NEWSLETTER
issue 2004/5, December 2004
The International Mire Conservation Group (IMCG) is an international network of specialists having a particular interest in mire and peatland conservation. The network encompasses a wide spectrum of expertise and interests, from research scientists to consultants, government agency specialists to peatland site managers. It operates largely through e-mail and newsletters, and holds regular workshops and symposia. For more information: consult the IMCG Website: http://www.imcg.net
IMCG has a Main Board of 12 people from various parts of the world that has to take decisions between congresses. Of these 12 an elected 5 constitute the IMCG Executive Committee that handles day-to-day affairs. The Executive Committee consists of a Chair (Jennie Whinam), a Secretary General (Hans Joosten), a Treasurer (Philippe Julve), and 2 additional members (Tatiana Minaeva, Piet-Louis Grundling).
Viktor Masing (†), Hugo Sjörs, and Richard Lindsay have been awarded honorary membership of IMCG.
Another Newsletter, very short after the last one, but we still had some material lying around. No additional contributions on starting the new scientific internet-based journal have been received, so we guess that most arguments have been exchanged by now. The Main Board – in all its wisdom – will soon take a decision on the issue.
The new IMCG Executive Committee, responsible for the daily business of our IMCG network, has been elected in the meantime: Jennie Whinam (Tasmania) has been elected chair, Hans Joosten (Germany/Netherlands) secretary, Philippe Julve (France) treasurer, and Tanja Minaeva (Russia) and Piet-Louis Grundling (South Africa) additional EC members. A real international and intercontinental committee!
The end of the year and we are already looking forward to what the next year will bring. Highlights will be the Ramsar Convention in Kampala, a good opportunity to support mire conservation in Africa and – via the Ramsar Coordinating Committee of the Global Action Plan for Peatlands – all peatlands of the World. The second highlight will be our field symposium in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina) where we hope to strengthen mire conservation in Tierra del Fuego, South America, and the southern hemisphere. If you have not done yet, please register, because the limited places will soon be occupied!
All over the world our activities are needed. We enjoy the perspective that the awareness of peatlands is growing in the world. Not because peatlands are much more important than other ecosystems, but because peatlands deserve to be loved just like other ecosystems and to be acknowledged for everything they are.
Please send all your proposals, discussion contributions, news, publications, etc. to us, and with your help we will again prepare an interesting Newsletter. Deadline for the next Newsletter is 9 March 2005!
For information or other things, contact us at the IMCG Secretariat. Address updates should be sent to Jan Sliva (sliva@wzw.tum.de). In the meantime, keep an eye on the continuously refreshed and refreshing IMCG web-site: http://www.imcg.net
John Couwenberg & Hans Joosten, The IMCG Secretariat
Botanical Institute, Grimmerstr. 88, D-17487 Greifswald (Germany)
fax: +49 3834 864114; e-mail: joosten@uni-greifswald.de
Contents:
The European Water Framework Directive - A chance for mire conservation and peatland restoration?
New and recent Journals/Newsletters/Books/Reports