Puneet Varma (Editor)

Society for Conservation Biology

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Type
  
Scientific society

Members
  
10,000

Founder
  
Michael E. Soulé

Number of employees
  
14

Tax ID no.
  
33-0147824 (U.S.A.)

Revenue
  
US$2,786,389 (2008)

Founded
  
8 May 1985


Focus
  
conservation biology, education, policy

Location
  
Washington, D.C., United States

Motto
  
A Global Community of Conservation Professionals

Similar
  
The Wildlife Society, Wildlife Conservation Society, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, Society of Wetland Scientists

Profiles

The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) is an 501(c)3 non-profit international professional organization devoted to scientific study of the "maintenance, loss, and restoration of biological diversity." There are 10,000 members worldwide, including students and those in related non-academic sectors. There are 31 chapters in the United States, and 13 throughout the world elsewhere.

Contents

The origin of the Society resulted from the emergence of the field as a distinct subject in the 1970s. The phrase conservation biology originated from a conference of ecologists and population biologists at the University of Michigan,that published the book "Conservation Biology" An Evolutionary-Ecological Perspective was highly influential internationally, eventually selling tens of thousands of copies including a Russian translation. By the mid-1980s there was sufficient interest and participation to establish a formal society and publish a peer reviewed journal Conservation Biology, started in 1987 and published by Blackwell Scientific Publishers. This has been supplemented since 2007 by the rapid publication journal Conservation Letters ISSN 1755-263X. It also has published jointly with the University of Washington since 1997 the non-technical Conservation (also known as Conservation Magazine), ISSN 1936-2145.

Sections

In 2000 the SCB Board of Governors approved the creation of seven Regional Sections that were formed over the following two years. The seven sections are Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America & Caribbean, North America, Marine and Oceania. The Europe Section was established at the annual SCB meeting in Canterbury 2002. The Oceania section was established in 2005.

Chapters

SCB chapters are local groupings that are associated with regional sections, and are a means to work locally to achieve conservation success. The following chapters are listed within each of the seven sections:

  • Africa: East Africa Chapter, Namibia Chapter, Nigeria Chapter;
  • Asia: China Chapter, India Chapter;
  • Europe: Armenia Chapter, Hungarian Chapter, Switzerland Chapter;
  • Latin America & Caribbean: Bolivia Chapter, Central Mexico Chapter, Colombia Chapter, Cuba Chapter, Northwest Argentina Chapter, Peru Chapter;
  • North America: There are currently 35 chapters listed within the North America section;
  • Oceania: Brisbane and University of Queensland Chapter (Australia), Sydney Chapter (Australia), Victoria University at Wellington Chapter (New Zealand).
  • Europe Section

    The Europe Section is dedicated to advancing the science and practice of conserving Europe’s biological diversity and ecosystem services. It was established at the annual SCB meeting in Canterbury 2002. The mission of the Europe Section is to promote conservation biology and its application to conserve biological diversity in Europe (like Natura 2000). SCB-ES has an international 12 member Board of Directors and task-oriented committees including Policy, Education, Communication, Membership and Student Affairs Committees.

    SCB Europe organises the series of European Congress of Conservation Biology. This facilitates the exchange on conservation science and nature conservation practice and policy, with the aim of promoting the protection of biological diversity in Europe.

    Oceania Section

    The Oceania Section is a regional section of the Society, representing Oceania, including Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Island regions. The Board of Governors of global SCB approved the creation of regional sections in 2000, and the Oceania Section, with an elected, independent Board of Directors, was established in 2005.

    Mission and role

    The vision of the SCB-Oceania section is to act as a "catalyst for doing and synthesising science and raising capacities of local communities that effect change for conservation", and sets out four program goals:

  • Conservation Science
  • Conservation Management
  • Policy
  • Education
  • It promotes conservation science in the following countries and territories: American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Saipan, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis & Futuna

    Conferences and meetings

    It has held or helped organizing the following conferences and meetings:

  • "The Biodiversity Extinction Crisis — An Australian and Pacific Response" in Sydney, Australia (2007)
  • "People and Conservation in Land and Sea Country" in Darwin, Australia (2012)
  • "Student Conference on Conservation Science" in Brisbane, Australia (2013)
  • Another SCB-Oceania section meeting will be held in Suva, Fiji in July, 2014

    Affiliated publication

    SCB Oceania supports the publication of the peer-reviewed quarterly journal Pacific Conservation Biology (ISSN 1038-2097), which "is dedicated to conservation and wildlife management in the Pacific region". The current editor in chief is Mike Calver of Murdoch University. The journal, published by Surrey Beatty and Sons Pty Ltd, does not have an ISI impact factor yet.

    Chapters

    There are currently three regional chapters associated with the Oceania Section of SCB:

  • The Victoria University of Wellington Chapter (VUW chapter) located in Wellington, New Zealand was founded in 2010.
  • The Brisbane-University of Queensland chapter, is based at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. It was founded in 2010.
  • The Sydney Society for Conservation Biology (Sydney chapter) was founded in 2013, and represents the greater Sydney region, Australia.
  • SCB Iran Chapter has been stablished recently in Kurdistan University, Sanandaj, Iran.

    Working groups

    Several working groups help to advance the society's work in specific areas of conservation.

  • Social Sciences
  • Ecological economics and sustainability science
  • Fresh Water
  • Religion and Conservation Biology
  • References

    Society for Conservation Biology Wikipedia


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