, India, and jointly co-organized by the IGU Commission on Biogeography and Biodiversity.

I express my sincere gratitude to Dr. R.B. Singh, Secretary General of the National Association of Geographers, India, and Vice-Chairman of our Commission for supporting the Commission’s work to promote biogeographical teaching, research and scholarship, and for co-organizing the 2010 Conference which was at the same time the Commission’s annual meeting. I also thank the Chief Patron of the Conference Sri Tarun Gogoi (Chief Minister of Assam), the Patrons Sri Gautam Bora (Minister for Education, Govt. of Assam), Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma (Minister for Information Technology, Science & Technology, Health & Family Welfare), Sri Rockybul Hussain (Minister for Forest, Tourism, Information & Public Relation), the Chairman Dr. Indra Kumar Bhattacharyya (Principal Cotton College), the Vice-Chairmen Dr. R.B. Singh (IUGG-IGU National Committee Member) and Dr. Baben Ch Kalita (Head, Dept. of Geography), the Convener Dr. Mahfuza Rahman (Associate Professor, Cotton College), and the other honourable members of the Organising Committee for the possibility to realize this Conference and for their active cooperation.

We will continue to hold joint meetings with biogeography groups in different countries in order to promote biogeography as an important sub-discipline. We especially support academic initiatives to mobilize biogeographers in developing countries, and I am grateful for offers and initiatives regarding upcoming meetings and events. One of the next joint meetings will be organized at the IGU Regional Geographic Conference in Santiago/Chile, 14th to 18th November 2011.

If you are not yet member of our Commission, please contact me by sending an e-mail so that I can include you into the list of members. Everyone is cordially invited to participate in the activities and meetings of the Commission!

2 Recent Activities of the Commission

The Commission’s annual meeting 2010 was held in Guwahati, Assam, India, 11th to 13th December. The ‘International Geographical Union (IGU) Commission Seminar Land Use, Biodiversity and Climate Change’ was organized and hosted by the Department of Geography, Cotton College, Guwahati, and jointly co-organized by the IGU Commission on Biogeography and Biodiversity. Once again I am very grateful to Dr. R.B. Singh, Secretary General of the National Association of Geographers, India, and Vice-Chairman of our Commission as well as to the local organizing team for the commitment to making this conference successful and a memorable one.

As the year 2010 has been declared as ‘World Biodiversity Year’, the seminar could not have been held at a more appropriate time and in a more appropriate place. North East India comprises the State of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim. At the confluence of the Indo-Malayan, Indo-Chinese and Indian biogeographical realms, the NE region is unique in providing a profusion of habitats which features diverse biota with high level of endemism. The region is also the abode of approximately 225 tribes out of 450 in the entire country of India, the culture and customs of which have an important role in understanding biodiversity conservation and management issues. Land use change supplemented by various human activities has led to extinction or elimination of plant and animal habitats and species. Many of the biodiversity hotspots are under threat due to such activities.

This region has been in focus for its high biodiversity and a priority region for leading conservation agencies of the world. Conservation International has included all eight states of NE India within the Biodiversity Hotspot along with South China. NE India is expected to be highly prone to the consequences of climate change because of its geoecological fragility, strategic location vis-à-vis eastern Himalayan landscape and international borders, its trans-boundary river basins and its inherent socio-economic instabilities. Environmental security and sustainability of the region are and will be greatly challenged by these impacts.

Today, NE India is going through a transition. Especially poor and marginalized people are facing severe economic hardships and problems affecting human-environmental interactions in general and sustainable land use and biodiversity conservation in particular. These problems have to be addressed in research strategies when considering integrated development intervention and respective policy advocacy.

