BNT officials with key sponsors of the upcoming Bahamas Natural History Conference. Top left to righ: Lynn Gape, BNT deputy executive director; Eric Carey, BNT executive director; Aaron Adams and Justin Lewis of the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust; (Bottom left to right) Shelley Cant-Woodside, BNT conference coordinator; COB President Dr Rodney Smith; and Atlantis VP Michelle Liu.
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The third Bahamas Natural History Conference - organised by The Bahamas National Trust every two years - will take place
March 14-18 at the College of The Bahamas in Oakes Field.
Top
sponsors for the event - which is open to the public - are the College,
the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, and the Bonefish and Tarpon
Trust, a Florida-based fisheries conservation group which has
contributed $10,000 to help underwrite the event.
Registration
is $50 per day or $100 for the entire conference. BNT members pay only
$10 to attend the entire conference, and COB faculty and students may
register for free.
The theme for this year’s event is
Reversing the Decline.
Delegates will explore the past, present and future of the Bahamian
environment, and share the latest research by local and international
scientists.
“The support of these three key sponsors is pivotal
for the success of this landmark event,” said BNT Executive Director
Eric Carey.”But there are many other contributors who will also be
recognised for their support.”
The first Bahamas Natural History
Conference featured scores of research papers on a range of issues.
Well-known Bahamian naturalist and former BNT president Pericles Maillis
was the keynote speaker.
In 2014, three celebrity scientists
anchored the second conference. Dr David Campbell, an author who was BNT
executive director in the 1970s; Dr Sylvia Earle, former chief
scientist at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and
renowned Audubon Society bird expert Glenn Olsen.
“The purpose
of this science conference is to encourage research on the Bahamian
environment and share the results," said BNT conference coordinator
Shelley Cant-Woodside. “These key sponsors clearly understand how
important conservation is to our quality of life.”
More
than 80 papers by both international and Bahamian scientists will be
presented at this year’s event. The presentations will include work by
Bahamian college students, and the Donald Gerace Prize for best overall
student paper will be awarded to one of them.
According to COB
President Dr. Rodney Smith, “this is our third time hosting this
conference, which is a major event for both students and faculty. We are
committed to furthering the protection of Bahamian natural resources
and biodiversity, and I look forward to a productive week.”
Michelle
Liu, vice president of marine aquarium operations at Atlantis, is
responsible for the world’s largest open-air aquarium on Paradise
Island. She also runs a number of marine education programmes at the
resort.
“We have presented, at previous conferences, our
observations on marine species which live in our aquaria,” she said.
"The natural environment is precisely why people want to visit us, and
Atlantis strongly supports this BNT initiative, which will communicate
important information to the wider community.”
The
Bonefish and Tarpon Trust has been working with the BNT and others to
identify and protect important bonefish habitats in The Bahamas over the
past decade. And according to the Trust’s Justin Lewis, the fly fishing
industry contributes more than $141 million a year to the Bahamian
economy.
“Sponsorship of this event is an important part of our
support for the conservation of natural resources and culture. We expect
the conference to have a considerable impact on Bahamian conservation
efforts.”
The natural history conference was initiated by the BNT
to provide a forum for scientists working here to present their
findings to the public. A secondary goal is to build relationships that
can lead to more interdisciplinary research and improved conservation
efforts.
