ICCB 2019 Program Information
Updated on 20 July 2019
ICCB 2019 Digital Program
ICCB 2019 Sustainability Innovations Theater Presentation Schedule
ICCB 2019 Schedule-at-a-Glance
Discussion Groups
Poster Sessions
Oral Presentations
Speed Talks
Symposia
Workshops
Short Courses
Equity, Inclusion, Diversity Sessions
Short Courses
Short courses are training sessions that take place prior to the congress events. There are full day (8 hours) short courses on 20 July or day-and-a-half (12 hours) short courses on 20 - 21 July, and half day (4 hours) short courses on 21 July. The full day and day-and-a-half short course will take place at the University of Nottingham Malaysia (1 hour outside Kuala Lumpur) and the half day short course will take place at the KL Teaching Center in downtown Kuala Lumpur. The short course fee is in addition to the Congress registration fee.
Please note, the dorm rooms included in the room rate are the only housing options near the University of Nottingham.
Day-and-a-Half Short Courses
Dates: 20 July from 8:30 - 17:30 - 21 July from 8:30 - 12:30
Title: Innovative education and communication workshop - SOLD OUT!
Instructor: Cedric Tan, University of Oxford
Fee: USD 115 (Course fee, beverage break, accommodations for the evenings of Friday, 19 July and Saturday, 20 July (wi-fi, linens, air con and toiletries in dorm room) )
Course Description: Education underpins the development of the interdisciplinary skills needed to tackle conservation problems. Clear and engaging communication is vital to create awareness, engagement and effective dialogue amongst the wider public, business leaders, and policy-makers. By reaching out to people of different backgrounds together, our methods of education also foster friendship and the development of mutual understanding among stakeholders in conservation.
Aimed at people passionate about education and outreach in conservation, this workshop summarises the evidence for robust pedagogy, and showcases innovative approaches of online learning, multi-media, interactive theatre and gamification which are becoming increasingly popular and have direct conservation applications. We promote active engagement so participants can improve and innovate their own teaching and communication approaches.
Date: 20 July from 8:30 - 17:30 - 21 July from 8:30 - 12:30
Title: Systematic Planning to Connect Conservation Biology with Communities, Governments, and Stakeholders - SOLD OUT!
Instructor: Andrew Bridge, Institute for Wildlife Studies
Fee: USD 108 (Course fee, beverage break, accommodations for the evenings of Friday, 19 July and Saturday, 20 July (wi-fi, linens, air con and toiletries in dorm room)
Course Description: Our effectiveness as conservation biologists hinges on integrating science with policy and effective one-the-ground practices. We must engage with communities and stakeholders to demonstrate how conservation actions lead to positive outcomes. Our workshop provides conservation professionals with skills to integrate science with policy and practice to work with communities and build successful action plans. Our workshop is based on the globally used Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation and will teach participants how to: 1) define a project scope and corresponding mission statement, 2) select planning team members, define roles for those team members, and ensure opinions are heard and buy-in occurs from disparate stakeholders, 3) simplify complicated systems into manageable targets that can be used to conserve entire ecosystems, 4) identify threats to targets and assess different threats’ severity, 5) develop specific strategies to mitigate threats and rank the potential efficacy of these strategies, 6) clearly think through the logic and steps involved in the success of these strategies, and 7) set informative indicators and measurable objectives to track progress and facilitate adaptive management. These tools are crucial for the modern conservation biologist working in complicated social situations with complex socail issues. Opportunities to learn these skills are very limited, making this short course a great opportunity delegates of the 2019 ICCB.
Full Day Short Courses
Date: 20 July from 8:30 - 17:30
Title: Conservation Technology Think Tank: shaping the future of technology for conservation - SOLD OUT!
Instructor: Stephanie O'Donnell Fauna & Flora International
Fee: USD 54 (Course fee, beverage break, accommodations for the evenings of Friday, 19 July (wi-fi, linens, air con and toiletries in dorm room)
Course Description: Technology has great potential to revolutionise the way we collect data on species and habitats, and provide new tools to support conservation action. Although increasingly used in our discipline, there is still a huge opportunity gap that we the conservation community could tap into. We believe the time has come for conservation to move from being a technology consumer to become an innovation leader and to actively seek to design novel technologies and devices to suit our specific needs.
