The IALE 2013 European Congress "Changing European Landscapes: Landscape ecology, local to global" will take place on 9-12 September 2013, in Manchester, UK. This major international event, organised by IALE UK and IALE Europe, will examine how and why European landscapes are changing and how landscape ecology can help us to plan for the future at local to global scales. It will consider local projects alongside international programmes and provide many opportunities for researchers, policy makers and practitioners to interact. The congress will have a European focus but we look forward to welcoming participants from around the world.

More information and how to register find here.

The Conference "Adapting to Global Change in the Mediterranean hotspot - AGCM" will be held in Seville, Spain on 18-20 September 2013. The conference is organised by Donana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC) within the FP7 funded  EcoGenes project.  Its main purpose is to explore and gather a variety of  independent research threads to reveal overall patterns on how the world around us is changing and the many ways different organisms respond to that change.

By bringing together researchers who investigate various aspects of this global change and the way individuals, populations and communities respond to it, and who employ a wide variety of experimental and theoretical tools, the conference aims at hope to make intellectual progress on particular issues and move research in the area forward.

The specific themes that will be addressed are:

• Phenotypic responses to global change
• Breakdown of species boundaries
• Emergent diseases in changing environments
• Responses to past global change
• Adaptation and speciation in response to changing environments
• Biological invasions: from species adaptation to ecosystem responses
• Monitoring ecosystems responses
• Consequences of global change in biotic interactions
• Population responses to global change

AGCM is by invitation only regarding speakers; however participants are invited to submit a proposal for posters.

Poster submission deadline: 17 July 2013
Registration Deadline: 6 September 2013

For more information visit the AGCM website: http://ebdecogenes.ebd.csic.es

The first Group on Earth Observations GEO Appathon 2014, an exciting new worldwide data science competition, is announced to be be launched on 7 May 2014. 

he GEO Appathon is a global applications (App) development competition that aims to develop new, exciting and - most importantly - useful Apps using Earth observation data from the open and expansive Earth Observation data sets in the GEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI). See www.geoportal.org

The Appathon kicks off on 7 May 2014 and runs until 31 August 2014. Participation is open to any non-commercial entity, individual or team from any background in any country. Apps can be created for any of the main operating systems, and can be designed for any type of portable device. All Apps will be judged and the top three winners will receive a cash prize and a year-long GEO network endorsement and publicity for the App. 

Visit our GEO Appathon website (www.geoappathon.org) for more rules, details of how to register and information about how you can help us unleash the power of Earth observation data.

For further questions, please do not hesitate to email Dan Williams at: dan@geoappathon.org

The international Conference will explore the potential of earth observations and thrust climate information transfer from the science to the stakeholder application realm, in order to develop suitable adaptation measures at national and regional levels. It will identify best adaptation programs and approaches to global environmental change in Mediterranean-climate cities. It will enhance and strengthen European and international cooperation in the context of the activities within the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), and promote tools and options for adaptation strategies. The Conference will help local and regional authorities and stakeholders to gain insight on the role of EO-based services in adapting to climate chance impacts in urban hot- spot areas. The Conference will be followed for one and a half day by the 8th GEO European Project Workshop which will be the opportunity to present concrete examples of Earth Observation activities relevant to adaptation strategies.

Information and registration: www.mariolopoulosfoundation.gr/medcity2014

The University of Bayreuth welcomes the International Biogeography Society for its 7th international conference, taking place on 8-12 January 2015. This modern research university has a major focus on ecological research housed in the Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER). Novel concepts for research and teaching are established such as the Ecological-Botanical Gardens and the Global Change Ecology study program.

The surroundings of Bayreuth are characterized by outstanding geological and climatic heterogeneity. Isolated fragments of natural ecosystems occur within a highly diverse cultural landscape. It was in the district of Bayreuth where Alexander von Humboldt, a leader in the early history of biogeography, gained his first experience in fieldwork after he finished his studies. At the end of the 18th century, before travelling the world, he worked as director of mining for the regional administration. Various places close to Bayreuth are linked to his scientific development.

The conference will be marked by four plenary symposia, keynote lectures by the awardees of the society’s Alfred Russel Wallace Award and the MacArthur and Wilson Award, contributed paper sessions, and dynamic poster sessions over the lunch and evening. Topical focus sessions will span the breadth of biogeography, from watersheds to the global scale, from Paleozoic to the Anthropocene, and from microbes to megafauna.   

