photo: H. ShrummThe Community Conservation in Practice workshop (CCiP), held 6-8 May 2010 in Tofino, provided an opportunity for people from local and indigenous communities, non-governmental organizations, academia, and funding institutions from around the world to come together to discuss the current strengths of and threats to Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs), Sacred Natural Sites (SNS) and Bio-cultural Landscapes (BCL). A lasting output of the workshop is the Opitsaht Declaration, a document conceived and drafted by the CCiP participants to promote the possibility of a more positive and just collaboration between indigenous communities and outside institutions in the management of these bioculturally important areas – for the benefit of all living beings and the health of the planet. 

To read the Opitsaht Declaration or download a pdf of the document, please click here.

Photo: Ç. ŞekercioğluEthnobiological Research Methods Course - Kars, Turkey
13 – 21 September 2010

A Global Diversity Fund/ Biocultural Diversity Learning Network course
for researchers and students from Turkey, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
sponsored by The Christensen Fund

Course overview
This course will cover contemporary issues and current methods in ethnobiology and ethnoecology and will introduce new approaches for studying these emerging fields. The training will be conducted by Dr. Füsun Ertuğ, Dr. Gary Martin (Global Diversity Fund and University of Kent at Canterbury) and Dr. Çagan Şekercioğlu (KuzeyDoga Society and Stanford University).

The course will weave together various approaches to understanding how local ecological knowledge and practice are evolving over time. Particular focus will be given to addressing global trends that are having a local impact, such as market integration, migration and urbanisation. We will explore how to interact with local communities that are in rapid transition, helping them to draw upon their cultural and biological diversity to adapt to a changing world.

The content and organisation of this course will take into account the participants’ specific interests in subjects such as agrobiodiversity, ecotourism and traditional ecological knowledge. For this reason, the course schedule is flexible and will be tailored to the specific interests and learning pace of the whole group.

The course will take place 14 – 20 September 2010, and participants must arrive in Kars on 13 September. Transportation to Kars, room, board, and other local course expenses will be covered by the course organizers. There are a limited number of spaces available and participants will be chosen through a competitive application process.

We are particularly keen to attract participants who are engaged in current applied research on community use and management of plant resources, cultural landscapes or other projects related to ethnoecology in Turkey, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The course will be conducted in English, without translation, so English fluency is essential. After a written evaluation, candidates will be interviewed in English by Dr. Gary Martin. Successful applicants should have an undergraduate degree in a field related to ethnobotany/ethnobiology/ethnoecology, or be in their final year of study. Postgraduate students are especially encouraged to apply.

Interested applicants should send a C.V., name and contact information of three references (include email and telephone), and a cover letter explaining how they will benefit from this course in a single email to:

Dr. Füsun Ertuğ (etnofertug@gmail.com), Dr. Gary Martin (gary@globaldiversity.org.uk), and Dr. Çagan Şekercioğlu (cagan@stanford.edu)

The application deadline is 15 August 2010 and successful applicants will be notified by 1 September 2010.

The recently released Biocultural Diversity Conservation: A Global Sourcebook (Earthscan, 2010, eds. Luisa Maffi & Ellen Woodley) is the compilation of years of work carried out by Terralingua to identify projects that take a holistic approach to sustaining cultural and biological diversity. The book highlights 45 projects from around the world that recognize the "fundamental link between local languages, ecological knowledge, cultural practices, and biodiversity, and that apply this recognition to the design of sustainable solutions to environmental and social problems." Focus is given to projects that are initiated by, or are jointly planned and managed by, indigenous and local communities.

In conjunction with the launch of Biocultural Diversity Conservation: A Global Sourcebook, Terralingua is hosting an online portal for those with an interest in biocultural diversity to share insights and support one another in order to make a "community of practice" whereby those involved can be more effective in their work and these important issues can become more visible globally. The portal allows people to share their own stories about biocultural diversity, explore other biocultural diversity conservation projects from around the world, read current articles on the subject and express thoughts through ongoing online discussion or "conservation in conversation". To learn more about the book, or to join the portal, please click here.

Researchers in Sabah, MalaysiaISE Student/Recent Graduate Prize to be awarded during the 2010 ISE Congress in Tofino, British Columbia, Canada

Win recognition for your work as a student of ethnobiology! The ISE will award two prizes to student presenters at the Congress: (1) for a paper presentation (either oral or as a poster) and (2) for an alternative format contribution (video, non-academic poster, poetry, performance, other). To be eligible for consideration, you must be either a current student or have completed your studies within one year of the congress (i.e., no earlier than May 2009). Co-authored papers by students or recent graduates, as noted above, are accepted. Co-authorship with non-students is allowed only if the student or recent graduate is the major author and presenter.

Interested candidates should submit the following via email, fax, or mail to the ISE Coordinator, and indicate the prize for which their contribution should be considered:

1. a one-page cover letter, with title of the contribution, names, affiliations, address and emails,
2. the abstract submitted for the Congress, and
3. a two page (maximum) description of the contribution with relevant subsections as appropriate, e.g., Introduction/Background – Purpose – (Methodology - Results for paper presentations) - Discussion - Conclusions. For alternative format contributions please include video, audio, or other material.

Deadline for submissions is April 15, 2010.

Written materials should be spaced one and a half lines, 12-point type with one inch margins. Video or audio submissions should be 15 minutes or less in length. Please contact the ISE Coordinator at isecoordinator@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Honor the Earth is currently accepting applications from Native organizations for their Spring 2010 Building Resilience in Indigenous Communities Grant. The grant supports grassroots, community-based organizations directed and controlled by Native people in their efforts to increase Indigenous communities’ capacity to prevent and adapt to climate change in ways that preserve and restore Indigenous cultures.

Funding for the Building Resilience in Indigenous Communities Initiative will focus on two goals:

1. To support and forward the development of culturally-based, Indigenous solutions to climate change based on re-localizing food and energy economies; 

2. To foster restoration of traditional knowledge as a key adaptation and mitigation strategy to ensure a safe and healthy future for our children and the next seven generations.

Grants range from US$1000 to $5000, and applications are due 30 March 2010.
If you would like to learn more about the Honor The Earth Building Resilience Grant, please click here.