ATBC 2008 - ATBC in SR02

ATBC in Suriname

The study of the biology and conservation of tropical ecosystems has often been separated from that of their management. But given the increasing anthropogenic pressures exerted on these ecosystems, the two disciplines are rapidly merging. As deforestation and habitat alteration in the Amazon Basin is likely to continue over the next decades, a strong link between ecological research and conservation is a priority. Many of the key conservation issues we are facing have been highlighted repeatedly but clear and well-considered approaches to addressing these issues have not always been forthcoming. Often a poor understanding of factors controlling ecosystem function, how these interact and how these interactions are affected by human activity has precluded the development of time-tested approaches to the sustainable use of forest resources and tests or indicators capable of flagging when sustainability is threatened.

A wide range of European, Caribbean, Latin American and North American institutions are actively engaged in research in the Guiana Shield through various partnerships with local governmental agencies, universities and NGOs. With their long-standing ties to the region, many European scientific institutions have invested considerable time and resources in furthering ecological research in the tropical region, including in the Guiana Shield.

Through their attractiveness to visiting scientists, all these institutions or organizations contribute to the knowledge development and institutional capacity of the host country or region, and thus help to upgrade the local scientific and management level in the domain of natural, biological resources. Tropenbos International has recently set up an office in Suriname and is developing its Tropenbos Suriname Programme in a partnership with AdeKUS and other national institutes; this is expected to lead to an increase in research on forestry, forest ecology and conservation in Suriname.

Research and Education in the Guiana Shield

Strong programmes of research and education have been developed in areas such as forest dynamics (Wageningen University, The Netherlands; University of Toulouse, France), canopy biology (University of Ulm, Germany; University of Montpellier, France) or Insect biology (Imperial College, London, UK; Utrecht University, The Netherlands; STRI, Panama). The French institution, CIRAD-forêt, carries out nearly all of its work on Neotropical forests in French Guiana. The Wageningen and Utrecht Universities have been very active in Suriname, especially prior to 1982; both have been conducting research and training in Guyana (and French Guiana) from the 1980s onward, and have recently become more active again in Suriname. More recently, the CNRS (www.guyane.cnrs.fr) has established a research programme in French Guiana. Networks in Europe linking researchers interested in canopy biology, such as ICAN (International Canopy Access Network) or tropical forests and forestry as a whole, such as ETFRN (European Tropical Forest Research Network) already exist. Other general professional research and training associations such as ATBC (Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation) or GTOE (Society for Tropical Ecology) have traditionally focused on fostering scientists from Central America and Africa, respectively.

Still, despite intensive and regular efforts to catalogue the exceptional richness of plants and animals, little has been done to develop wider geographic comparisons within the Guiana Shield through comparative, concurrent studies. Traditionally, Neotropical scientists have been relatively isolated from each other in their respective field sites, and tend to meet only occasionally during symposia and workshops. Political, linguistic and socio-economic differences between countries have often prevented communication and exchanges between researchers from different parts of the Guiana Shield. The limited availability and access of published information in many parts of the region has further deterred long-term growth in cooperation and collaborative programs between institutions and staff members.

Goals

In the Guiana Shield, one of our responsibilities as organized scientists is to promote exchange, improve within-region scientific capacity and to help with carrying on studies that improve the critical knowledge and conservation of natural habitats. Scientists from the region have largely worked without the benefit of an organization capable of actively linking them. Most research projects have been carried out in relative isolation from other regional initiatives, despite the globally unique, but regionally shared, combination of ancient geology, considerable rainfall, poor soils, vast forests and few people. There is no greater current need than to bring scientists and conservationists from all continents together to the Guiana shield to share their knowledge and their common interest in the long-term study, protection and sustainable use of tropical ecosystems. This can be accomplished under the umbella of the annual ATBC meeting in 2008 as well as during other meetings in the future.

Cross-Continental Collaboration and Cooperation

The scientific originality of the meeting we organize is two-fold. First, it will facilitate contacts and exchanges of views between scientists from within the Guiana Shield region and from other countries, principally in North America and Europe, but also across the tropics. We intend to have good representation from Africa, India, Asia and Australia. The scientists in the Guiana Shield generally have little chance to go outside their region, and have not had the benefit of major scientific meetings taking place in their region. It is certain that the 2008 ATBC meeting will provide young scientists from each Guianan country an opportunity to interact with senior scientists from abroad, which would be less likely to happen during an international conference held elsewhere. For these young scientists, indeed, travelling to North America or Europe is expensive, and it is fairly rare for them to meet colleagues during meetings or international conferences. By inviting all major stakeholders currently involved and publishing on the ecology and conservation of tropical ecosystems, we intend to create new links between scientists and facilitate the exchange of ideas.

Networking across the Guiana Shield

Second, the ATBC meeting in Suriname will also lead to a more intense exchange of ideas between institutions and researchers from all parts of the world that have a common interest in research on and conservation of Guianan ecosystems. We strongly believe that this is needed if integration of scientists and institutions from various countries is to improve. The meeting will also assist in the strategic development of an international network of scientists and conservationists focused on the Guiana Shield. A major outcome we expect to arise from this conference is the promotion of collaborative research programs between biologists, ecologists and conservationists conducting pure and applied research at specific field stations, and more effective collaborations within the Guiana Shield for the conservation of the tropical ecosystems at the regional level. Bioguiana.org

History

Phyllomedusa tomopterna (Cope, 1868)