HR: 08:30h
AN: NB51D-01 INVITED     [Abstracts]
TI: Synthesising Information for use in Conserving Freshwater Ecosystems, and the Value of Comparing Perspectives from Different Countries
AU: * Boon, P J
EM: phil.boon@snh.gov.uk
AF: Scottish Natural Heritage, 2 Anderson Place, Edinburgh, EH6 5NP United Kingdom
AU: Pringle, C M
EM: cpringle@uga.edu
AF: Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, 711 Bio. Sci. Bldg. , Athens, GA 30602 United States
AB: Human impacts on freshwater ecosystems worldwide create a compelling case for investing in programmes of management and conservation. The effectiveness of these programmes in different countries is determined by several factors, such as the ability to base conservation action on sound science, having agreed protocols in place for assigning priorities for conservation, and gathering, synthesising and exchanging information to support conservation. Over the past 20 years, several key publications have emerged from the UK and the US on freshwater conservation. This special session is based on a new publication, currently in production, which examines the challenge of how to assess the conservation 'value' of fresh waters. This approach taken is innovative, in that it explores the subject from both sides of the Atlantic using pairs of authors from the UK and the US, as well as perspectives provided by authors from other selected countries. The final product will cover methods for assessing rivers and lakes across the full spectrum of 'quality', applying them to a range of management scenarios (e.g. protection, mitigation, restoration). The comparisons between two countries where the organisation and practice of nature conservation is very different should be instructive.
DE: 9810 New fields (not classifiable under other headings)
SC: North American Benthological Society [NB]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly