MAB Workshop in the Czech Republic, October 2002

THE ROLE OF WETLANDS IN BIOSPHERE RESERVES

October 13 to 18, 2002
Mikulov, Pálava Biosphere Reserve, South Moravia, Czech Republic

The workshop will be organised jointly by the
Czech National Committee for the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB),
Czech Ramsar Committee and Palava Biosphere Reserve
It is being supported with funds from UNESCO as a Participation Project.

This circular gives further details on the workshop whose main aim is to provide UNESCO/ MAB with guidelines on:

1) the full use of the various values wetlands provide to biosphere reserves where they are present
2) the evaluation of wetlands prior to their incorporation into both existing and new biosphere reserves
3) the appreciation of the importance of biosphere reserves containing significant proportions of wetlands for environmental management, nature conservation and sustainable development on a broader scale (regional, national, continental, etc.)
4) the coordination of activities postulated by the Seville strategy for biosphere reserves and those postulated by the Ramsar Convention, in wetlands which are simultaneously (parts of) biosphere reserves and wetlands of international importance listed under the Ramsar Convention.

For the purpose of this workshop, the "Ramsar" definition of wetlands has been adopted:

"Wetlands are areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres."

The scope of this definition is quite broad; so, the main emphasis is placed on wetlands as defined by Denny (1995):

"A wetland is a shallow, seasonally or permanently waterlogged or flooded area which normally supports hydrophytic vegetation."

The following major themes will be discussed in four plenary sessions:

(a) Wetlands as sources of biodiversity in biosphere reserves
(b) Buffering effects of wetlands on water budget and water quality in biosphere reserves and the role of water resources (including ground water) in wetland maintenance
(c) Management (including also restoration) of wetlands for sustainable functioning in biosphere reserves
(d) Resolution of conflicts between economic use and environmental quality of wetlands in Biosphere Reserves: towards the application of the 'wise use' concept.

The Workshop will be held in the Chateau at the town of Mikulov, in the Pálava Biosphere Reserve, South Moravia, Czech Republic

Working Language: English

Papers and posters

For 15-minute oral presentations a slide-projector for 50 x 50 mm (frame) slides, overhead projector and computer and beamer for Power Point presentations will be available. (Please, advice us in advance if you plan to have a Power-Point presentation.)

Size of the posters: 1.2 m high x 1.0 m wide
1.5 m high x 0.7 m wide.

Posters should be installed before Tuesday, October 15, 2002.
Presenters of both papers and posters are kindly requested to send an abstract (in English)
by E-mail to Eva Jelinkova: mab@kav.cas.cz before July 15, 2002,
to be included in the Abstract Volume which will be distributed at the registration desk.

Abstracts should contain:
[1] name(s) of the author(s),
[2] complete address for correspondence, incl. E-mail and fax,
[3] abstract text not longer than 300 words.
[4] files in Word 6.0 or 7.0 (*.doc), or Rich Text Format (*.rtf)
[5] formatting similar to the attached specimen abstract

Transport - Arrivals
We suggest you travel via Vienna (Austria) and plan to arrive in Mikulov on Saturday or Sunday. On these days a minibus can pick you up at the Vienna airport at given times (to be announced later). The minibus will take you directly to the town of Mikulov. The journey (80 km) will take approximately 90 minutes.

For those who need a visa for the Czech Republic and Austria as well:
We suggest you travel via Prague or Brno or Breclav and plan to arrive on Saturday or Sunday.
On these days, a minibus can pick you up at given times and places in Prague (to be announced later). It will take you directly to the town of Mikulov. The journey from Prague to Mikulov takes approximately 4 hours. Travel to Mikulov from Brno is by coach, from Breclav by local train.

You can take a direct coach from Prague to Mikulov; ask Eva Jelinkova to buy tickets and make reservations for you. The price of a ticket from Prague is about 6.50 EURO (200 CZK).

In any case, Eva Jelinkova (mab@kav.cas.cz) and Josef Chytil (jchytil@palava.cz) will be happy to advise you on your travel plans.

Accommodation (all within 10 min. walking distance from the Chateau):

To reserve your accommodation, call directly the Tourist Information Centre Mikulov, and ask for Marcela Konakova;
telephone: + 420-625/ 512 200, fax: + 420-625/ 510 855 e-mail: tic@mikulov.cz.

Registration and payment

Meeting fee: 85 USD or 90 EURO
It includes the Field Trip and refreshments during coffee breaks, printed materials.
Meals to be paid cash during the workshop (approx. 11 EURO/ day).
The optional post-meeting field trip to the wetlands of the Trebon Basin Biosphere Reserve is to be paid during the workshop.

Accommodation (according to the reservations requested) and the meeting fee are to be paid by bank transfer to:
Beneficiary:
Account owner: ZO CSOP ADONIS, Namesti 30, 692 01 Mikulov
Account No. 781844-651 / 0100 Bank: KB Mikulov
SWIFT: KOMB CZ PP Purpose of payment: Your Name, Wetlands

Please note that the deadline for final registration and payment of the meeting fee is
July 31, 2002.

To ascertain room reservations the corresponding payment or a confirmation (by fax or E-mail) of payment should also be received before July 31, 2002.
You can make both payments simultaneously, which is prefarable.

Abstracts are to be mailed to Eva Jelinkova mab@kav.cas.cz by July 15, 2002.

Contact Addresses:

Registration Form (Microsoft Word format)