Essential details about the conference, and about the surrounding area, are available via the links above. Information will be updated as details become available in the coming months, so please check back occasionally or stay informed via Facebook and Twitter.

Symposium: PS-2 Tracking Changes from Space: Advances of Remote Sensing in Biogeography

A key problem that biogeographers and ecologists have strived to understand is the spatial patterns and temporal dynamics of the biota. In this age of climatic and land use changes and rapid rates of species extinctions, such knowledge has become an essential component for management and conservation. The synoptic view provided by earth-imaging sensors constitutes an important source of information on the distribution of habitats and biodiversity patterns at different spatial and temporal scales. The traditional approach to using these data has involved the classification of discrete land cover types which are then related to species distributions. A critical limitation of this approach is that many important dynamics are obscured as the variance is lost within arbitrary land cover classes. In recent years, novel analytical techniques and open source software have been developed that more fully exploit the spatial, spectral and temporal information content of remotely sensed imagery in order to quantify a broader range of ecosystem characteristics. This symposium features advances in the synoptic assessment of species distributions and biodiversity patterns including the development of methodologies for assessment, monitoring, and modeling, as well as their implications for management and conservation.

More about the program and speakers available on the conference webpage: http://www.bayceer.uni-bayreuth.de/ibs2015/

CETAF39 will be hosted by the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Budapest on the 3-4 May 2016.

More information coming soon here: http://cetaf.org/cetaf-39-general-meeting-budapest

The ConnectinGEO Workshop on Gap Analysis and Prioritization will will take place on 10 & 11 October 2106 in Asutia to address key issues associated with the societal benefits of Earth observations and the exploitation of Earth observation for societal policy and decision making.

The Gap Analysis workshop will discuss the outcomes of the gap analysis and prioritization performed in the ConnectinGEO project. This gap analysis was guided by the information and knowledge needs resulting from humanity's "Road to Dignity" detailed in the Agenda 2030 and specified in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed upon by the United Nations. Both the monitoring and implementation of actions to achieve these goals require extensive support from Earth observation and science communities. Several directives and crosscuting issues in Europe provided further guidance for the gap analysis.

The workshop will provide a forum to review the methodology for gap analysis and prioritization, discuss the relevant gaps and priorities in the European Earth observation networks and develop a strategy to address those gaps that have a high priority assigned.

The objectives of the gap analysis and prioritization workshop are to:

• Assess the ConnectinGEO methodology for gap analysis and prioritization;
• Review the list of gaps identified and the prioritization achieved;
• Produce a final list of gaps with high priority;
• Discuss a strategy to address these gaps and provide recommendations for the European Network of Earth Observation Networks (ENEON) and the European Commission concerning high-priority gaps.

More on the event's website.

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Carme Forcadell was the speaker of the Catalan parliament until January - but has spent almost nine months in prison.

BBC News

By Niall O'Gallagher

19Decembre2018

The 63-year-old was jailed in March, facing charges of rebellion for her part in the 2017 push for Catalan independence.

She spends 15 hours a day alone in her cell. If convicted, she faces up to 17 years in prison.

Now she is calling on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to order her release.

In a rare interview at the Mas d'Enric prison, Ms Forcadell told the BBC that life in her 10 square-metre cell was proving difficult.

"Every day is very hard because you know you are innocent but you don't know how many days and nights you'll stay locked up," she said. "I greatly miss my family and those I love."

"It is especially hard for my mother, who is 90 years old and suffers a lot. Also for my husband and my sons – I want to get out soon for them. When they come to see me, I see the suffering reflected in their eyes."

At home in Sabadell, her husband Bernat Pegueroles is also having a hard time.

• Catalan crisis in 300 words

• Catalonia region profile

• Catalonia: What would an economic split mean?

"It has broken the family, in a way," he said.

"My sons get on with their lives, but they are suffering too because their mother isn't here. We have a one-year-old grandson and she hasn't seen him growing."

"Now he has started walking, and she is excited when we visit – but the lad doesn't recognise her," he said.

Who is Carme Forcadell?

Ms Forcadell was the speaker of the Barcelona parliament when it voted to declare Catalonia an independent republic on 27 October last year, following a disputed vote in the region a few weeks earlier.

