Dear participants,

The BioPlatform Thematic Network (www.bioplatform.info) and the organisers of the Greek meeting of the European Platform for Biodiversity Research Strategy (EPBRS) (www.aegean.gr/epbrs2003) welcome you to the electronic conference ‘Biotic Resources in a changing World: Science for Better Governance’ which will run from 31st March to 23rd April 2003.

The questions that we hope to consider in this electronic conference are:

1. What main biotic resources do we need to consider, and how do we synthesize our knowledge to better understand the risks associated with our dependency on biodiversity?

2. How can science benefit from or contribute to local knowledge, ethnobiology and local culture, and how can biodiversity science contribute to technological approaches, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), fair and equitable access and benefit sharing?

3. How can we integrate our knowledge into new technologies, innovative plans for local development and biodiversity conservation?

Note that there is no need to subscribe if you subscribed to the last BioPlatform e-conference – you will automatically have access to this e-conference. If you do not wish to take part in this e-conference, have forgotten your password, or do not wish to receive posted messages in your mailbox, please contact j.young@ceh.ac.uk as soon as possible.

The MARBENA project will organise an e-conference Marine Biodiversity in the South Mediterranean and the Black Sea from 7 to 20 April 2003. A joint session with this e-conference will be held from 14-17th April, focusing on marine aspects of the issues identified above. Subscription information is available at http://www.vliz.be/marbena/. The results of the Electronic Conferences will be presented at the EPBRS delegates meeting in Molyvos (also known as Mythimna) on Lesvos, Greece, from 23rd to 26th May 2003.

We would appreciate your kind help in forwarding this announcement to anyone who might be interested.

Kind regards,

Andreas Troumbis (atro@aegean.gr) and Yannis Matsinos (matsinos@aegean.gr)
E-conference chairpersons

Isabel Sousa Pinto, BioPlatform Thematic Network (www.bioplatform.info)

Martin Sharman, European Commission

Juliette Young (j.young@ceh.ac.uk), Malcolm Collie (mamc@ceh.ac.uk) and Allan Watt (E-conference management, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Banchory, UK)