More protection for Calendula maritima

Calendula maritima. Picture extracted from the IUCN website (http://www.iucn.org/) © Anna Giordano for the IUCN's Top 50 of Mediterranean Island Plants, MIPSG-SSC. This image houses a link to the IUCN booklet. Please consult there the page 92-93.

The Sicilian endemic Calendula maritima Guss. was selected as one of the species to conserve through the SEMCLIMED/GENMEDOC projects, developed by the GENMEDA network. It deals with one of the most relevant endangered species of the Mediterranean area, included in the Top50 list of Mediterranean Island Plants(http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/mediterranean_top50_en.pdf) and the IUCN global redlist (http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/61618/0). C. maritima only lives in a few selected sites of the province of Trapani, having its locus classicus in the Nature Reserve Saline di Trapani e Paceco; all the populations are considered as endangered including those of the nature reserve, due to the projected enlargement of the harbour of Marsala, close to the salinas.


Dr. Angelo Troià, former director of the Nature Reserve and one of the most known botanists in Sicily, has fighted for years in order to obtain more protection measures for this species; in addition, practically all the Sicilian botanists and conservationists have claimed for the preservation of the species sites. Recently the councilior Mr. Salvatore Daidone proposed an amendment to the regional provisions, in order to engage more the public institution with the future conservation of C. maritima, even considering it as a province symbol for nature conservation. We are glade to announce that the President of the Province of Trapani, Mr. Girolamo Turamo, has sent us a letter confirming the approval of this proposal, which will add to endure the future for this species. Many thanks from oor blog, and long life for Calendula maritima!



Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendula_maritima

2nd Newsletter of EBONE is ready

The European Biodiversity Observation Network (EBONE) has recently edited the second isue of its Newsletter, which will be soon available on-line at the project webpage www.ebone.wur.nl As an advance of the EBONE Newsletter information, please find the announces of forthcoming events therein indicated:

-IALE European Congress 70 years of Landscape Ecology in Europe “European Landscapes
in Transformation - Challenges for Landscape Ecology and Management”.
Date: July 12 – 16
Place: Salzburg, Austria.
Further information: www.iale2009.eu

-2nd European Congress of Conservation Biology “Conservation biology and beyond:
from science to practice“.
Date: September 01 – 05
Place: Prague, Czech Republic
Further information: www.eccb2009.org

-“LANDSCAPE – Theory and Practice” - 15th International Symposium on Problems of
Landscape Ecological Research
Date: September 29 – October 02
Place: Bratislava, Slovakia
Further information: www.uke.sav.sk

International congress ISHS/ISSS in Murcia, Spain, Sept. 2009

As most of you already know the ISHS (International Society for Horticultural Science) and ISSS (International Society for Seed Science), under the cooperation of CEBAS-CSIC in Murcia (Spain), organize the 5th International Symposium on Seed, Transplant and Seed Establishment of Horticultural Crops, to be done in Murcia between 27th Sept. and 1st Oct. Deadlines are closing quickly so please contact the webpage as soon as possible, if interested to attend and participate in this event.

http://www.sest2009.com/

2nd circular Seed Ecology III

The organizers of the 3rd world conference on seed ecology (Seed Ecology III), to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah (USA), June 20-24 2010, have passed us the 2nd circular -see below-. Please visit the website www.seedecology3.org

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Dear Colleagues

I am happy to announce that we are on track for Seed Ecology III, the 3rd International Society for Seed Science Meeting on Seeds and the Environment. Following in the excellent tradition established at meetings in Rhodes in 2004 and Perth in 2007, this meeting will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, June 20-24, 2010.

I have attached a PDF flyer with meeting dates, location, website url, and contact email--please print this and post it prominently at your institution. We hope to attract wide participation from the community of seed ecologists from around the world.

For more information, please visit our website at: www.seedecology3.org. If you have additional questions, you may contact the organizing committee at: admin@seedecology3.org.

To aid in our planning, it would be very helpful to get an early indication of your possible attendance. Please send us an email, or use the 'contact us' button on the website, to let us know of your interest, and to be placed on an email list to be notified of website updates as they occur.
I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible in Salt Lake City in June 2010.

Cordially, Susan
Dr. Susan E. Meyer, Research EcologistUS Forest Service Rocky Mountain research Station

Forthcoming meeting of GENMEDA

After the poll carried out about the Genmeda network and the conclusions prepared with the members' answers, the coordination team (CIEF) propose to cellebrate a closed meeting during the congress "Biodiversity Hotspots in the Mediterranean Area", to be attended my most GENMEDA memberships. In order to not disturb the attendance to conferences, the meeting is proposed meeting towards the end of the congress and before the field trips: the 24th June at 17.30h in Cosmese Room, located in the Botanical Garden of Cagliari.