As part of the global effort to push this technology revolution, the SCB Conservation Technology Working Group (CTWG) is organising the second international Think Tank on Conservation Technology. This one-day event, associated with ICCB2019, will gather like-minded conservation practitioners and researchers, and technologists engaged in conservation. Through different talks and workshops, you will have the chance to discuss how the conservation technology landscape has evolved since ICCB2017, understand the emerging innovations and collaborations, map current gaps and nascent needs of field users, and develop a roadmap for future technology developments. The day will incorporate invited talks, facilitated discussion and coordinated networking with peers who share your interest in conservation technology.
Date: 20 July from 8:30 - 17:30
Title: Introduction to R for Ecology and Environmental Monitoring - SOLD OUT!
Instructor: Aaron Gove, Astron Environmental Services/Curtin University
Fee: USD 54 (Course fee, beverage break, accommodations for the evenings of Friday, 19 July (wi-fi, linens, air con and toiletries in dorm room)
Course Description: The course is an introduction to the free software R, and its application to ecological and environmental issues. The course is aimed at complete beginners, with no or limited contact with the software. We will first learn about the structure and use of the software before applying to some simple examples. The course will cover, data structures and code syntax, before progression into the examination and summarising data, the visualisation of data, and an introduction to simple analytical approaches.
Date: 20 July from 8:30 - 17:30
Title: Practical methods for evaluating the outcomes and impacts of conservation projects - SOLD OUT!
Instructor: Charlotte Klinting, BirdLife International
Fee: USD 54 (Course fee, accommodations for the evenings of Friday, 19 July (beverages, wi-fi, linens, air con and toiletries in dorm room)
Course Description: To move conservation forward we need to understand the difference our work is making. This requires that we as conservationists are able to effectively evaluate the outcomes and impacts of our work. This short course will train participants in the basic fundamentals of monitoring, evaluation and learning in the context of evaluating conservation projects.
The course will guide participants through a step by step process which illustrates the key elements of designing project monitoring, evaluation and learning systems. Participants will consider what the project is trying to achieve and the local context the project is operating in, learn how to identify the aspects of a project where evaluation will provide the most useful information, while still being feasible to measure. Participants will then learn how to identify and apply simple, practical methods to measure change and learn how to analyse, interpret and apply evaluation results to improve practice.
The course is based on successful training courses carried out with Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI) partners and at the Student Congress on Conservation Science (SCCS). The course will make use of materials in the PRISM toolkit (www.conservationevaluation.org) and will draw on real-life examples and case studies from CCI partner organisations.
Above all this course will aim to instil and cement the idea that project evaluation must be part of a live process where practitioners are constantly gathering data, checking progress, identifying successes and failures and applying results to improve the delivery of conservation action.
Date: 20 July from 8:30 - 17:30
Title: Planning for human-wildlife coexistence: linking situation assessment to decision-making.- SOLD OUT!
Instructor: Silvio Marchini, Chester Zoo, WildCRU-University of Oxford, University of Sao Paulo
Fee: USD 54 (Course fee, beverage break, accommodations for the evenings of Friday, 19 July (wi-fi, linens, air con and toiletries in dorm room)
Course Description: The interdisciplinary field of research focusing on human-wildlife conflict (HWC) and ways to turn conflict into coexistence, although relatively new, is developing fast. There has been, indeed, considerable progress in the understanding of the ecology and economics of wildlife damage and of the drivers of tolerance and hostility towards wildlife at small scales (i.e. individual to community level). Nonetheless, this understanding has not translated significantly into management and policy at larger scales. In the meantime, HWC is escalating in the world in general, and in developing countries in particular. The bridge between HWC research and the implementation of large-scale human-wildlife coexistence is good planning, and capacity building in strategic planning among those working on HWC and coexistence issues should be a priority.
Built upon a human dimensions course taught in several countries of Latin America in the last eight years, and in consonance with the work of the IUCN/SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group and Task Force on Human-Wildlife Conflict, this course was designed to expose the participants to the conceptual and methodological challenges behind the proper assessment of human-wildlife relationships - with emphasis on the human dimensions - and the decision making regarding their management.
Date: 20 July from 8:30 - 17:30
Title: The High Conservation Value and the High Carbon Stock approaches: tools for implementing biodiversity conservation in the production landscape - SOLD OUT!
Instructor: Surin Suksuwan, Proforest
Fee: USD 66 (Course fee, beverage break, accommodations for the evenings of Friday, 19 July (wi-fi, linens, air con and toiletries in dorm room)
Course Description: An introduction to two of the most widely used conservation planning and management tools in the agricultural and forestry production sectors. This course introduces High Conservation Value (HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS) definitions and the approach process; provides an overview of the steps in HCV and HCS assessment methodologies; and how to manage and monitor HCV and HCS areas, drawing on real world examples.
