The new IMCG Main Board

On our General Assembly (Congress) in South Africa we would have had to elect a new Main Board. In order to guarantee an effective democratic election process involving all members, nominations had to be submitted to the Secretariat before 5 June 2004, so that ballots and other General Assembly Documents could have been sent out in/with this Newsletter and would reach everybody in time.

Eight candidates presented themselves in the previous Newsletter. We received four additional nominations:

I am at present working at the National Botanical Institute in South Africa in the Working for Wetlands Programme. Our main aim is to conserve wetlands in South Africa by raising awareness, wetland rehabilitation and research. Strong emphasis is put on job creation and capacity building. Nearly 25% of the wetlands under rehabilitation are mires.

The IMCG plays a major role at present to raise awareness on the importance of mires and peatlands not only globally, but also in southern Africa. I will see it as one of my tasks to continue with this important challkenge and to support the IMCG objectives in general internationally.

The IMCG and its members need to go from strength to strength. There are a lot of mires (and people depending on them) that need us.

Technical Advisor - Central Region, Working for Wetlands, National Botanical Institute, Private Bag X101, Pretoria 0001, South Africa

Dr in Plant Ecology, expert-consultant in environment and lecturer at universities of Lille (northern France). At present member of IMCG’s EC, acting as treasurer. Active in IMCG organization and planning since 1990. Has organized the IMCG registration as an association under the French law in 2001. Main organizer of the IMCG Symposium in France, July 2002. Active in mire conservation and mires studies in France, as a member of national mire committee. Responsible for two IMCG global projects.

HERMINE Recherches sur les Milieux Naturels, 159 rue Sadi Carnot, 59280 Armentières, France.

(Germany/Czech Republic) Born: 1957, studied landscape ecology and ladscape planning at the Mendel’s University in Brno/Lednice (Czech Rep.). Since 1985 married, living and working in Germany, since 1990 at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Chair of Vegetation Ecology. There I have been active in peatland ecology and peatland restoration science from the start, and have been involved in the IMCG activities since about 1995. Since 2000, IMCG Executive Committee member and since 2002, IMCG Chairman. Within the last 14 years numerous research and restoration projects on peatlands both in Germany and overseas. Since 2000, increasing interrest in peatlands in subtropics and tropics, esp. in southern Africa, where currently also several peatland- and wetlands-related projects are performed.

Address: WZW TUM, Vegetation Ecology, Am Hochanger 6, D-85350 Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany

Professor of peat and mire research institute, Northeast normal university, P.R.China. Actively involved in peat and peatland research since 1982 when I graduated from Shenyhang agricultural University. During two years of peat resource studies in the Shanjiang Plain, China, I visited almost every peatland in the region. The peat resource studies won me a national award in 1985. Since then, I began research on peatland ecosystems and peat use in agriculture. Under the support of the national natural scientific fund, I launched a project on microbial composition, dynamics, and function in organic matter transformation in peatlands. In 1993-1995, I studied in Macaulay Land Use Research Institute in Scotland, UK as a visiting scholar. After returning to China, I was invited to be senior technical officer by the Wetlands International-Asia Pacific China Programme. During two years, I was involved in proposal preparation and implementation of wetland biodiversity conservation projects as well as in capacity building of the China Programme. In addition, I investigated shorebirds along the China east coast and trained in wetlands management. In 1998, I returned to the Changchun Institute of Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Under the national 5-years plan fund, I developed a patent peat product called Compressed Integration Substrate (CIS), used for seedling propagation with eutrophic sedge peat. Often invited by local governments, I train officers in charge of wetland management and design wetland monitoring plans for some wetland reserves. In August last year, I changed from Changchun Institute of Geography, Sinica Acamia to the Institute of Peat and Peatlands, Northeast Normal University. China is rich in peat resources and peatlands play an important role in social, economical, and environmental sustainable development and the China Central Government has to pay attention to peatlands conservation. Nevertheless, China also suffers from population pressure on its peat resources. China needs to find a way to balance the conservation and exploitation of its peat resource.

Contact address: Mire research institute, College of City and Environmental Sciences, Northeast Normal University, No. 138 Renmin Street, Changchun 130021, The People’s Republic of China

As there are only 12 candidates for 15 Main Board positions, and in accordance with article 9.1 of the constitution, no voting will be necessary and all candidates are included in the new Main Board.

The main board may co-opt additional members to fill vacancies (article 9.4). The main board will discuss this in view of the goals set out in the Strategy and Working Plan.