Welcome to the International Symposium on the Biodiversity associated with mangrove ecosystems in Southeast Asia, which will be held in Hanoi , Vietnam on 17-19 May 2010.

Announcement

We are pleased to announce the International Symposium on biodiversity associated with Mangrove Ecosystems in Southeast Asia  held during 3 days, from 17-19 May, 2010 in Hanoi, Vietnam. Venue: Army Hotel, 33C Pham Ngu Lao, Hanoi Vietnam

The Symposium is organized by the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Sciences and Technology (VAST) in the framework  of the  IMABE Project (Impact of the exploitation on benthic ecosystems in Mangrove forests and the assessment of ecological tools for management – 2004-2010 with funding support of VLIR-UOS, Belgium).

The scientific program of Symposium will cover all aspects of the mangrove ecosystems with focus on the benthos, especially the meiofauna (biodiversity and function and  their sensitivity to  disturbance) and their use in  mangrove ecological quality control..

The last International Symposium on Nematodes in Tropical Ecosystems was held in the same venue in Hanoi, Vietnam It was a great meeting, so don't miss this new  opportunity.

Come, participate,  and Enjoy!

The Symposium Context

At present, Southeast Asia is harbouring the largest extent of mangroves on Earth, i.e. 4.9 million ha or nearly 35% of the world’s total. In addition, the mangroves of Southeast Asia might be the best developed and most diverse in terms of plants and animals. Mangroves are highly beneficial, as they yield many valuable products. They are very productive ecosystems and they are therefore highly important, at local, regional or even global scale.

However, in most Southeast Asian countries, the over-exploitation of coastal areas due to various anthropogenic activities has accelerated the degradation of mangrove forests. As a consequence, natural disasters like cyclones have cost thousands of lives and inflicted severe damage to infrastructure. The destruction of mangroves also affects the fishery industries and coastal ecosystem balances. It is estimated that a large proportion of all tropical marine organisms spend some part of their life cycle within mangrove systems .

The rapid population growth and industrial activities, in tandem with the growing environmental awareness, have brought to focus the problem of environmental degradation which forms a threat for the well-being of coastal communities. Hence, it is necessary to adopt or develop strategies, which provide a better understanding of the factors and processes responsible for the deterioration of the environment, as well as  to train people who can apply and develop such knowledge. It is likewise necessary to have reliable benchmark information on the condition of the physical, chemical and ecological environment to prevent depletion, destruction or degradation, or at least permit man to determine the rate of depletion..It is in this context in which the value of an environmental assessment task must be viewed.

In order to sustainable manage mangroves we need to evaluate their ecological condition including all components of this ecosystem. The small benthic groups are often neglected in environmental assessment studies but they may provide relevant information concerning the environmental condition of mangrove sediments, the habitat of many mangrove organisms.

This symposium will therefore offer a forum to exchange  original research information on the diversity of the benthos and their functions in mangrove ecosystems in the Southeast Asia

Information on the Symposium will be published on the following websites:

the Department of Nematology http://donimabe.org.vn/Symposium/index.htm and Biobgical Resources (IEBR) http://iebr.ac.vn

Head of the local Organizing Commitee

         Director of the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources

         Assoc.Prof. Dr. Le Xuan Canh 

         Email: lxcanh@iebr.ac.vn

         Contacts:

         Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Vu Thanh

         Department of Nematology (DON)

         Email: nvthanh49@yahoo.com

         Nguyen Dinh Tu PhD:

         Email: ngdtu@yahoo.com

 

Vietnamese Academy Of Science and Technology (VAST)

Institute Of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR)

Cangio mangrove forest

Classified by Nguyen Dinh Tu