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Photo credit: Stacy Jupiter |
The Oceania Section established a news website http://scboceania.org/ which is updated regularly and members are notified four times a year. This includes interesting conservation projects, winners of awards and the work of our board and chapters. Earlier this year, the section successfully held a public panel discussion in Sydney on the extinction crisis which attracted an audience of about 300 and also was recorded by our national broadcaster, reaching a wide audience. The section plans to hold another forum in Brisbane in December on the condition of the Great Barrier Reef and the effectiveness of government initiatives.
The section also released its first Conservation Science Statement, a proactive approach to providing advice to policy-makers and managers. The statement focused on the plight of freshwater ecosystems in New Zealand. It received wide coverage in the media and the section hopes it will be one of many more such initiatives for conservation of our ecosystems in Oceania, offering a bridge between science and policy.
Media coverage of the statement:
- Grave warning for NZ's freshwater life - New Zealand Herald
- Freshwater species disappearing rapidly -Radio New Zealand News
The 2016 regional conference planning is well progressed and with more than double the number of symposia opportunities we could offer resulting in a significant rejection. The section hopes this will also reflect the interest in our conference, with the call for abstracts currently out. For more information on next year's conference in Brisbane, visit the website: http://brisbane2016.scboceania.org/.