Conservation, ecology, biodiversity issues to be explored
What: The Okanagan Water and Biodiversity Forum
Who: Local, regional, national, and international researchers
When: Tuesday, September 16, and Wednesday, September 17
Where: Rotary Centre for the Arts (421 Cawston Avenue), downtown Kelowna, and Laurel Packinghouse (1304 Ellis Street), downtown Kelowna.
On Tuesday, September 16, and Wednesday, September 17, the public is invited to The Okanagan Water and Biodiversity Forum to explore issues related to the ecology, conservation, management or governance of biodiversity and water resources.
The forum brings together local, regional, national, and international researchers to share global research, build partnerships, and create solutions for Okanagan water issues.
“Through partnering, UBC’s Okanagan campus is having an impact on environmental sustainability locally and globally,” says Lael Parrott, director of the Okanagan Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience, and Ecosystem Services (BRAES). “Working together we can address problems, solve issues and gain solutions to environmental challenges facing our community and the world.”
BRAES is a consortium of UBC Okanagan faculty members, students, collaborators and partner organizations working together to advance research and teaching in conservation and ecology. The goal of BRAES is to increase scientific understanding of ecological systems from the genetic to landscape scales and to inform management and planning decisions that promote environmental sustainability.
The Okanagan Water and Biodiversity Forum includes two days of presentations and panel discussions, followed by a keynote speaker both evenings. Participants will engage in presentations from more than 40 leading-edge experts from UBC’s Okanagan and Vancouver campuses, international and national organizations, and three levels of government.
On September 16, the keynote speaker is Robert Sandford, EPCOR chair of the Canadian Partnership Initiative in support of the United Nations Water for Life Decades and director of the Western Watersheds Research Collaboration. His free public talk, Canada’s energized water cycle: climate change and its consequences takes place 7 p.m. at the Rotary Centre for the Arts.
Prof. Daniel Pauly will wind up the two-day forum with his free and public keynote presentation, The Impact of Fisheries and Global Warming on Marine Ecosystems, with Some Emphasis on British Columbia. Pauly is a faculty member of Fisheries and Zoology, at UBC Vancouver and the principal investigator of the Sea Around Us Project. This event takes place at 7 p.m. at the Laurel Packinghouse.
Notable speakers include Peter Millard, general manager of science at New Zealand’s Land Care Research, who speaks on the opportunities, risks and role of research institutes in a session between 8:30 and 10:50 a.m. on September 16.
The $10/day registration fees include access to all of the daytime activities, plus snacks and lunch. The two keynote speaker evening events are free. To register go to http://braes.ok.ubc.ca/forum/registration/
Lael Parrott, director of Okanagan Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience and Ecosystem Services (BRAES)
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