Society for Conservation Biology - 22nd Annual Meeting

In his book, My First Summer in the Sierra, John Muir wrote, "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe". As evidenced by several previous meeting themes, there are connections among many aspects of the environment and its conservation, and recognizing those connections is critical for achieving the goals of conservation biology. To that end, the theme for the 2008 Society for Conservation Biology annual meeting will examine several major ecosystems, both as separate components and as a connected entity.

Land Conservation and Terrestrial Diversity: Many terrestrial regions contain high levels of biodiversity, but also face increasing human population growth. Issues of land conservation have therefore become very important. Such issues include, but are not limited to, forest loss, mineral extraction, urban sprawl, and property rights. These issues not only affect terrestrial ecosystems per se, but also the freshwater and marine systems associated with them.

Freshwater Ecosystems: Many parts of the world contain an abundance of freshwater ecosystems, many of which are highly imperiled. Invasive species, overharvesting, pollution, and water stress are all issues that must be resolved to ensure persistence of this link between the land and the sea.

Coastal and Marine Conservation: Like terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, coastal ecosystems, such as wetlands, cheniers, and seagrass beds, as well as the marine environment, are under a great deal of stress from human encroachment, pollution, and overharvesting, as well as natural phenomena, such as hurricanes. Understanding both natural and human-induced changes is vital to the conservation of these ecosystems.

The Board of Governors of the Society for Conservation Biology chose to hold the meeting in Chattanooga, TN, for the conservation success story of the city, the natural beauty of the region, and the outstanding support from Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

The conservation success story of the city is the fruit of a long effort to overcome the appellation of the dirtiest city in America that once marked the city in 1969. This label was a legacy of the city’s industrial past, but the city can now proudly attest the positive results of the endeavor to fight the conservation challenges the city once faced.

The SCB global meeting is recognized to be the most important international meeting for conservation professionals and students. It is a venue for presenting and discussing new research and developments in conservation science and practice, and is a forum for addressing conservation challenges.

The 2008 Global Meeting of the SCB will be the opportunity for the region to show more than 1,800 international conservation professionals the natural beauty of the region through many field trips opportunities. From the summit of the Lookout Mountain to the depths of the Tennessee River, Chattanooga and the surrounding offers thick forests, limestone caverns, underground waterfalls, beautiful mountains and scenic waterways. This makes Chattanooga and the South Eastern region of the USA one of the most bio-diverse region in the world for freshwater species.

The Rufford Small Grants Foundation is pleased to be a silver sponsor of the 2008 SCB Annual Meeting. Whilst we are unable to conider requests for financial support for RSG recipients to attend the conference, we encourgae you to review the themes for discussion at the conference and we welcome your responses.

For more information go to www.conbio.org/2008