| Acacia, and other silvicultural plantations have become common features in the landscapes of ASEAN countries over the last several decades, having been developed primarily to produce industrial wood. Historically, these plantations were preceded by plantation crops including rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) and oil palm (Elais guineensis).
All have contributed to the creation of landscape mosaics that include a complex mixture of natural forests, tree plantations and traditional agricultural plots. A carefully planned mix of original forest, plantation habitats and regenerating areas previously under traditional shifting agriculture, can allow for substantial areas of natural forest to be conserved, thus theoretically conserving a significant portion of the landscape’s original biodiversity and ecosystem services . The jury is still out, however, as to whether significant contributions to conservation of biodiversity can be ensured within such mixed use areas of natural and exotic forests, and if so, how can this progress be effectively and efficiently assessed? |
| A pragmatic approach must include: |
- Development of technical planning that will produce desirable landscape mosaic patterns and dimensions, and
- Identification of consistent indicators that produce cost-effective and practical methodologies for effective monitoring of conservation success (or failure) in forest mosaic landscapes.
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The total land area devoted to planted forests in Southeast Asia continues to increase, and increasingly will affect many regional reservoirs of biodiversity. Since preservationist approaches cannot provide the complete answer, they must be augmented by effective conservation management strategies for man-made or mixed use habitats.
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| Main Objective : |
| To improve conservation of biodiversity in the planted forest habitats of Southeast Asia |
| Program : |
| The Conference will provide an opportunity for presentations of field research on biodiversity conservation in tropical planted forests and other similar mosaic habitats. |
| Presentation topics of relevance: |
- Landscape level biodiversity conservation planning and policy,
- Cost effective protocols for measuring and monitoring tropical biodiversity;
- The role of local communities in the design and implementation of biodiversity management;
- Sustainable use as a biodiversity conservation tool in forest mosaics
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| The organizers wish to emphasise practical, cost effective solutions in biodiversity conservation in both presentation and poster sessions. |