As part of its European Community presidential activities, Portugal will host a high-level scientific meeting in the Açores, with the theme "Islands and Archipelagos: European biodiversity issues seen from the Atlantic".

Keynote scientific presentations will use the theme of "islands and archipelagos" to draw out and illustrate biodiversity issues of general importance to many Member States in Europe, for which significant scientific research effort is needed.  

Many important scientific problems relating to biodiversity in Europe are brought into sharp relief in islands and archipelagos. Starting from a description of issues affecting island ecosystems, the speakers will show that these issues also affect the mainland. Thus while the mainspring of the meeting is biodiversity research on islands and archipelagos, the meeting will discuss issues of general importance in biodiversity research.

Scientists with international standing will deliver the 7 keynote speeches on the first day of the meeting. 

The titles of the talks include:

1. Islands as natural laboratories: endemism, colonisation and extinction

2. Islands and archipelagos: pointers to biodiversity research priorities for Europe

3. Islands and archipelagos: implications for nature reserves and fragmented habitats

4. From islands and archipelagos to metapopulations on the European continent

5. Invasive species on islands: consequences and management options

6. Underwater islands and archipelagos

7. Species survival in fragmented landscapes, human impact and its mitigation

Island biodiversity touches on many other critical issues, including taxonomy, tourism, indigenous populations of humans, climate change, and sea-level changes, and speakers may also bring out aspects of these subjects. The invited audience will come from the participant states in the 5th Framework Programme, which includes all the EU states, the states in preparation to become EU members, and a small number of other countries. Each country will be asked to send 2 delegates to the meeting, each of them at the interface between science and policy. For example, one might come from the Ministry of the Environment or Environment Agency where he or she has the responsibility for research, and the other from the research sector, with responsibilities related to science policy.

On the second day of the meeting the audience will be introduced to highlights of biodiversity research in Portugal, presented in such a way as to encourage wider collaboration between Member States.  After this presentation, the audience and speakers will have the opportunity to exchange information and to discuss the orientation and priorities to help to outline a future European strategy in biodiversity research.

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Workshop Logo by Sara Botelho