Keeping these in mind the Guwahati Conference aimed at addressing the issues of land use, biodiversity and climate change by putting forward 11 subthemes for discussion:

· Population and land use

· Changing human values and impact on environment

· Integrated river basin development

· Developmental change and human health

· Biodiversity and the Himalayas

· Land use change and wetlands

· Man-animal conflicts

· Urban development and land use change

· Changing land use and climate change

· Sustainable land use practices

· Geoinformatics in land use and climate change

Fig. 1: Inaugural session of the International Geographical Union (IGU) Commission Seminar Land Use, Biodiversity and Climate Change in Guwahati, Assam, India

More than 400 participants (scientists, geographers, botanists, hydrologists, community people, practitioners, technicians, academicians, NGO’s, researchers and other academic institutions attended this grand international conference. The conference was a unique platform for national and international experts on the above subjects. The programme included oral presentations, talks and discussions followed by deliberations for recommendations. Altogether, more than 300 papers had been presented in 29 sessions. The Seminar was inaugurated by IGU Vice-President Prof. Giuliano Bellezza (Rome, Italy), IGU Vice-President Prof. Yukio Himiyama (Asahikawa, Japan), IGU Commission Biogeography and Biodiversity Chairman Prof. Udo Schickhoff (Hamburg, Germany), IGU Commission Biogeography and Biodiversity Vice-Chairman Prof. R.B. Singh (Delhi, India), the Principal Cotton College Prof. I.K. Bhattacharyya (Guwahati, India), the Head of the Dept. of Geography Prof. B.C. Kalita (Guwahati, India) and the Convener Prof. Mahfuza Rahman (Guwahati, India) (Fig. 1).

In addition to the scientific sessions, a special student interactive session was held in the indoor stadium, where three short films that won laurels in the United Nations International School Conference in New York were shown by the students of Marias Public School. Prof. W.A. Flügel (Jena, Germany) and Prof. Y. Himiyama (Asahikawa, Japan) interacted with the students and disseminated information on international map drawing competition held in the month of October every year. They both appreciated this session because it is so important to have a good education in geography in order to be prepared to tackle the future environmental problems of this planet.

A book publication containing accepted papers of the conference is forthcoming.

3 Main Event Forthcoming: The IGU Regional Geographic Conference UGI 2011, Santiago, Chile

The website for online-application is open for the IGU Regional Geographic Conference Santiago 2011. If you intend to participate, please send the respective form to the organizing committee. You will find all information available on the official website:

http://www.ugi2011.cl/

Please see below the formal invitation by the national organizers and by the IGU President:

Welcome Message from the President of the Organizing Committee

Dear Friends,

On the occasion of the Regional Geographic Conference of the International Geographic Union (UGI) to be held in November 2011 in the city of Santiago, Chile, I give you my first greeting to all the attendees, authors and representatives of organizations participating who will be present at this major event of great scientific significance.

In conjunction with the IGU, as organizers of this event we are developing an attractive scientific program, putting into this task all the efficiency that characterizes us. I invite you to join us for this conference, which has as one of its fundamental visions the integration of professionals active in geography and allied sciences with a dynamically-changing world. Chile is proud to host this Regional Geographic Conference, so it will be a great pleasure for us to receive you here in our country. Welcome!

Col. Juan Vidal Garcia-Huidobro
Director of the Military Geographic Institute
President of the Local Organizing Committee

Dear Colleagues,

I warmly invite you to take part in the International Geographical Union Regional Conference to be held from the 14th to the 18th of November 2011 in Santiago, Chile. I am pleased to welcome you to the IGU family and invite you to submit your abstracts and present your papers. The IGU has very high hopes for the Santiago meeting; we hope that it proves to be a major step towards much greater and more intensive participation in the IGU by geographers from Chile and from all over Latin America. The IGU Conference theme - United and Integrated with the World - offers a timely and comprehensive organizing framework for the first IGU meeting in many years in Latin America. I look forward to seeing you at this enjoyable and productive event and to thanking you for attending.

Ronald F. Abler
President
International Geographic Union

Conference Venue

The venue for the Regional Cartographic Conference is the "Liberator Bernardo O`Higgins" Military School. The site belongs to the Army of Chile and is one of the centers for the training of military officers.
The conference will be held in the main buildings, located on part of the 32 hectare site. Located in the Borough of Las Condes in eastern Santiago, the Military School is close to Hotels, the urban transport network, several local restaurants, stores and services.

