Workshop to explore island biodiversity ser

victoria-university-of-wellington

Mon Oct 15 2007 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Workshop to explore island biodiversity ser

Monday, 15 October 2007, 1:11 pm
Press Release: Victoria University of Wellington

MEDIA RELEASE

Workshop to explore island biodiversity and conservation

New Zealand's unique success story in island conservation and the continued plight of island plants and animals will be the focus of a workshop on 17 October.

Co-hosted by the University's Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology, the Department of Conservation and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the workshop will define the main topics, challenges and issues around the Convention’s Island Biodiversity Programme in the Pacific region.

The Convention on Biological Diversity is part of the UN Environment Programme, and Victoria University is the sole university outside of Canada to have developed a research relationship with the Convention programme.

Director of Victoria’s Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology, Associate Professor Ben Bell, says the Centre can advise the Secretariat of the Convention on issues such as the impacts of climate change, invasive species, tourism and land development on the biotic communities of island nations, and on biological conservation and restoration methods that have been successful in New Zealand.

He says New Zealand can be proud of the many initiatives it has taken in conserving and restoring its biological diversity.

"We are in a position to share our knowledge with other countries, including small island nations, particularly our successes in tackling species and island restoration.

“As the Secretariat reminds us, island species are unique in their vulnerability. Of the 724 recorded animal extinctions in the last 400 years, about half were island species. Over the past century, island biodiversity has been subject to intense pressure from invasive alien species, habitat change and over-exploitation, and increasingly, from climate change and pollution."

The University offers a range of advanced courses in Conservation Biology and Ecological Restoration.
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