|
By Phil Williams
pwilliam@franklin.uga.edu
The first-ever meeting in the United States of the International Congress of Ethnobiology will be held at the University of Georgia Oct. 23-27, bringing together scientists and indigenous people from around the globe to discuss “Ethnobiology, Biocultural Diversity and Benefits Sharing.”
“We believe having the Congress here is a signal event for the University of Georgia and indeed for the United States,” says Brent Berlin, professor of anthropology and one of the coordinators of the conference. “We intend to face head-on several difficult issues relating to benefits sharing resulting from biodiversity research. We believe there will be an important sharing of ideas during this week.”
Since its founding in 1988 in Belém, Brazil, the International Society of Ethnobiology has met as a Congress every other year. Meetings have been held in Kunming, China (1990); Mexico City (1992); Lucknow, India (1994); Nairobi, Kenya (1996); and Whakatane, New Zealand (1998). Berlin served as president of the international society from 1990 to 1992.
“Ethnobiology puts several disciplines together in favor of a more robust understanding of the role of culture in the use of nature,” says Fausto Sarmiento, program coordinator for the Congress and co-director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at UGA. “As a reflection of this transdisciplinarity, many UGA departments have co-sponsored the Congress, and many faculty members will moderate discussions on topics such as biodiversity conservation, intellectual property rights, benefits sharing and field studies.”
This year’s Congress will focus on pressing questions about the role of ethnobiology in maintaining biocultural diversity and ensuring equitable benefits sharing and open dialogue with traditional and indigenous research collaborators.
“As the academic world seeks to find strategies for ‘sustainable development’ in a growing world marketplace,” says Sarmiento, “the prefix ‘ethno’ implies also a direct concern for local grassroots and indigenous groups in the small scale.
“The discussions and recommendations emanating from the Congress will have far-reaching consequences for the future of science in relation to field work and natural history collections, as well as on the principles of conservation for sustainable development.”
The Congress will be preceded by a conference on “Ethnobioprospecting and Benefits Sharing,” which is open to the public. It will also be held at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 20-21.
An international panel of 10 distinguished scholars representing a variety of perspectives will be challenged to define the most important unresolved issues concerning bioprospecting, and the audience will be able to join in the discussion. The work of this conference will be the subject of further discussion in related sessions during the Congress.
The ethnobioprospecting conference is supported by a state-of-the-art-conference grant from UGA’s Office of Academic Affairs.
The official opening of the Congress will be held in the courtyard of the Georgia Center for Continuing Education at 9 a.m. Oct. 23. |
