FYI... Stefanie Rixecker ECOFEM Coordinator ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 16:25:26 -0700 From: James Birchler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Virtual Global Biodiversity Forum - Call for Participation __________________________________ Please add your voice to Virtual Global Biodiversity Forum (VGBF), slated to run from June 9 through July 5 in conjunction with the 14th Global Biodiversity Forum taking place 18-20 June in Montreal, Canada. VGBF can be accessed online at http://vgbf.geog.ucsb.edu as well as by email (see below for details on listserv signup procedure). The GBF provides for an independent, open and strategic mechanism to foster analysis and unencumbered dialogue and debate among interested parties to address priority ecological, economic, institutional and social issues related to the options for action to conserve biodiversity, and use biological resources sustainably and equitably. The purpose of VGBF is to complement existing GBF activities by making them available to a larger number of participants for a longer period of time. VGBF offers people throughout the world who cannot attend GBF gatherings the opportunity to participate in discussion on biodiversity-related issues. The 14th session of the Global Biodiversity Forum (GBF14-Montreal/SBSTTA4) will be convened in Montreal, Canada, from June 18-20, 1999, immediately prior to the fourth meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity's Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA4) in Montreal, 21-25 June 1999. GBF14-Montreal/SBSTTA4 will focus on the following themes: 1 - Building biodiversity into sectoral strategies and action plans 2 - Ecosystem approaches to the management of biodiversity in drylands 3 - Resolving the conundrum of scale in adaptive management - households to large landscapes VGBF consists of a webforum linked with a set of email listservs: all listserv conversations are mirrored to the webforum and vice versa. This design makes it possible for people with web access as well as people with only email access to participate. The VGBF website and webforum can be found at: http://vgbf.geog.ucsb.edu/ Information and online forms for signing up for the webforum and any VGBF listserv are available at the website. Alternatively, if you desire to sign up directly for a listserv, please follow the instructions immediately below: (1) Select a workshop of interest and choose the appropriate listserv. There are three listservs, one for each workshop. They are named "VGBF14-n-List", where n is the number of your workshop of interest. For instance, the listserv that will carry discussions concerning building biodiversity into sectoral strategies and action plans (Workshop 1) will be VGBF14-1-List. (2) Send email to the VGBF List Requests address, [EMAIL PROTECTED], with the phrase "subscribe [name of list]" in the subject header or body of your message. Example: subscribe VGBF14-1-List (3) You will receive an email confirmation shortly thereafter, which you must reply to within 24 hours. This is to confirm that we have your correct email address. VGBF is being developed by Jim Proctor of the University of California, Santa Barbara in conjunction with the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and under the guidance of the GBF Steering Committee. Please contact Dr. Proctor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) if you would like additional information. ************************************ Dr. Stefanie S. Rixecker Division of Environmental Management & Design Lincoln University, Canterbury PO Box 84 Aotearoa New Zealand E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fax: 64-03-325-3841 ************************************
