SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT & CALL FOR PAPERS: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINAGILITY OF WATERSHEDS
September 25 - 27, 2013
Oriental Hotel, Legazpi City, Philippines Background The Center for Climate-Smart Initiatives and Innovations for the Uplands (CSI-UPLANDS), Bicol University College of Agriculture and Forestry (BUCAF), Guinobatan, Albay will be hosting the Conference on Sustainagility of Watersheds. “Sustainagility” is coined by Bob Alexander a social scientist and economist of Rural Livelihood Risk Management Consulting, combining sustainability and agility, from the recent International Conference on Climate-smart Knowledge Management for the Uplands here in Legazpi City, Philippines and hosted by the Bicol University College of Agriculture and Forestry. And NOW….the International Conference On Sustainagility Of Watersheds. Watershed has strategic importance at national level, given the goods and services it actually produces, as well as its potential. It is a natural ecosystem, defined by its critical resource which is water. Watersheds supply water needs of its upstream, midstream and downstream areas. Rivers flow through intensively cultivated areas, where land use decisions have a great impact on downstream water flows and quality. An important aspect of watershed management is that many watershed resources are not managed on private basis, but on commercial or group basis. These resources are of a common property nature. Critical common property resources within the watershed play fundamental roles in governing patterns of natural resource management as well as in the welfare of individuals, households, and communities who depend on these resources. Given the clash of interests between and among right holders and stakeholders of watershed resources, issues on resource rights and responsibilities, proper pricing of resources, resource use conflict negotiation and mitigation as well as resources’ vulnerability to climate change impacts are important to respond to. In the past, problems resulting from overexploitation of these natural resources were dealt with fragmentally and in an uncoordinated manner, without considering the intricate linkage of land and water within the natural ecosystem and the human dimension within the social environment. At present, watershed management offers a new approach for integrating technologies, governance, and socio-economic strategies within the natural boundaries of a drainage area (watershed). This allows for optimum development of land, water, plant /trees resources to meet basic needs of people and animals on a sustainable manner (IIRI, International Course on CBIWM, 2006). As a popularly accepted concept offering a lot of opportunities, knowledge sharing on watershed management, particularly conserving, protection and management of its water resource, is deemed necessary. Objectives The objectives of the conference are: i. share knowledge, from a watershed perspective, how rural/upland underdevelopment and natural resources degradation can be addressed; ii. enhanced concepts and ideas on a different categories of watershed management approaches and development strategies for managing common property resources in watersheds e.g. water, land, trees and other diverse species of plants and animals; and to iii. identify platform of actions at individual, institutional, regional and national levels. Conference Topics The Conference shall feature knowledge sharing on watershed management R&D and innovations on the following thematic areas: 1. Watershed Common Property Resource Rights, Conflict Negotiation and Mitigation – include far more than titles and pieces of paper specifying ownership of a defined piece of land or other resources. They encompass a diverse set of rights, level of authority over resources, tenure rules, other aspects of access to use and use of resources and collective actions. It is also concern with gender and resource rights as well as legal tenure rights of women. Most often common property resources are sources of conflict. There are different Models for conflict mitigation and negotiation both indigenous and introduced Knowledge such as mixed rewards, policy solutions or policies for the management of watershed resource. 2. Watershed Management Approaches – focus on up-scaling the integrity of watersheds and waterways in enriching biodiversity, providing clean, sufficient and regulated water flows for accessible and safe drinking water for people, as well as helping build sustainable and resilient agricultural, coastal and marine ecosystems which are people’s main sources of livelihood. Categories of approaches are a) preventive approach to watershed degradation enabling and capacitating resource users engage in sustainable enterprise development, sustainable upland farming practices and law enforcement; b)policy approach refers to national and local policies and statutes enforcing rules and regulations for optimal use of common property resources; and c) corrective approach which focus on correcting non-sustainable resources utilization practices and taking specific restorative interventions/measures. This also includes Incentives and institutional arrangements such as payment for environmental services (PES) for participatory watershed management. 3. Biodiversity Conservation and Management – focus on efforts to develop watershed biodiversity data and information system; comprehensive plan for protection, conservation and sustainable management of valuable/ keystone species and sites within the watershed. All these are geared towards watershed protection and maintenance as an ecosystem biodiversity site and heritage. 4. Sustainable Tourism and Other Potentials for Rural Development – deals with different concepts, opportunities and risks of tourism in stimulating economic development while maintaining integrity of natural diversity in watershed/rural areas. Participation The conference will provide the opportunity to bring together scientists, practicing professionals from government departments, private institutions, consulting establishments, research institutes, university organizations and companies/business sector or peoples’ organizations to share knowledge, expertise and advances in the field of watershed by presenting scientific papers and posters. Venue The venue of the conference will be at Oriental Hotel, Legazpi City, Philippines. Participants can book at any hotels/hostel/dormitory in Legazpi City or Daraga, Albay, Philippines. The list is provided with corresponding contact numbers. All of which are within easy commuting distance to the Conference Venue and to the Bicol University. Registration Registration fee is Phil P 4,000.00 for Filipino participants and USD 300 for foreign participants inclusive of food (lunch and 2 snacks), conference kit and Book of Abstracts. The participants’ expenses (travel costs, conference’s registration fees and accommodation) should be shouldered by their home institutions. Publications Papers received will be reviewed and only accepted ones will be presented at the conference. A Book of Abstracts will be given during the conference and the Conference Proceedings will be published after the conference. Important Dates First call for abstracts……………………………………..…… 06 May, 2013 Second Call for Abstracts.......................................................... 30 June, 2013 Deadline of Abstract Submission……………………..........… 10 August, 2013 Notification of Accepted Abstracts………………….............… 15 August, 2013 Full papers submission…………………………………...…… 30 October, 2013 Papers presentations………………………………….………… 25 - 27 September, 2013 Registration Fee may be deposited thru bank Land Bank of the Philippines Account Number: 02762-1077-51 Swift Code: TLBPPHMMXXX Invitation to Submit a Paper Papers are expected to make an original contribution to the conference topics. Authors who are interested in presenting a paper should send an abstract for evaluation. Received contributions will be selected by the Conference Scientific Committee to cover the aforementioned thematic areas. Abstracts should have a maximum of 300 words. Each abstract should incorporate the following information: Title; author’s(s’) full name(s), affiliation, address and means of contact (phone, mobile phone, fax, E-mail). The abstract should be written in 8 x 11 bond paper using Arial 11 font. Abstracts and paper submissions should be sent by e-mail to the following address: [email protected] For further information, please contact: For more information, please contact Ms. Analyn C. Sales or Prof. Sevella G. Tabayag / Mr. Arvin Malonzo of the Conference Secretariat at Bicol University College of Agriculture and Forestry (BUCAF), Brgy. Morera, Guinobatan, Albay, Philippines via telephone/fax +63 52 484-6336 or email: [email protected] and thru our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/IntlConfOnClimateSmartKnowledgeMgtForTheUplands |
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