|  | | | Hello SCB Europe members!
It is an exciting time for SCB Europe with the ECCB coming up in just a couple of weeks. We have over 1000 participants registered so we are looking forward to a great congress! It is fantastic to see so much interest in ECCB and we hope this is a sign of great things to come.
This will be my last term as President of SCB Europe and I wish to thank all of the SCB Members for their engagement in our society. SCB is a member-driven society and it is you who make it happen. I have had the privilege to serve with a great Board of Governors who have made my time fun and productive.
With that said, we want to call your attention to our upcoming Call for nominations for President Elect for SCB Europe. In the coming days we will be opening the call for nominations, and you will receive a separate email. The call will be open during the ECCB, so if you are interested and have questions, please come to the SCB Europe booth or find a Board Member. We will be happy to discuss it with you. We intend to fill the President Elect vacancy this year, and turn over the leadership to the new President in 2025!
We look forward to seeing you at ECCB!
John Piccolo |
| | | ECCB 2024 is just around the corner. We look forward to meeting you all in Bologna for a great and inspiring week of conservation science and practice from June 17-21. Make sure to check the conference website to stay informed on the scientific and social program, as well as other practicalities such as instructions for authors, childcare services, local transportations, or the kids drawing contest.
SCB Europe will have a booth in the Zoology Museum, so make sure to come by for a chat and get useful information on membership, our chapters, working groups, or awards. |
| | | Congratulations to Dr Alfredo Romero-Muñoz, Winner of the Early Career Conservation Award 2024!
We are delighted to announce that this year’s Early Career Conservation Award winner is Dr Alfredo Romero-Muñoz! Dr Romero-Muñoz received the Award for his remarkable contributions to understanding and solving conservation challenges in South America deforestation hotspots and guiding conservation planning and environmental policy in Bolivia and throughout South America. |
| | His work explores the impact of extinction drivers – such as habitat loss and overexploitation – on biodiversity at various levels, from individual species to entire communities. His engagement with Indigenous leaders and scientists in policy negotiations has amplified Indigenous voices, leading to meaningful dialogues. Collaborating with NGOs, he connects research with practical actions, focusing on human-wildlife coexistence and conservation planning. His involvement extends to policy revisions and legal cases against environmental crimes. |
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| He contributed to assessing the environmental risks of the EU-Mercosur agreement and served as an expert on reports by GermanWatch and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) to help assess policy options to reduce deforestation associated with EU imports, and legal actions against European companies with large social and environmental impacts in South America. Read more here.
Dr Romero-Muñoz and last year’s winner Dr Martin Jung will be awarded at ECCB 2024 in Bologna where they will present their work.
The call for the next Early Career Conservation Award will open in early 2025 and we wish to emphasize that we encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, age, and socio-economic status, to apply. |
| | SCB Europe Region Annual Members Meeting 2024
We are looking forward to welcoming you to ECCB 2024 and to our SCB Europe Region Annual Members Meeting which will be held at lunchtime on Thursday 20th June. This will be a great opportunity to meet other members and the SCB Europe Board. We will provide an overview of our activities over the past year and open up to questions. Non-members are also welcome to attend if you would like to know more about the Region and have any questions about membership. We will also be voting on our revised bylaws which have been updated to ensure governance of the Europe Section is clear, transparent and inclusive. Bring your own lunch.
When: 13:00-14:30 CET Thursday 20th June Where: Zoology Museum |
|  | Bylaw revision We hope you had the opportunity to read and respond to our recent call for comments on the draft updated SCB Europe Region Bylaws which will be presented and voted on at the Europe Region's Membership Assembly meeting at ECCB 2024 in Bologna, Italy on 20th June. The bylaws were last updated and officially adopted in June 2018 at ECCB 2018 in Jyväskylä, Finland. We consider that most Articles in the bylaws from 2018 are functional as they are, but there were a few points to update as proposed by the Europe Region Board of Governors:
To increase the diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) in delivering SCB Europe Region’s mission, actions and conservation science more widely. The revised bylaws account for DEIJ by: inclusion of an DEIJ statement in Article 1 of the bylaws; a Standing Committee for DEIJ is established, and the role of an DEIJ officer is created. To ensure the continuity in the governance of SCB Europe, the drafted bylaws provide details of the Board of Directors’ election procedures in Article 3: the President Elect is elected by Region members every 3 years but if no nominee is elected, the elected Board Members-at-Large can elect a President Elect; and the President’s term can be extended for a fixed time period to ensure this post is not left vacant if no other candidates are elected.
To align with the recent process of SCB Sections becoming independent SCB Regions, the draft revised bylaws use the new governance terminology in all Articles of the bylaws. For example, SCB Europe Section is now SCB Europe Region.
If you would like any additional information on these proposed changes, please email us. |
| | ECCB 2026: Call for Expression of Interest
While the 7th ECCB 2024 in Bologna is just around the corner, the Board of Directors of the SCB-Europe Region is seeking expressions of interest to host the 8th ECCB in 2026. Expressions of interest should contain the following (max. 2 A4 pages): |
| Year, proposed location and host organization Local organizers with contact details Accessibility, transport and infrastructure of the location, and a summary of conference facilities Information on academic partners Attractiveness of this location from a natural history and ecological perspective Information on how the venue can take leadership in environmentally friendly conferences Suggestion for the timing of the conference, with justification Special accommodation possibilities to attract student participants
Please send Expressions of Interest to the SCB Europe Region Board. |
| | Scientists criticize EU decision-makers for a rollback on the Green Deal and call for responsible decision-making
In an open letter published on 29 May, science associations, including SCB Europe, criticize European decision-makers for a series of decisions that undermine the EU’s environmental agenda and its international obligations. The scientists note that these attacks on the Green Deal not only jeopardize nature but also pose imminent risk to the future of EU citizens.
While EU policymakers claim that the measures are taken in response to farmers’ protests, scientists highlight that the decisions are poorly justified, do not address the problems they are aiming to solve, and at the same time ignore substantive scientific evidence against them. They point especially at the rejection of the Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR), the weakening of basic environmental standards in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), halting the approval of the Nature Restoration Law (NRL), the Commission’s proposal for exemptions in the Nitrate Directive, and the Commission’s decision to shelve the Framework for Sustainable Food Systems (FSFS). The science community regards these decisions as poorly justified and dangerous, rolling back environmental standards and regulations, some of which are the result of decades of efforts and strongly supported by science and society.
Read the full press release here. |
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