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Listen to the invitation from our President, Alison ‘Sunny’ Power.

Meeting Theme:

Ecological Knowledge and a Global Sustainable Society

With fossil fuels waning, a public awareness of global warming and biodiversity issues increasing, and new green technologies breaking into public markets, the world is poised for planning sustainability of a global society. The location of the 2009 meeting, Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a fitting forum due to the city’s forward-thinking sustainable initiatives (e.g., Albuquerque Green and Smart Communities Network). It is also fitting that a theme of sustainability follows one of ecological education (ESA 2008), arguably the most important part of sustainable planning. Although a wealth of ecological knowledge is available, there remains a disconnection between knowledge and application. For example, large areas of the landscape are being developed for biofuel agriculture with little regard for the effects on landscape processes.

While ecologists continue to be on the forefront of research examining anthropogenic effects on biodiversity and ecosystem function, interdisciplinary studies incorporating ecological knowledge into sustainable planning are lacking. Growing fields of agro-ecology and urban ecology are attempting to develop interdisciplinary links, but all fields of ecological study can offer information toward sustainability, as evidenced in recent books of sustainability and societal collapse. Ecological knowledge is not only for ‘natural’ systems (i.e., restoration), but also must be applied to the much greater area of human-dominated systems. How can we apply floodplain and coastal ecology to urban expansion? How can we apply fragmentation and biodiversity to agricultural landscapes? How can we apply ecosystem ecology to watershed management? Decisions regarding growth occur daily, and ecologists need to be included in these discussions alongside governments, land owners, and developers.