SUNDAY 9 SEPTEMBER, 2018 – UWI TODAY
15
LACCCB CONFERENCE JULY 25-27, 2018
The theme of the LACCCB
conference was
“Rainforest
to Reef: Strengthening Conservation Connections
Between the Caribbean and the Americas.
” Most
natural spaces – montane ecosystems, forests, rivers,
savannahs, mangroves, and shallowmarine and deep-
sea environments – were represented. But these forced
consideration of the “unnatural” spaces, including
urban areas, roadways and agricultural lands. It is hard
to disconnect discussions of conservation biology from
the impact of our species: humans. Most discussions
focused on protecting organisms and their habitats
through ecological strategies – building connectivity,
restoration and repatriation, and social change –
effected through education, policy and regional
collaboration among one species, us.
First came the bad news. This was delivered by
Gerardo Ceballos, Professor of Environmental Science
at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
in the opening plenary. Prof. Ceballos presented the
global overview on the status of biodiversity among
vertebrates.
There was evidence of significant loss in the global
biodiversity over the last 100 years, significant enough
to be considered “the ongoing sixth mass extinction
event.” The main drivers of these extinctions are
growing human populations and their consequential
actions – resource extraction, loss and alteration
of habitats, pollution, disease and introductions of
invasive species. Extinction rates calculated from the
declining populations of mammals, birds, fish and
amphibians species (to name a few) are expected to
continue into the future, especially with the long-term
impacts of man-made climate change. However, there
is still a chance to alter the trajectory through persistent
and even creative conservation strategies but we need
to act with urgency. Prof. Ceballos established the
first challenge of the conference –
creative thinking for
conservation strategies.
Later conference talks definitely provided specific
regional cases for Prof. Ceballos’ theory. Studies about
disturbances to habitat and animal populations, as
well as conservation efforts have been undertaken
all over the Latin American and Caribbean region.
An example of creative thinking was conveyed in the
plenary talk of Dr. HowardNelson from the University
of Chester. Dr. Nelson discussed the benefits of tapping
into the valuable asset of regional (ecological, social
and political) diversity in the Caribbean and South
American region: utilising indigenous strategies, he
proposed, may improve biodiversity management of
protected and unprotected areas. Such strategies offer
innovative approaches for conservation management
of unprotected natural areas or privately owned lands.
What were his take home messages? Collaborate
and build connections across borders, language
barriers and cultures. Having a broad diverse scope
of understanding at multiple scales (from community
to national and regional levels), and even outside the
realms of traditional ecology, will only improve our
conservation efforts.With that, he delivered the second
challenge –
engagement across languages and across
social structures, as far as the national agenda.
And so we kicked off the series of formal talks and
workshops with creativity and engagement in mind,
with doubles and roti mixed in.Throughout the varied
habitats, common themes of human disturbance –
including invasive species and pollution – pervaded
most ecosystems. But there were also success
stories about habitat restoration and repatriation
as well as social engagement. Discussion about
habitat fragmentation and the methods to improve
Connect, Collaborate, Conserve
connectivity across habitats and ecosystems, as well as
the challenges to assess spatial distributions on broad
landscape scales – even across borders or with the sea
between – resonate with me as a marine scientist. I
have experienced similar challenges in coral reefs and
coastal ecosystems.These discussions provided insight
and opportunity for adapting innovative ideas and
technologies to different ecosystems – at the levels of
the rainforest or the reef.
To end the conference, it was refreshing to be taken
on a journey of discovery, delivering hope. The third
plenary speaker, Dr. Diva Amon, deep-sea biologist
fellow at the Natural History Museum in London,
spoke about the discoveries in the deep ocean of the
Caribbean and Atlantic. In the deep Caribbean, new
invertebrates are still being identified signalling greater
diversity among marine organisms. We appreciated
this simple reminder of the reasons we became
scientists and conservationists: the joy of exploration
and discovery. Despite the new discoveries, she
stressed that even these remote ecosystems were not
immune to human activities; she expressed urgency
for others to get involved and expand the research
efforts. Losing deep-sea ecosystems to commercial
activities such as drilling even before we even get the
chance to understand them would be a tragedy. Dr.
Amon’s challenge:
discover and protect what’s there
before we lose it.
There were about 150 attendees to the inaugural
conference, coming from 17 countries within and
beyond the Latin American and Caribbean region.
Over the two days, over 150 organisms and groups
of organisms were discussed: plants, mammals,
amphibians, fresh and saltwater species and even
bacteria. Roughly 100 study locations were mentioned
in the Latin American and Caribbean region, but with
special mentions of Antarctica, Sub-Saharan Africa
and the Indian Ocean. These locations covered more
than 20 different types of ecosystems from the high
altitude montane ecosystems and cloud forests to the
deep-sea mounts of the Caribbean as well as the urban
and agricultural landscape.
We were taken around the world to devise
strategies to protect home, whether we consider home
these two islands, or the planet.
PHOTOS: RYAN MANNETTE
Prof. Gerardo
Ceballos giving
his plenary talk
at the LACCCB
Conference on
the “sixth mass
extinction event.”
Dr. Diva Amon
giving plenary
talk at the LACCCB
Conference on deep
sea discoveries in
the Caribbean.
Dr. Anjani Ganase, marine scientist
and
coral reef specialist, reports on the Latin
America and Caribbean Congress for
Cons e r vat i on Bi o l og y (LACCCB)
Conference. This inaugural conference was
hosted by the Department of Life Sciences at
the St. Augustine campus, 15 years after the
Latin America and the Caribbean section of
the Society for Conservation Biology was
formed. She concludes that scientists in
every ecosystem must connect, collaborate
and conserve before we lose not just species,
but our home.
