The Association of Tropical Biology and Conservation was founded in 1963 to promote research and to foster the exchange of ideas among biologists working in the tropics. It functions as an international body to promote research, education, conservation, and communication for tropical biology. Its objectives include to promote an awareness of the importance of tropical biology and conservation; to promote research in all aspects of tropical biology and conservation; to promote education in tropical biology and conservation; to promote and improve communication and cooperation among various groups in the tropics; and to encourage the preservation of tropical biological diversity and to safeguard it for posterity, for its intrinsic worth and its aesthetic and tangible values to humanity.
This year, a total of 500 registered participants from institutions based in more than 50 countries attended the Conference. There were a total of 393 presentations made, and they all covered research and other fieldwork carried out in tropical countries all over the world.
WWF Guianas hosted an entire session in which presentations were given on ways to improve community livelihood while promoting conservation in Columbia; management of marine turtles in the Guianas; indigenous peoples and protected areas; community based management of the
Arapaima in Guyana; improving natural resource use in parts of Tanzania; building landscape based conservation constituencies for sustainable development; riverine settlement in the Brazilian Amazon, causal factors and impacts on hunted wildlife; indigenous guards as a model for forest protection in Suriname; the Iwokrama experience of community participation in forest management; linking indigenous community development with sustainable resource management, a case study of Batavia and Kwebana Guyana. WWF sponsored the participation of various partner agencies and individuals in Guyana and Suriname. From Guyana, these included a representative from Iwokrama, Dr. Raquel Thomas, William Andries and Norbert Salty both from the North Rupununi District Development Board.
The meeting spread new and vital information to people from various parts of the world and included new findings on the state of civilization before the arrival of Columbus, the important role of forests in the Guiana shield in stabilizing global warming, the role various animals play in the propagation of key forest trees and plants. It highlighted the fact that the Guiana shield comprising of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana is a refuge for biodiversity and a massive store of carbon. The region was declared to be the most intact rainforest on the planet, and an area which has all of its options left.
It was made clear by various presenters that the rainforests face a number of growing threats, particularly with increased world demand from Asian economies developing at high speeds. For example, half of the timber produced in the world is shipped to China, most often as logs this means that the
countries of origin don’t benefit from added value.
The explosive growth of biofuels is another significant and emerging threat to rainforests. In Asia and parts of South America rainforest is being cleared for the planting of bio fuel crops such as oil palm, soy bean and sugar cane.
While some presenters have established the fact that the Amazonian forest on the Guiana shield plays a key role in combating global warming, it is also noted to be a very fragile and vulnerable system. One main element of its vulnerability is its soil type which is highly infertile. One of the biggest risks identified by scientists of the Guiana Shield is the risk of floods and fires. The region shows one of the strongest responses to El Nino in the world, according to the research scientist Hammond, who research soils in Guyana’s interior. This fact is supported by historical records in the form of charcoal signatures and forestry records show that the region has always been plagued by El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) driven flood and fire. This is expected to increase if climate change amplifies the dynamics of ENSO.
This annual meeting continues to be an important event, sharing vital information on news and developments in the scientific world which serves to make significant contributions to how our environment and resources are managed and protected.
