Species Survival Commission E-Bulletin - April 2001

This bulletin, as a supplement to Species, the Commission's published newsletter, aims to keep staff, members, and the wider IUCN network up-to-date with news of SSC's active programme.

Previous issues:
January 2001
February 2001
March 2001

In this issue:
- New co-ordinator for Species Programme announced
- Deputy co-ordinator sought
- Programme Officer sought for African Elephant Specialist Group
- Marine Turtle Dialogue
- New publications of interest to SSC members
- SSC annual staff meeting
- Meeting announcements

NEW COORDINATOR FOR SPECIES PROGRAMME
As many readers will know, the Species Programme has a new Coordinator - Dr Sue Mainka was appointed at the beginning of April. She is already familiar with the role having served as Acting Coordinator since December, and for part of 1998. Dr Mainka joined SSC as Deputy Coordinator of the Programme in 1997 and since then, has been involved in all aspects of SSC's work. Dr Mainka will work closely with SSC's Chair, Mr David Brackett and the Commission's Executive and Steering Committees in implementing SSC's new Strategic Plan.

IUCN is now advertising the position of Deputy Coordinator of the Species Programme. Broad-ranging duties will include increasing SSC presence and effectiveness at regional and national levels, acting as Secretariat focal point for selected Specialist Groups, and managing some of the Programme's technical staff including developing workplans. See the vacancies section at www.iucn.org for more information or email: vacancies@hq.iucn.org (the deadline for applications is 30 April).

AFRICAN ELEPHANT SPECIALIST GROUP SEEKS PROGRAMME OFFICER
The position of Programme Officer for the SSC African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) Central Africa office is also being advertised. This position is to improve liaison and technical exchange amongst the membership of the AfESG, governmental, non-governmental agencies in Central Africa and their counterparts in other sub-regions of Africa on elephant-related issues. The Programme Officer will promote elephant conservation in the sub-region. See the vacancies section at www.iucn.org for more information. Interested candidates should send a letter of application, their CV and three references to: African Elephant Specialist Group, IUCN - The World Conservation Union, P.O. Box 62440, Nairobi, Kenya fax: +254 2 577389 email: afesg@wwfeafrica.org (the deadline for applications is 15 May).

MARINE TURTLE DIALOGUE
SSC is involved in the first of two meetings aimed at strengthening regional cooperation on conservation and management of hawksbill turtles in the wider Caribbean region. The Wider Caribbean Hawksbill Turtle Range States Dialogue, organised by the Secretariat to CITES - the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, will be held in Mexico City 15-17 May. The dialogues were called for at the 11th CITES Conference of the Parties last year where a Cuban proposal to allow the export of registered stocks of shell accumulated from its management programme, was rejected. The dialogues aim to improve understanding between the range states of the various approaches to conservation of hawksbill turtles in the region and try to reach consensus so that a regional management plan for the species can be developed. IUCN/SSC is supplying much of the background information through its Marine Turtle Specialist Group, and the Environmental Law Centre, and TRAFFIC will supply information on the status of trade in turtle products.

NEW PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST TO SSC MEMBERS
A comprehensive account of wildlife trade in Laos "Wildlife Trade in Laos: the End of the Game" published by the Netherlands Committee for IUCN will be available in May. The book is the result of two years work by the authors Hanneke Nooren and Gordon Claridge with assistance from two local field researchers and inputs from informants from several countries. Maps of each province are included showing locations of major source areas and trade nodes. Copies are available from the Netherlands Committee for IUCN email: casb@nciucn.nl or from the IUCN Publications Services Unit email: info@books.iucn.org

The Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS) at Conservation International, has recently published "Hunting and Bushmeat Utilization in the African Rain Forest: Perspectives Toward a Blueprint for Conservation Action". This resulted from a series of documents drawn up for a regional workshop on hunting and bushmeat utilization in West Africa, held in Ghana in December 1999. This volume aims to draw attention to the complex nature of the bushmeat crisis in West and Central Africa, and to serve as a starting point for dialogue about how best to develop and implement solutions. It is available from Nedra Johnstone e-mail: n.johnstone@conservation.org

SSC STAFF MEETING
SSC staff will gather for their annual meeting from 30 April to 4 May in Switzerland. The meeting offers the opportunity for staff from the various offices including Cambridge UK, and Ottawa, Canada, as well as Programme Officers from some of the Special Groups to share news and updates on work carried out during the previous year. The first two days will be taken up by communications/media relations training, and the second half by training on the use of the Red List and the Species Information Service, SSC's data management initiative. The meeting also marks the farewell for former Species Programme Coordinator Simon Stuart who leaves for Washington DC shortly.

MEETING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Underlying mechanisms of trends and fluctuations in terrestrial orchid populations
6-13 May, Ceské Budejovice, Czech Republic
This symposium will provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of recent trends in the biology of temperate terrestrial orchids, with special emphasis on population dynamics. Topics include: trends and fluctuations in long-term studies, the fate of small populations, pollination biology and seed production, field experiments in orchid populations, and different strategies among orchid species. Papers and posters are invited on any of these topics or others which fit into the general scope of the workshop. A concise preliminary title should be submitted by e-mail to pavel@entu.cas.cz

2nd Meso-American Seminar on Orchidology and Conservation
23-26 May San José, Costa Rica
This seminar will stress the importance of public awareness about global themes related to orchid conservation, and will gather for the second time in Costa Rica, conservation specialists, academics, researchers, conservationists, orchid lovers, producers and sellers, students, and the general public, to understand threat mechanisms, to stimulate basic research, and to develop concrete conservation actions. The SSC Orchid Specialist Group will hold a workshop designed to revise work programs, identify research topics and primary actions needed for the area, and suggest public recommendations. Contact: fpupulin@cariari.ucr.ac.cr for more information.

If you would like more information on any of the items included in this issue or wish to submit an item to future issues, please contact Anna Knee alk@iucn.org tel: +41 (0)22 9990153.