A number of scientists involved in DIVERSITAS, and in other ESSP

programmes (IGBP, IHDP and WCRP) have been asked to lead sessions at an

important UNFCCC-COP15 lead-in Congress.

Please see below a request for abstracts into one of these sessions,

co-organised by Mark Stafford Smith and Paul Leadley. Deadline for

abstract submission is 1st September 2008.

Anne Larigauderie, Executive Director, DIVERSITAS

(a...@diversitas-international.org)

-------

*"Biodiversity: Enhancement of Resilience or Facilitating Transformation?"*

*      - Call for Abstracts (no later than 1st September 2008)*

Session at: "Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions",

    COP-15 Lead-in Congress, Copenhagen 10-12 March 2009

-------

We have been asked to chair a major session with this theme at the

upcoming Copenhagen science congress on Climate Change: Global Risks,

Challenges and Decisions, which will be held from 10-12 March, 2009 (see

http://climatecongress.ku.dk/). This session falls under the broader

Theme 4 of Preparing for the Impacts: Adapting to the Inevitable.

We hope you will consider submitting a paper or poster on our session

topic, but for now all that is needed is an abstract.

Recognising that individual species will respond differentially to

climate change in the context of other drivers of change, we would be

particularly interested in papers that address (i) how whole ecosystems

will change in terms of their biodiversity; (ii) when it makes more

sense to enhance system resilience or promote system transformation; and

(iii) what practical policy and management measures and changes are

required to best enable biodiversity to respond to climate change.

A summary of the session's inputs and discussion will be provided to the

COP-15 in Copenhagen in late 2009. The main aim of the Copenhagen

science congress is to provide a synthesis of existing and emerging

scientific knowledge necessary in order to make intelligent societal

decisions concerning application of mitigation and adaptation strategies

in response to climate change; papers should contribute to this aim.

Abstracts describing original research into topics relevant to the

themes being treated at the Congress are invited. GUIDELINES FOR

SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS are available on the conference website

(http://climatecongress.ku.dk/). Abstracts can only be submitted

on-line, and must be submitted no later than 1 September 2008.

Please circulate this announcement to others who may be interested in

participating in this session; we are looking forward to possibly seeing

you at the meeting.

Kind regards,

Dr Mark Stafford Smith, CSIRO, Australia

Dr Paul Leadley, Université Paris-Sud and DIVERSITAS, Paris, France.

------ Dr Mark Stafford Smith ------

CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems (& Desert Knowledge CRC)

PO Box 284, Canberra, ACT 2602, Australia

Mob: 0408 852 082 Tel: 02-6242 1719

Fax: 02-6242 1517 [Switch -1600; Intl +61]

Email: Mark.StaffordSm...@csiro.au

[www.csiro.au & www.desertknowledgecrc.com.au]

------ Prof. Paul Leadley ------

Director, Laboratoire d'Ecologie, Systematique et Evolution (ESE)

Batiment 362 Universite Paris-Sud 11

91405 Orsay  CEDEX     France

Telephone:  +33 (0)1 69 15 72 22

Secretary:  +33 (0)1 69 15 56 60

Fax: +33 (0)1 69 15 56 96

Lab web site: www.ese.u-psud.fr

paul.lead...@u-psud.fr  *****