Date: 20 July from 8:30 - 17:30
Title: Which ecosystems are threatened? Applying the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems to identify ecosystems at risk - SOLD OUT!
Instructor: Irene Zager, Provita
Fee: USD 54 (Course fee, beverage break, accommodations for the evenings of Friday, 19 July (wi-fi, linens, air con and toiletries in dorm room)
Course Description: Adopted by IUCN in 2014, the Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) protocol provides a global standard for assessing the conservation status of the world's ecosystems by quantifying their risk of collapse through five standard, transparent and repeatable criteria. Furthermore, RLE assessments support conservation decision-making by pointing towards effective strategies for ecosystem management and conservation, while allowing monitoring the impact of these strategies
This tool was developed to complement other available global conservation products, such as the Red List of Threatened Species and Key Biodiversity Areas. In recent years it has received growing interest by actors from all sectors and geographical levels, and many RLE assessments have been completed or are ongoing at different scales around the world.
This short course aims to bring together professionals from different sectors, researchers and students interested in better understanding the RLE protocol and the requirements to carry out ecosystem risk assessments. Participants will also gain an appreciation for the practical utility of RLE data in moving from assessment to decision making and action.
The session will be informative and highly interactive, with theoretical presentations interspersed with debates led by experienced facilitators. Participants will be encouraged to share their experiences and analyze how RLE can contribute to the conservation and sustainable management in their regions.
Half Day Short Courses
Date: 21 July from 8:30 - 12:30
Title: Conservation Innovation: Techniques & Approaches for ideating new Solutions - SOLD OUT!
Instructor: Cassie Hoffman, Conservation X Labs
Fee: USD 25 (Course fee, beverage break)
Course Description: This will be an active and fun workshop that involves a series games, activities, and sharing to generate new approaches and ideas to conservation challenges and facilitate collaboration. This workshop will focus on process and setting the stage for innovation within your organization, daily work, and conservation initiatives and research activities. We'll review and dissect historical examples of novel conservation approaches and tools, and how they came to be. We'll draw on open innovation literature, design-thinking frameworks, and systems thinking to give practical tips and tools for integrating more empathetic and creative practices into program development. After a succinct review of some historical examples and open innovation theory, we will dive into a series of ideation activities and games. Get ready to get to know your neighbor, draw and create, and generate ideas. Leave your credentials at the door, and bring an open mind. We'll wrap up the workshop with thinking about how to prioritize and evaluate the feasibility your ideas, and provide an overview of the Conservation X Labs; Con X Tech Prize, a prototyping grant competition for new and novel conservation technology, tools, and approaches.
Date: 21 July from 8:30 - 12:30
Title: Earth observation and remote sensing for conservation- SOLD OUT!
Instructor: Nicholas Murray, University of New South Wales
Fee: USD 25 (Course fee, beverage break)
Course Description: Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation threaten ecosystems worldwide. Satellite remote sensing has been crucial in documenting these threats, and is a powerful tool for identifying areas undergoing losses. However, existing methods for mapping change typically rely on expert implementation, which is a severe constraint in achieving comprehensive information on the status of the world’s ecosystems. Through practical exercises, this short course will train attendees to the use of remote sensing for mapping habitats and quantifying how they change over time.
We will learn to use REMAP (https://remap-app.org), a free, open-source, online remote sensing application funded by Google and developed to provide easy access to the immense capabilities of Google Earth Engine. Remap has been used by more 10,000 people around the world to quickly develop highly accurate maps from Landsat data, identify areas undergoing land cover changes and quantify the amount of loss over a two-decade period.
In the course, we will make map classifications from freely available Landsat data, allowing us to identify the distributions of land cover types, and quantify habitat loss and deforestation over a 20 year period. Attendees will access remap via laptop computer, train a remote sensing classification interactively in the web browser, run a map classification using Google Earth Engine, analyse areas of each map class, and download their data in a format suitable for analysis or sharing."
Date: 21 July from 8:30 - 12:30
Title: Systems thinking for conservation practice - SOLD OUT!
Instructor: Shauna Mahajan, World Wildlife Fund
Fee: USD 25 Course Fee, beverages (coffee/tea/hot chocolate/water)
Course Description: The planet is made of large systems and sub-systems, from forests to individual trees and global to household economies. There are rarely boundaries between one system and another. People in many fields have been trying to find ways to capture complexity and dynamics through systems thinking, as a way of thinking and understanding that considers the inherent complexity of the world. It allows one to see the whole; and the interrelationships, the patterns of change rather than static snapshots.
