Event details

The Mediterranean basin has extraordinary richness in biodiversity combined with high endemism and represents one of the 34 biodiversity hotspots on the planet.. But this area has also been subject to a historically very significant human impact. It is one of the world's biogeographical regions that is most vulnerable to climate change. Maintenance of herpetological diversity in these changing environments represents a serious challenge to conservation biologists and policymakers for natural areas..

The Mediterranean Congress of Herpetology is an international scientific meeting whose theme is «Conservation of the Mediterranean Herpetofauna in a changing environment". In 2007, during the CMH1, we proposed that this congress be held every 4 years. The second edition is planned for May 2011 in Marrakesh, Morocco. The CMH is bilingual (French and English) and will include plenary conferences, oral communications, posters and roundtables and/or workshops.

The main objective of this second Mediterranean Congress of Herpetology "MCH2" is to consider how to resolve the apparent dilemma of maintaining optimal biodiversity that is expected to be more vulnerable and show greater fluctuations in space and time.

Objectives:

To promote discussion and exchange of experiences and information among researchers and between these latters and managers and field partitionners;

To emphasize the impact the natural or induced impact of global change on natural populations of amphibians and reptiles in the Mediterranean ecosystems and propose management and conservation plans;

To foster communication of new advances in ecology and conservation biology of herpetofauna, including pilot activities of the conservation and restoration;

To coordinate efforts of conserving herpetological biodiversity across the entire Mediterranean region through the creation of exchange and collaboration networks;

To promote the conservation of ecosystems and herpetofauna as an integrated part of the natural heritage of the Mediterranean regions.

For more information and the registration form please visit: http://www.ucam.ac.ma/cmh2/Home.html or for the French version: http://www.ucam.ac.ma/cmh2/acceuil.html