Facilities for the conference will include:
- Auditorium chamber, for ceremonies and plenary sessions
- Rooms for technical sessions and meetings
- Courtyards and spaces for exhibitions and registration area
- Rooms with equipment for access to Internet
- Cafeteria area for lunch service
- Parking space for vehicles
- Safe, secure conditions for attendees

Programme Activities

Plenary Sessions

Plenary sessions feature keynote presentations from public and scientific figures of international repute, related to the concepts and purpose of the conference.

Scientific Conference

Presentations of scientific submissions in technical sessions and a poster exhibition.

Seminars

There will be seminars related to the conference themes.

IGU meetings

IGU Commissions and Task Forces are invited to hold their business and coordination meetings. Convenors should communicate their requirements by the deadline in the calendar.

Field Trips

A programme of field trips to sites of geographic interest in Chile will be available, before, during and after the conference.

Technical - Trade Exhibition

UGI 2011 will be a major opportunity for geoscience-linked institutions and business organisations to present their mission, projects, products, solutions and technical applications to the world.
Technical Visits

Several visits to institutions involved with geography and spatial information will be offered to attendees.

Corporate Presentations

Organized by UGI 2011 sponsors, the program will include a series of talks and presentations on technical and corporate issues.

Social Events

The social events will include:
- Welcome Cocktail
- Equestrian show
- Gala dinner

Important Dates for the Conference
30 November 2010 / Second Call for Papers; full conference brochure with complete
information.
10 March 2011 / Deadline for submitting abstracts for papers and posters.
10 May 2011 / Notification to authors of acceptance of conference abstracts
29 July 2011 / Early registration rate lapses. Change of registration rate from "early to late" for registrations.
30 August 2011 / Deadline for registration payment by authors of papers and posters
Deadline for submission of full text of accepted papers
15 September 2011 / Publication of the preliminary full conference program.
01 October 2011 / Deadline for IGU Commissions to request rooms for work meetings
Deadline for requesting rooms to hold seminars
7 – 13 November 2011 / Arrival of attendees, pre-conference field trips and tours.
Setup of booths in the technical-trade exhibition.
14 November 2011 / Inauguration ceremony and welcome cocktail.
Technical-trade exhibition open from this date.
14 – 18 November 2011 / UGI 2011 conference activities.
18 November 2011 / Closing ceremony.
19 – 25 November 2011 / Post-conference field-trips and tours.

Activities of the Commission during the Regional Conference / Call for papers

At the Santiago Regional Conference, the Commission intends to organize sessions on biogeography and biodiversity-related issues. All participants of the conference are invited to contribute to these sessions. A call for papers is launched at the Conference website. Deadline for submitting abstracts is March 10, 2011. Please follow the abstract submission details provided at the Conference website (http://www.ugi2011.cl/).

4 Upcoming Biogeography and Biodiversity Related Meetings 2011

4.1 The 14th Annual Conference of earth, 2nd International Conference on Environmental Change in Lakes, Lagoons & Wetlands of the Mediterranean Region

3-6 January 2011

Cairo, Egypt

A driving force behind this conference is international cooperation and the broadening of water regulations developed in the European Union that may be of value to water management aims in the Mediterranean region. Both the EU Water Framework Directive and the International Cooperation (INCO) Programme are concerned with raising water quality and achieving good ecological status for water resources everywhere. Whilst recognising the wise management principles enshrined in these initiatives, it is important to take account of national and local objectives relevant to individual third country partners as well as exercise subsidiary. Transfer of scientific know-how and exchange of both technical and management skills together with more basic research may be needed to achieve effective aquatic resource management. Some of these aims were encapsulated in MELMARINA (Monitoring & Modelling Coastal Lagoons: Making Management Tools for Aquatic Resources in North Africa), an EU-INCO Project that helped to initiate the Second International Conference on Environmental Change in Lakes, Lagoons and Wetlands of the Mediterranean (Cairo 2011).

Commission on Biogeography and Biodiversity C04.03

Contents:

1 Message from the Chair