She spent a single night in jail that November before being released on bail – but was sent back to prison in March 2018.

Her legal team are filing a petition with the ECHR in Strasbourg, saying Ms Forcadell's pre-trial detention breaches her human rights.

The trial is expected to begin in Spain in the new year.

What is her case?

Spanish prosecutors allege that Ms Forcadell was part of a conspiracy to achieve independence illegally – specifically, that she allowed parliamentary debates on independence to go ahead despite warnings from Spain's Constitutional Court.

Yet Ms Forcadell insists she did nothing wrong.

"My role as speaker of the parliament cannot be to censor the debate, if there is a parliamentary majority which has been elected in free and democratic elections and which wants to speak about this subject," she said.

"My duty is to defend the sovereignty of parliament, freedom of expression, political pluralism, and the right of initiative of the deputies."

"In a democratic parliament, the word has to be free. One has to be able to speak about everything. The only limit must be respect for fundamental rights," she said.

Eight other Catalan leaders are in jail awaiting trial in connection with the October 2017 push for independence. They are:

• Dolors Bassa, former labour minister

• Jordi Sànchez, former president, Catalan National Assembly

• Oriol Junqueras, former vice-president

• Jordi Cuixart, president of Omnium Cultural

• Jordi Turull, former Catalan government spokesman

• Josep Rull, former territorial minister

• Joaquim Forn, former interior minister

• Raul Romeva, former external relations minister

What does Spain say?

Teresa Cunillera, the Spanish government's delegate in Barcelona, denies there are political prisoners in Catalonia.

Instead, she said "there are some politicians who, in exercising their responsibilities, broke the law".

"So the courts acted, and as a result they are now in the hands of justice," she said.

Spain's Supreme Court held an initial hearing on Tuesday to decide whether it was competent to hear the trial.

Defence lawyers want the case to be tried by a court in Catalonia, but others have faith in the courts in Madrid.

Inés Arrimadas leads the pro-Spain Citizens party in the Barcelona parliament.

"I wish they hadn't done what they did, but they declared independence," she said.

"They approved a rule which went outside the Spanish constitution, they denied our rights, they silenced us as the opposition in the parliament of Catalonia."

"I think that politicians have to answer before the law like any other citizen."

Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and five other separatist leaders from the region have appealed to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva, denouncing what they call the “suspension” of their political rights by Spanish authorities.

SWISSINFO

Decembrer 20, 2018

(© KEYSTONE / MARTIAL TREZZINI)

Speaking to journalists in the Swiss city on Thursday, Puigdemont said that the joint appeal to the rights body aimed to denounce the “serious violation of rights and freedoms in Spain, something unacceptable in the framework of European Union law”.

Puigdemont, Oriol Junqueras, Raul Romeva, Josep Rull, Jordi Sanchez, and Jordi Turull are all members of Catalonia’s parliament, but were charged and suspended from taking office by the Spanish Supreme Court for their role in organizing an October 2017 independence referendum in Catalonia in northeast Spain.

“Six people, democratically-elected and not yet convicted – five of whom have been detained for over a year – cannot exercise their rights,” said Puigdemont.

Having been accused of rebellion and sedition by Spanish authorities after the unauthorized referendum, Puigdemont has since lived in Belgium. An international arrest warrant against him was withdrawn last July.

Puigdemont and Sanchez, president of the independent association ANC, had already filed a separate complaint to the same UN rights body in March 2018 to denounce their "impossibility of running for president of the Generalitat” [the Catalan government]. The UN committee has yet to take any decision on the complaints.

+ Puigdemont said the Swiss federal model could offer a vision for Spain

It’s not the first time the emblematic Catalan figure has visited Geneva; an international human rights film festival hosted him for a debate on self-determination in March, a visit from which cantonal authorities distanced themselves.

Several other ‘wanted’ separatists, including Anna Gabriel and Marta Rovira, have sought exile in Switzerland following their condemnation in Spain.

Thursday’s action in Geneva comes as the Catalan separatist row shows no signs of ending. This week, four imprisoned leaders of the movement ended an almost three-week hunger strike, while Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez has chosen to hold this Friday’s cabinet meeting in Barcelona – a deliberate “provocation”, for some Catalan supporters.

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