2016 The 10th INTECOL International Wetlands Conference was successfully held from 19-24th September, 2016 at the Changshu International Conference Center.
The conference was hosted by Nanjing University, Chinese Compliance Office for International Wetland Convention (CCOIWC), International Association for Ecology (INTECOL), Ecological Society of China (ESC) and Wetlands International(WI), supported by Ramsar Secretariat.
United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization - Man and the Biosphere Programme (UNESCO - MAB), United Nations Environment Programme - International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP - IEMP), Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment (MSTP - WPCT), Wetland Conservation Association of China, Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), SEE Foundation, Forestry Bureau of Jiangsu Province and Suzhou Agriculture Committee; and organized by People’s Government of Changshu and Nanjing University Ecological Research Institute of Changshu.
There were about 800 official representatives from 72 countries and regions, including over 300 foreign participants and more than 10 international institutes participating in the conference. The conference consisted of 11 plenary speeches and 71 broad and brilliant sessions involving the fields of global change, biodiversity, ecosystem services, biogeochemical processes, ecosystem monitoring, biological invasion, sewage treatment, wetland evaluation and wetland sustainable management. During the conference, 420 speakers gave 510 speeches on topics such as “construction and management of wetland parks”, “the potential role of wetlands in mitigating pollutants for the health of our landscape and globe", "wetland as a biogeochemical hot effects climate and water quality", “better wetland, better city" and "river & lake ecological restoration and wetland technology". The speeches were effective in communicating the importance of addressing ecological issues in both academic and practical settings.
The conference gathered important international experts, scholars and managers in the field of wetland, including Ania Grobicki (Deputy Secretary General of the Ramsar Secretariat), R. Eugene Turner (Professor of Louisiana State University, Co-chair of INTECOL-WWG), Jos Verhoeven (Professor of Utrecht University, Co-chair of INTECOL-WWG), Jennifer Ann Davis (Professor of Charles Darwin University, Co-chair of INTECOL-WWG), Jane Madgwick (CEO of Wetlands International), Gillian Davies (President of Society of Wetlands Scientists, 2016-2017), Yongli Zhang (Deputy Director of the State Forestry Administration of China), Jun Chen (President of Nanjing University), Guangren Ma (Director of China Compliance Office for International Wetland Convention), Ming Xu (Vice President of CPPCC of Jiangsu Province), Chunsheng Xia (Director of Jiangsu Forestry Bureau), Zhiquan Liu (Deputy Director of MSTP-WPCT), Shirong Liu (President of Ecological Society of China), Ying Wang (Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences), Bojie Fu (Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Director of Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences), Brij Gopal (Honorary Professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University), William J. Mitsch (Professor of Florida Gulf Coast University, Director of Everglades Wetland Research Park) and Kimberli Ponzio (Immediate Past President of Society of Wetlands Scientists, 2015-2016).
Speech by Prof. Jun Chen in opening ceremony
Zhang yongli, deputy director of the state forestry administration, announced the opening of the general assembly
Chen jun, President of nanjing university, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony
Speech by Dr. Ania Grobicki in opening ceremony
Speech by Prof. R. Eugene Turner
中华人民共和国国际湿地公约履约办公室主任马广仁做特邀报告
环境保护部科技司巡视员兼副司长刘志全在开幕式上致辞
常熟市人民政府市长周勤第在开幕式上致辞
Speech by Ms. Gillian Davies
Speech by Ms. Jane Madgwick and Prof. Jos Verhoeven in Closing Ceremony
During the conference, the experts highly affirmed the 3 kinds of important patterns related with wetlands put forward by Nanjing University Ecological Research Institute of Changshu.
5.1. Rural Wetland
For a long time, ponds, reservoirs, lotus root fields, paddy fields and canal systems play an important role in the rural wetland. Rural wetland is the lifeline of the rural economy, because the villagers usually make full use of the wetland to get the maximum economic benefits. Putting forward the concept of “Rural wetland value reconstruction” can call for the public rationally use of the rural wetland and realize the harmony between people and nature. Rural wetland has the character of “Trinity Concept” that means a harmonious coexistence between “Production (Shengchan in Chinese pronunciation)”, “Life (Shenghuo in Chinese pronunciation)” and “Ecology (Shengtai in Chinese pronunciation)”.
5.2. Wetland City
With the sustainable development of the ecology protection & wetland construction and the promotion of the urbanization, it is important to restore the urban wetland in order to ensure the city development. Wetland protection should be a main concept in the urbanization process. Through the advocation of “better wetland, better city”, more suggestions from the perspective of ecology for the urbanization in China can be offered.
5.3. “Wisdom” Wetland
It is important to use the internet technology for the field of wetland in this information age. Using internet monitoring and through analysis of large data, comprehensive comparison and analysis, not only is it possible to monitor the wetland but also build the wetland science development system that functions from science & education and protection to promote restoration and the wise use of the wetlands.
INTECOL-WWG awarded the People’s Government of Changshu the “Special Recognition for Wetland Construction Award” to commend its setting successful model in wetland protection; awarded the CCOIWC the “Special Contribution Award” to commend the contribution in the conference preparing work; Ecological Society of China awarded the first “Eco-construction Demonstration City” to the People’s Government of Changshu.
On 20th September, the INTECOL WWG awarded the 3 scientists the “Outstanding Wetland Scientists Award”. This award begun in the 7th International Wetlands Conference in 2004. The awarded scientists are: Professor Shuqing An from Nanjing University of China, Professor Jan Kvet from University of South Bohemia Czech Republic and Professor William J. Mitsch from Florida Gulf Coast University of USA. This award is to praise their contributions in science, education, application, international academic exchange and others.
At the closing ceremony, the “Excellent Oral Presentation of Young Scholars” and “Excellent Posters of Young Scholars” were issued to encourage the young scholars to conduct further exploration in the wetlands field.
Winners of “Outstanding Wetland Scientists Award”
People’s Government of Changshu received Special Recognition for Wetland Construction Award.
The office of the international wetland convention of the People's Republic of China received the award for outstanding contribution.
During the conference, there were more than 50 media reported the conference, including China Central Television (CCTV), Xinhua Daily, China Daily, Wetland in China, People.cn, GMW, Yangtse Evening Post, the official website of Ministry of Science and Technology etc. All the coverage guarantees extensive publicity and allows the public to know about the frontier trends and significance of the wetland academy and management.
Though the conference has ended, it will always provide the communicative platforms for the experts, scholars and managers. The conference recorded totally 547 abstracts in the field of wetland protection, restoration and management. Under the expert committee’s review, several special issues will be published after the conference to accumulate the frontier of world wetland research achievements, and to promote academic exchanges and cooperation in the field of wetland.
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