Date and Venue: 06 – 15 March 2011,Environmental Management Institute, Central Luzon State University, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, Central Luzon, Philippines



Organization


Organized by Centre for Tropical and Sub-tropical Agriculture and Forestry (CeTSaF) and the Centre for Nature conservation (CNC), University of Göttingen, Germany in collaboration with the Environmental Management Institute, Central Luzon State University, Philippines. The Summer School is being funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and is the second part of the alumni program under the 4 years DAAD project ‘Quality network Biodiversity; Subject-related Partnership with Institutions of Higher Education in Developing Countries’. This program mainly targets scientists and practicing German Alumni from Southeast and Central Asia.


Contents

Biodiversity conservation and management, in view of its important role in food security and coping with malnutrition and climate change, particularly in developing countries, are one of the global key issues. Against this background, the global Alumni Biodiversity Network “GAInBiNet” organizes Summer/ Autumn Schools and Workshops, which eventually will serve as a base for exchange of information and skill enhancement in aspects being important for teaching. Moreover the initiation of Research Projects in bioclimatic similar ecosystems will be facilitated. A joint support and supervision of students, as well as the establishment of larger Cooperative Projects are further important goals. The German Alumni International Biodiversity Network GAInBiNet has the objective to foster this type of networking on
international level.


The International German Alumni Summer/Autumn schools and workshops as part of the German Alumni capacity-building programs focus on issues of conservation and management of biodiversity and investigate the causes behind the rapidly declining biodiversity, particularly in the developing countries.

Philippines is one amongst the 34 global biodiversity hotspots identified by the Conservation International and is the world’s second largest archipelago country with more than 7000 islands lying in the most eastern part of the Pacific Ocean. Philippines is one of the world’s most threatened hotspots. Being a part of the ‘Coral Triangle’, the rich marine biodiversity here also exhibits a high degree of endemism, due to which Philippines has been termed as the ‘centre of global marine biodiversity’, and conservation is a priority for this country. Over-fishing, pollution and tourism are the major threats to the marine life. The impending threat from climate change on the coral reefs and the last remaining mangrove forests is also of increasing concern.

With a booming population of around 90 million people whose livelihoods are primarily dependent on natural resources, rural poverty and high rate of population growth, mining, illegal logging, introduction of exotic species and land conversion activities for development are putting an enormous pressure on the remaining forest cover. Unless these activities are not harmonized with the biodiversity conservation goals, the Philippines hotspot is on the brink of an extinction crisis.

Our program aims to integrate the experts and Alumni from various disciplines such as Agriculture, Forestry, Conservation Biology, Marine Biology, Ecology, Environmental Science and Management, Community Development, Economics, Philosophy, Religion and Ethics. Representatives of several local NGOs, GTZ, DAAD and government policy makers are also being invited so that on such a common platform it will be more practical to discuss and put into practice, the role of Educational and Research Institutions and policy making bodies in conservation of biodiversity. Consistent with the international commitments on ensuring environmental sustainability, we intend to continue the mobilization of the German Alumni in their effort to help realize the UN Millennium goals in their respective countries in the near future, inspite of economic crisis and other obstacles.




The main subject areas of interest are:

• Sustainable Management of Biodiversity



• Impact of Climate Change



• Marine



• Sustainable Agriculture



• Economics of Biodiversity Conservation




In addition to the lectures and presentations, there will be adequate time for discussions and exchange during the group works and field trips. Alumni networks and future programs of GAInBiNeT and SEAG-BIODICS will be discussed.



Field Trip Program:

Field trips to Banaue Rice Terraces, Forest Ecosystems of Capintalan and Puncan in Carranglan, Nueva Ecija will be conducted to address the following topics:

• Impact of Tourism and Urbanization on Nature Conservation


• Philippines Cultural Landscape - Ifugao farming system, local knowledge and resource use


• Assessment of nature conservation value of Carranglan region for research and cooperation with local people


• Conservation efforts of the local community



Target groups:

The focus is on German Alumni from South-East Asia, Central Asia and Latin America. Experts and graduate/advanced students working on science and management related to sustainable management of biodiversity, natural resource use and management, university education in resource management, traditional ecological knowledge systems, climate change, sustainable agriculture and tourism industry are invited to participate. Institutional affiliations may include research and education, NGO’s, government agencies, local communities and related stakeholders, DAAD representatives and GTZ delegates. The selected participants will be given an opportunity to present biodiversity management, wildlife conservation and indigenous knowledge related issues based on their capacities.



Registration costs and support:

Each participant has to submit an abstract consisting of 350-500 words, which should be related to the main subject areas of interest. The abstract should be sent electronically to one of the members of the organizers’ below not later than 30th of November 2010. Candidates whose abstracts have been selected will be notified on 15th of January 2011. The invited participants are requested to submit the full paper following the Instruction for Authors not later than 15th of February 2011.

The language of the Summer School is English. This Summer School is being funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD-Deutscher Akademischer Ausstauschdienst). Therefore, there are no participation fees for invited experts and German Alumni participants. Travel and accommodation of all selected participants will be fully covered by the organizers.


Contact persons in Germany:

Prof. Kerstin Wydra,kwydra(at)gwdg.de

Dr. Jolanta Slowik, jslowik(at)gwdg.de

Dr. Kamini Barua, kbarua(at)gwdg.de

Dr. Margaretha Pangau-Adam,mpangau1(at)gwdg.de

Contact person in Philippines:

Prof. Dr. Annie Melinda Paz Alberto, ann72056(at)yahoo.com
; emi_clsu(at)yahoo.com