Research Development and Consulting Centre
KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY
Dhulikhel, Kavre
Conferences
ECOSYSTEM RESPONSES TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE (ECOREC)
Kathmandu, Nepal, November 13-17, 2010
Aquatic Ecology Centre on behalf of the Kathmandu University (KU) invites the scientific community to the "International Conference on ECOREC – Ecosystem Responses to Environmental Change to be held from November 13-17, 2010 in Nepal. The main purpose of this conference is to address the issues of recent environmental changes in soil, water, forests, air and climate. Biological assessment is gaining recognition as a practical, cost-efficient and effective approach for tracking environmental change. For more information, please click
Earlier Scientific Conference
| International Conference on Rivers in the Hindu Kush- Himalaya Ecology and Environmental Assessment 3-7 March 2008 Kathmandu, Nepal |
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| Background | ||
| The Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region is worldfamous for its beauty and biodiversity. Its rivers provide water and power to millions of people downstream. However, the natural resources need to be managed in a sustainable way to prevent degradation and depletion. The preservation and enhancement of water quality is a key issue relating to environmental protection in this area. However, the fundamental scientific aspects of sustainable water management in the HKH area are still quite poorly understood. Biological monitoring of river quality, which is crucial for understanding and managing aquatic ecosystems, is largely unaddressed in this region. This is presumably due to a paucity of knowledge on the indigenous fauna in the HKH rivers as well as a lack of appropriate monitoring methodologies. As a major output of a research project funded by the EU (ASSESS-HKH), Asian scientists from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan along with European scientists from Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany have developed tools for water quality assessment in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region. This conference aims at: - disseminating the project's results to students, water managers and scientists - exchanging of knowledge about biological methods used in the Asian countries - serving as a forum to discuss aspects of Himalayan river ecology, the taxonomic status of the HKH river fauna, water quality monitoring and the protection of aquatic biodiversity in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region with local and international representatives of theoretic and applied river ecology. |
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| Programme | ||
The programme is organised in four sessions. Session 1The ASSESS-HKH project in the context of biological river assessment, including sampling (approaches, results and outlook), databases, software, assessment tools, the contribution of ASSESS-HKH to bioindication, faunistic and zoogeographic aspects of the HKH region. Session 2The political will, legislation and economic analysis of sustainable water management in the HKH region. Session 3Aspects of Himalayan river ecology including taxonomic and zoogeographic aspects. Session 4Aspects of water use and water quality in Asia. Oral and poster presentations by ASSESS-HKH partners as well as water managers and scientists of all different fields of interest are welcome. All contributions will be published in conference proceedings, selected papers as a special issue of an international journal (Limnologica). |
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| Additional Information | ||
| Project website: www.assess-hkh.at Scientific committee Otto Moog, BOKU - Austria otto.moog@boku.ac.at University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna. Department Water - Atmosphere - Environment Institute of Hydrobiology & Aquatic Ecosystem Management. Daniel Hering, UDE - Germany daniel.hering@uni-due.de University of Duisburg-Essen Centre for Microscale Ecosystem. Department of Hydrobiology Subodh Sharma, KU - Nepal kuhimal@ku.edu.np Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel. Mandira Shrestha, ICIMOD mshrestha@icimod.org International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu, Nepal. This conference is part of the ASSESS-HKH project, contract number: INCO-CT-2005-003659 (FP 6, STREP). |
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| Schedual and Venue | ||
| 3/3/2008: Arrival day 4-6/3/2008: Scientific programme 7/3/2008: Departure day |
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| Afternoon excursions will lead to the most famous places of interest in the Kathmandu Valley, including the cultural heritage sites Patan and Bhaktapur as well as other religious places like Pashupatinath or Swayambunath. | ||
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| Conference venue Godavari Village Resort, Lalitpur (Kathmandu Valley), Nepal (www.godavariresort.com.np) | ||
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| Fees | ||
| European delegates: 500 Euro North American delegates: 650 USD SAARC nations delegates: 250 USD Nepalese delegates: 5000 NRs |
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| The fee includes accommodation, meals/snacks, local transport for airport pickup and drop as well as field trips. SAARC nation delegates and students will be lodged at different hotels. Details of payment will be announced soon. | ||
| Registration | ||
| To register, please send an email to
conference@assess-hkh.at, including: - Name - Institution - Address - Phone number - Title of a suggested talk (optional) - Title of a suggested poster (optional) |
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