The short course will introduce systems thinking, and through interactive learning, demonstrate its value to conservation practice. Participants discuss and practice simple ways of thinking in systems that can be incorporated into day-to-day activities. The course will also demonstrate how more tools like qualitative systems mapping can help project teams think about the dynamics of the systems they seek to change, engage with non-traditional partners, and identify appropriate leverage points for designing initiatives for impact. Case examples will be solicited from project participants ahead of the course, to ensure practical value to participants.
The course will be part of a series of short courses offered by the SSWG. The course will also build on practical experience integrating systems thinking at WWF and a new guide on systems practice for conservation practitioners (forthcoming, March 2019).
Date: 21 July from 8:30 - 12:30
Title: Using Crime Science to Counter Deep Forest Poaching- SOLD OUT!
Instructor: Wai Yee Lam, Rimba
Fee: USD 25 (Course fee, beverage break)
Course Description: This course includes theoretical and practical sessions that will cover the following topics:
i) Crime Specificity – Identifying characteristics of crime types observed and outlining crime scripts to flag vulnerabilities that teams can exploit.
ii) Operational Space and Vigilance – Identifying the spatial and temporal parameters in which poachers operate in the landscape and planning operations around a framework that is both manageable and ‘makes sense.
iii) F3EAD Cycle Applying the Find, Fix, Finish, Exploit, Analyse and Disseminate during operations.
iv) Incursion Analysis – Using data to investigate the footprints of each poaching incursion to better understand poaching patterns.
v) Managing Search Operations Outlining the basic principles in managing an incursion alert, planning and execution of search operation to find and fix location of poachers, through to the dissection of an operation to feed learning back into pool of information to guide future operations.
Date: 21 July from 8:30 - 12:30
Title: Using Matrix Population Models and the COM(P)ADRE Matrix Database to Inform Species Management - SOLD OUT!
Instructor: Judy Che-Castaldo, Lincoln Park Zoo
Fee: USD 25 (Course fee, beverage break)
Course Description: Effective management strategies require an understanding of the species demography, including survival and reproductive rates at different life stages. The most widely used tool for studying demography is the matrix population model, which can be analyzed to understand how populations change over time, which life stages are most vulnerable to environmental changes, and the potential impacts of different management actions. The open-access COMPADRE COMADRE databases contain published matrix models for thousands of plant and animal species around the world. In this workshop, we will introduce attendees to demographic matrix models and how to conduct typical analyses for informing management decisions. We will apply these models to real datasets from COMPADRE COMPADRE, and also explore other functions and resources available on the database website for conservation managers.
Equity, Inclusion, Diversity Sessions
Date: Monday, 22 July from 14:30 - 16:00
Title: Fulfilling the need for greater Equity, Inclusion and Diversity within SCB sections
Facilitator: Jennie Miller, Board Member, Asia Section
Panelists:
- Vanessa Adams, President, Oceania Section
- Karla Pelz, President-Elect, Latin America and Caribbean Section
- Karen Root, President-Elect, North America Section
- Israel Borokini, President, Africa Section
- Jennie Miller, Board Member, Asia Section
- Ellen Hines, Inclusion and Diversity Officer, SCB Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Committee
Description: Within sections and at the International Congresses for Conservation Biology (ICCB), the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) has sought to address issues of Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity. This ongoing process has resulted in the creation of the SCB Equity, Inclusion and Diversity (EID) Committee, conference EID committees, and, in some sections, EID officers. How effective have sections been at addressing EID issues, what have been their challenges and accomplishments, and what future steps can be taken? These questions and others will be addressed in this session, which aims to bring together section representatives and members and the broader SCB community to address EID issues, especially challenges and suggestions for how to address them. Key issues from each of the sections will be identified through an online survey before the congress. Recurring and urgent topics will be identified through analyses of the survey results. The session will begin with section leaders sharing their perspectives on selected EID topics, followed by a breakout session to address each of the topics through a mixed diverse group of ICCB participants and section representatives. A final group discussion will follow to digest different ideas to resolve the selected issues.
