PFS – Tropical Asia

Through a grant from CAS, XTBG is offering a limited number of fellowships, each worth RMB 3000, to scientists from lower-income countries who wish to attend the ATBC Asia-Pacific chapter 2012 meeting at XTBG (24-27 Mar 2012).

Applicants should be presenting a paper (oral or poster) and preference will be given to early career scientists. To apply please first register for the meeting (fully refundable) and submit an abstract. Applications for the fellowships can then be made through the link in the right-hand panel.

Successful applicants will be informed no later than 28 Feb 2012.

Registration for the ATBC Asia-Pacific chapter meeting at XTBG in March 2012 has opened. The meeting promises to be an interesting one, with an exciting line up of keynote speakers and a diversity of symposia. As usual PFS-TropAsia will be offering its Experimental Design & Data Analysis and Scientific Paper Writing workshops. As in Bali, we will have both Basic and Advanced courses for the Experimental Design & Data Analysis courses. The program is already accepting applications for these workshops.

With the selection process now complete, 25 lucky applicants from ten countries have been informed of their places on the course. These participants can look forward to an intensive but rewarding six weeks, during which we will visit various field sites in Xishuangbanna, including Bulong Nature Research, a beautiful forest on the Myan Mar border, where the participants will conduct their independent research projects. This year we received over 100 applications, so unfortunately that means for every applicant we accepted we had to turn three away. We hope, of course, that as our funding situation becomes more secure we can offer more courses each year including in other countries.

This lastest addition to PFS repertoire of courses and workshops will be run in association with the Association for Tropical Biology & Conservation – Asia-Pacific chapter meeting at XTBG in March 2012. This workshop is targeted at non-plant taxonomy majors and aims to arm participants with an ability to identify plants in the field. For this reason the course will spent a substantial amount of time looking at plants in XTBG’s extensive ex-situ collections. instruction will also focus on sterile. Over the 3-week period the course will cover approximately 50 families and 3-4 genera per family. We are already accepting registrations.

On 12 June 2011, Professor Navjot S. Sodhi, my PhD supervisor, renowned tropical conservation biologist, passed away due to an aggressive form of lymphoma. He left many of us in deep sorrow, mourning for the loss of a person dear to our hearts, as well as a big loss to world’s conservation science. What he also left behind, is the wealth of research he committed to over the past 20 years. Perhaps an even more important legacy he left us is his passion in conservation biology, which will continue to inspire all of us. He dedicated a great deal of his effort in getting the conservation message to a broader audience. Showcasing this passion of him is a book written to be freely available for all, CONSERVATION BIOLOGY FOR ALL.

In commemorating Navjot’s contribution to tropical conservation biology, the Association for Tropical Biology & Conservation (ATBC) has set up the Navjot Sodhi Memorial Fund.

Koh, L. P. and Lee, T. M. 2011. Navjot S. Sodhi: the professor who wore his cap backwards. Tropical Conservation Science Vol.4 (1):iv-vi. www.tropicalconservationscience.org

AFEC-X has obtained accreditation from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)! Graduate students from the Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (GUCAS) and institutes under CAS will receive two course credits  towards their degree program, upon completion of the AFEC-X field course.

Registrations for the Advanced Fieldcourse in Ecology and Conservation at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden are now open until August 31 2011.

To register please click the link to AFEC-X China 2011 under the course list to begin your application.

Building on previous efforts, particularly those by DIVERSITAS in Western Pacific and Asia (DIWPA), Centre for Tropical Forest Science, and Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation Asia-Pacific Chapter, this Project is implementing capacity building activities on conservation biology focusing primarily on junior faculty members and young researchers in developing countries in Asia and the Pacific.

The junior faculty are more likely to incorporate what they learn into their own research and teaching agendas, thus
maximising the impact by ensuring long-term effectiveness and direct benefits. This project was composed of four main training components: i) Experimental design and data analysis courses (the Bali Botanic Gardens 12-15 July 2010); ii) Science writing courses (the Bali Botanic Gardens 16 July 2010); iii) Field biology training courses; and iv) Symposia, which emanated from the field course.

A Field Course on Biodiversity, Conservation and Sustainable Development entailed six weeks of field work in two national parks in East Java, Alas Purwo and Baluran, before crossing Wallace’s Line into Rinjani National Park in Lombok. Biologists from around the globe committed their time and expertise as resource staff, offering lectures and hands-on training in their fields of expertise.

The Field Course captured multidisciplinary approaches to biodiversity conservation and global climate change. Throughout the Field Course, participants engaged in their own student research projects, and presented their results at a concluding field course symposium. To educate the Indonesian public about our activities and to widen the audience’s awareness of educational activities, the media were also invited to attend.

The project also allowed for extending scholarship support to scientific and capacity building activities of global change, namely the meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) 2010 -“Tropical Biodiversity: Surviving the Food, Energy and Climate Crisis,” held in Sanur, Bali, Indonesia from 19-23 July 2010.

Project Leader:
Dr. Mochamad
Indrawan University of Indonesia
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 81 199 0151
Fax: +62 251 837 447
Email: jamblang@cbn.net.id

APN Funding:
US$33,190 (For 1 Year)

News source: APN Science Bulletin. Issue 1, March 2011

The Advance Fieldcourse in Ecology and Conservation at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, China 2011 will start in October this year. Details and registration page will be available in April. Please spread the word and stay tuned!

AFEC-X 2010 concluded successfully. The course was held at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden( XTBG) from 20 November to 17 December 2010 and attracted 20 students from 10 countries, including China, North Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Benin, Argentina and Cameroon.

Many thanks to the lecturers and students at XTBG who supported the course. We would like to acknowledge the assistance of the Xishuangbanna governmenet, in particular the Nature Reserve Bureau, and the financial support of XTBG.