"Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing World" is the focus of the 9th Annual National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment, December 8 through 10, in Washington, DC.

CI is providing expertise and leadership throughout the conference by organizing or participating in several sessions, including:

MONDAY, DECEMBER 8

Water for Biodiversity and Human Needs
CI scientist Michael Leonard Smith and Larry Gorenflo, currently with Pennsylvania State University, lead a session to provide a forum for the human development and species conservation communities to exchange information in order to mutually reinforce actions to conserve freshwater species with those needed to secure safe water supplies for people.
1:30 – 5:00 p.m.

The Future of Biodiversity in Africa
CI Senior Vice President for the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science Mohamed Bakarr will join senior representatives from various groups, the US government and Africa to discuss how to mainstream biodiversity into Africa’s development agendas, promote good conservation practices and strengthen the role of social institutions.
1:30 – 5:00 p.m.

The Global Loss of Amphibians
CI scientist Don Church will participate in this session on one of today’s most acute examples of global biodiversity loss, to inform and motivate a diverse audience to help stem the worldwide tide of extinctions and severe population declines of amphibians.
1:30 – 5:00 p.m.

Population and Biodiversity
Janet Edmonds, director of CI’s Population and Environment Program, will participate in this session to examine the many ways in which humans impact the environment.
1:30 – 5:00 p.m.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9

Symposium on Freshwater Biodiversity
Organized by Michael Leonard Smith and Larry Gorenflo, the session will integrate trends in the conservation status of key freshwater species with projected changes and impacts to freshwater ecosystems to predict likely consequences for freshwater biodiversity.
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Synthesis of Recommendations Roundtable
CI Chairman and CEO Peter Seligmann will join other conservation leaders and US policy experts, including Tom Lovejoy, Sir Peter Crane, Ann Bartuska and John Wiens to discuss and present a summary of recommendations based on the conference findings.
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.

Convention on Biological Diversity Reception
Peter Seligmann will speak at a cocktail reception organized by Defenders of Wildlife, and co-sponsored by CI, to promote US ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
5:00 – 6:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10

CI will host two NSCE workshops at is headquarters in Arlington, Virginia from 9 a.m. to noon:

Biodiversity and Health: A New Paradigm Linking Conservation Medicine, Ecosystem Sustainability and Human Health
Led by Alonso Aguirre, Wildlife Trust

Catalyzing and Involving Rural Communities in Protecting Their Natural Resources and Biodiversity
Led by Robert H. Horwich, Community Conservation, and Jon Lyon, Merrimack College