1997 World Conference on Natural Resource Modelling

Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, December 15-18, 1997

Theme

Spatial and temporal dynamics for management of natural resource systems.

Organizing Body

Resource Modelling Association

Purpose

Sponsored by the Resource Modelling Association, this conference brought together experts in renewable resource modelling, both ecological and economic, to present new developments in the application of such modelling to resource management issues. Fields of application included forestry, fisheries, agriculture, wildlife, rangelands, conservation and multiple use.

Location and Venue

Hobart is Australia's second-oldest city. It is picturesquely located between mountains and the sea and provides easy access to Tasmania's World Heritage parks and bush-walking trails. The venue for the meeting is the CSIRO Division of Marine Research, located on the banks of the Derwent River, and only five minutes walk from the centre of Hobart.

Keynote Speakers

Joe Landsberg, CSIRO Land and Water, Canberra "Modelling forest productivity across large areas and long periods"

Bob McKelvey, University of Montana "Fisheries treaties or fish wars? The international dimension of marine biological conservation"

Resource Modelling Association

The Resource Modeling Association (RMA) was founded in the early 1980's by a group of applied mathematicians, applied population biologists, fisheries scientists, and resource economists, primarily from the west coast of the US and Canada, to organize annual meetings to discuss the application of models to resource management. The Association then extended its meeting activites to the east coast of North America, to Mexico, and to several countries in Europe. The first meeting in the Southern Hemisphere was held in South Africa in 1995.

Since 1986, the RMA has been publishing the international journal Natural Resource Modeling. The RMA also has a standing committee on resource policy issues, whose responsibility it is to maintain a membership expertise data base. This data base is available to organizations trying to identify scientists whom they can consult on resource management and policy issues. A newsletter is published three times annually with information concerning member activities.

Program

The program included an icebreaker, the keynote talks, general sessions, poster sessions, the conference dinner, and a full-day excursion to the Tasman Peninsula. Activities for accompanying partners were also organized.

Hobart and Tasmania

Hobart is the capital city of Tasmania, Australia's island state. Hobart is the second oldest city in Australia and was founded as a convict settlement. Many historic buildings still remain, and it retains much of its old-world charm. Located between mountains and the sea .

Nearby Port Arthur was the largest convict settlement in the Southern Hemisphere. Maintained as an historic site ..

Summer temperatures are typically in the range 18 to 25 degrees Celsius. An added inducement for attending the meeting is that Tasmania is an international mecca for "bushwalking", with over 20% of the island currently listed as World Heritage Area and many spectacular walks of varying duration and difficulty. Any attendees who come up with a confirmed sighting of a Tasmanian tiger will have their conference fees refunded in full! Sightings of Tasmanian devils (remember Bugs Bunny?) are far more likely.

Timetable

  • Sunday 14 December 1997: Registration desk opens 5 pm. Drinks.
  • Monday 15 December 1997: Conference opening 8.30 am. Sessions all day.
  • Tuesday 16 December 1997: Conference sessions all day. Special Symposium all day. Conference dinner 7 pm.
  • Wednesday 17 December: Conference tour (Tasman Peninsula, Port Arthur, including lunch)
  • Thursday 18 December: Conference sessions all day. Conference ends 5 pm.
  • Friday 19 December: [Start of post-conference excursions.]

Note: The MODSIM 97 Conference is also being held in Hobart on 8-11 December 1997.

Social Programme

  • Drinks on Sunday 14 December. Conference dinner Tuesday evening.
  • Conference tour all day Wednesday. Possible post conference excursions: overland trail (Cradle Mountain/Lake St Clair), South West coast trail, Mt Anne.
  • Accompanying partners activities: Mt Field/Russell Falls; Bonnorong Wildlife Park/Richmond; Mt Wellington/Hobart. Taste of Tasmania? Boat tour on Derwent.

Tours

Post conference tour suggestions: overland trail, South West trail, Mt Anne, Tasmanian endemic bird trip.

Accomodation

Selection of hotels/motels/guest houses within easy distance of the Marine Laboratories. To suit variety of budgets.

Organizing Committee

  • Tony Smith (Hobart, Australia)
  • David McDonald (Hobart, Australia)
  • Geoff Tuck (Hobart, Australia)
  • Peter Sands, CSIRO Forestry, Hobart
  • Hugh Possingham (Adelaide, Australia)

Scientific Programme Committee

  • Robert Alexander, Massey, New Zealand
  • Wayne Getz, Berkeley, USA
  • John Hearne, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
  • Tim Lynam, WWF, Zimbabwe
  • Bill Reid, Victoria, Canada
  • Anders Skonhoft, Trondheim, Norway
  • Atsushi Yoshimoto, Miyazaki, Japan

Correspondence

Further information, including accommodation details, can be obtained from the Conference Secretary, Tanya Fisher. Tanya can be reached at the conference e-mail address (rma@marine.csiro.au), phone +61 3 6232 5482, or fax +61 3 6232 5199. Information can also be found at the RMA web site (http://www.cqs.washington.edu/~gordie/rma.html).

Quote

A good model, like a good caricature, should portray, though perhaps in a distorted manner, some of the features of the real world.

And

Conference participants had a grand time. No worries!

FLASH !!!!

Winner of student paper award -- Stephen Davis who taught us all genetics