Date: Tuesday, 23 July from 14:30 - 16:00
Title: Indigenous perspective on conservation biology and local community development
Facilitator: Dr. Leslie Cornick, Eastern Washington University
Panelists:
- Malaysia Nature Society - Speaker: Mr. Roslan Carang || Scientist counterpart: Mr. Chin AIk Yeap
- Perak State Park - Speaker: Mr. Jefri A/L Tapong || Scientist counterpart: Mr. Chin Aik Yeap (the same guy as MNS)
- Management and Ecology of Malaysian Elephants - Speaker: Param bin Pura/Mohamad Tauhid/Husin A/L Sudan || Scientist counterpart: Ee Phin Wong (tentatively)
- Land of Snow Leopard Network - Speaker: Almagul Osmanova (Director of Taalim Forum in Kyrgyzstan, founding member of the LOSL Network)
Description: International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB) seeks to address global conservation challenges while presenting new research and perspectives on conservation science and practice. With as many as 2000 conservation professionals expected, the Congress is the ideal place for local and indigenous voices to share their perspectives on conservation biology and their role in research and conservation. Inclusion of local and indigenous voices allows for community empowerment, as a community-driven approach to conservation biology can be highly complementary to externally-driven approaches in order to achieve the conservation goals. Hence, indigenous communities should be given more chances and platforms to voice their perspectives and share their experiences with opportunities and challenges in conservation. This is vital for building indigenous community empowerment and personal development and sense of self determination. This session will include representatives of different indigenous groups, or persons who have long-term affiliations with indigenous groups, to highlight perspectives on and contributions to biodiversity conservation efforts.
Date: Wednesday, 24 July from 14:30 - 16:00
Title: Promoting STEM culture in schools: teaching, engaging, and inspiring the next generation of conservation scientists
Facilitator: Dr. Hidayah Binti Mohd Fadzil, University of Malaya
Panelists:
- Prof. Rohaida Mohd Saat, University of Malaya
- Dr. Blake Alexander Simmons, Wonder of Science, The University of Queensland
- Dr. Ihsan Ismail, Ministry of Education
- Jessie Chew, Education Manager, Eco-Schools Programme, WWF-Malaysia
Description: Promoting STEM culture in schools: teaching, engaging, and inspiring the next generation of conservation scientists. Who will be the future practitioners, researchers, advocates, and leaders of conservation? As the demand for STEM professionals continues to grow around the world in order to combat ‘wicked’ problems, it is imperative that the next generation is inspired, engaged, and competent in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In order to address this issue, the ICCB EID Subcommittee organized a one-day STEM outreach program—developed in collaboration with the renowned Wonder of Science program in Queensland, Australia—which is aimed at promoting competency and engagement in conservation science among under-represented Malaysian students. In this session, we will report on this daylong activity, and the students will share with the Congress what they have learned. The session will also feature a panel of diverse experts in STEM education, who will discuss barriers and opportunities for promoting STEM culture in schools, how to promote minority representation in STEM, and innovative ways of teaching and communicating conservation science to students. Featuring perspectives from academia, government, and non-governmental organisations, this interactive and engaging session will be beneficial for educators, practitioners, and science communicators around the world seeking to inspire the next generation of conservation scientists.
Date: Thursday, 25 July from 14:30 - 16:00
Title: Addressing Power Imbalances and Combating Harassment and Sexual Assault in Conservation (90 minutes)
Facilitator: Marisa Rinkus
Panelists:
- Marisa Rinkus (Michigan State University) and Jess Sparks (Tufts University), Co-chairs SCB Anti-Sexual Harassment and Violence Phase II Task Force
- Ivy Josiah, Secretary General, The Society for the Promotion of Human Rights (PROHAM), Past President & Former Executive Director of Women's Aid Organisation
- Betty Yeoh, Trainer/Facilitator (Project Director, All Women’s Action Society)
- Omna Sreeni-Ong, Founder & Managing Director, ENGENDER Consultancy
Description: Increased attention on the pervasiveness of harassment and assault in the daily professional lives of women and men calls for open dialogue and institutional culture change, particularly around issues of gender-based discrimination and the role of power dynamics. Although the topic of harassment in the workplace is not new, what constitutes the 'workplace' for conservation professionals can present a unique set of challenges in terms of the spaces in which the work takes place and the various actors involved. Given that our work can occur in isolated settings and often hyper-masculine environments, it is surprising that the issue of harassment and sexual assault has not garnered more attention. However, harassment does not only occur in the field and can be experienced in various professional settings. This session comes as the Society for Conservation Biology seeks to "refine and align policies and practices around anti-sexual violence and harassment" in order to cultivate a safe working and learning environment for all members. Panelists will discuss how power dynamics, implicit bias, culture, and tradition can perpetuate harassment, and facilitate discussion on how we as individuals and a professional society can address incivility, harassment, and sexual assault in conservation.