Forthcoming conference on Climate Change and Water

Please find below the message of the EU's LIFE programme events webpage http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/news/events/events2009/march09.htm#ewp

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Conference on Climate Change Adaptation and Water
12 - 13 March 2009, Brussels, Belgium
The European Water Partnership, together with the Dutch Ministry for Transport and Public Works, the World Water Council, the Cooperative Programme on Water and Climate and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe is organising a conference on Climate Change Adaptation and Water (CCAW).
Aims of the event are to demonstrate and promote best practices, and to ensure that Europe can make the best use of efforts already undertaken. Furthermore it will address the contents of the new EU White Paper on Climate Change and Adaptation and its effects on CCAW policies around Europe.
Registration is now open online. Download the information notice. The programme will be made available shortly on the website.

Last meeting about the GENMEDA network

In the occasion of the Annual Seminar of Med program held in Marseille the 18th December 2008, partners of SEMCLIMED project who could attend it took the opportunity to talk about the future of the Mediterranean Seed bank Network, name GENMEDA. Previously to this meeting, the CIEF prepared as lead partner of SEMCLIMED, a poll concerning some questions in order to take into account all the opinions, mainly in the case of partners who could not assist to the meeting.

Thus, the opinions of the assistants -Myriam Virevaire and François Boillot (CBNMP), Miriam Aixart and Josep M. Montserrat (IJBB), Toni Marzo and Gloria Ortiz (CIEF)-, as well as of the results of the poll, allowed us to yield some conclusions:

Most of the partners from SEMCLIMED and GENMEDOC Interreg projects have expressed their willingness to go forward in our collaboration, even without European funding, in order to guarantee at least a minimal level of joint activities through the tools we have already set up as:

1) Two ore three annual editions in electronic version of the newsletter created by SEMCLIMED, Odissea Semina. This communication tool has proved its capacity to spread the news of the project and other conservation initiatives related and has been appreciated not only among the partnership but also by external contacts. The staff of the CIEF proposes to take on the management and financing of this activity in close collaboration with the other partners.
2) To maintain GENMEDOC and SEMCLIMED websites by transforming it in only one for GENMEDA network. The staff of CBNM will be disposed to take on the coordination of this tool. In this sense, it has been proposed by several partners to change of web services supplier because of the problems found until now with the current one and in order to make it more interactive and updated. Its cost, not too big, could be assumed without problems by the partnership.
3) One annual workshop, thematic if possible. The financing of this seminars could be done by sponsors and the own partners. A part from the travel expenses, it has been proposed to pay some participation fees in order to help the hosting partner with organisation expenses like coffee breaks, meals, materials, etc. These workshops will allow the partnership to meet, manage the network and propose new initiatives. In this sense, it has been proposed to choose cities accessible to most of partners at lower costs.
4) In order to consolidate and strength the network, it has been proposed to draw up some joint work lines, which won’t mean a supplementary work charge for partners and whose results will include the mention to GENMEDA network, as well as its logo.
5) The CIEF proposes to remake the GENMEDOC logo in order to create the GENMEDA one. Thus, the actual graphic style will be kept, as the current one is a kind of "know brand".
6) In order to coordinate the whole network, it has been proposed to set up a monitoring committee composed at least by a president, a secretary and a permanent member, democratically elected among partners. In this sense, as the secretariat will need some stability, the CBNM has shown their availability to undertake this task.
7) Last but not least, in order to formalise the network status, mainly concerning our public administrations, it has been proposed to draw up and sign an agreement between partners, similar to those of GENMEDOC and SEMCLIMED but without legal or financial commitments. This agreement will be a tool to show our intention to continue with joint activities and general collaboration. This solution seems the most appropriate as the current legal instruments do not fit with our situation and objectives.

A recent article on Sardinian GENMEDOC results

The cellebrated scientific publication WEBBIA has recently edited an article of the Genmeda's Sardinian team, releasing the results of works made during the project GENMEDOC. The complete citation is as follows:
BACCHETTA, G., G. FENU & E. MATTANA. 2008. Studi di biologia della conservazione di sepcie vegetali endemiche della Sardegna nell'ambitodel progetto "GENMEDOC". Webbia 63(2): 293-307.
Interested researchers to obtain a copy please contact the Dr. Gianluigi Bacchetta team at the Centro Conservazione Biodiversità (bacchet@unica.it)

Registration opened for the 45 International Congress of SISV and FIP

The registration time for the International congress 'Biodiversity Hotspots in the Mediterranean Area: species, communities and landscape level' (Cagliari, Sardinia, 22-24 and 25-29 June 2009), organized by the Cemntro Conservazione Biodiversità -one of the member institutions of GENMEDA- is already opened. Registration fees will increase notably by 1st February, so interested people should register as soon as possible. For more information please visit http://www.biodiversityhotspots.it/indexen.htm

Greetings for 2009

Since the GENMEDA blog we wish you all our best greetings for 2009

Greetings card sent by Dr. Costas Thanos (UNKA), with an image of the Lefka Ori Mts. (Crete, Greece), where the endemics Bupleurum kakiskalae and Nepeta sphaciotica grows. Near the lower right corner, the card includes images of the Cretan endemics Anthemis glaberrima.

Greetings card from the blogger, ©E. Laguna 09.09.2007, Cluj-Napoca (Rumanía)