Blogs

ECR Day at ICCB 2025: Delivering Soft Skills Needs to Our Global Future Leaders in Conservation 200 Early Career attendees of the International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB) ECR Day hosted at University of Queensland St Lucia Campus. Credit: David Crisante Future Science Talks The ECR Day for Conservation Scientists built off the long standing tradition in training excellence by Society for Conservation Biology Oceania (SCBO) but took a new tack with new partnerships. A recent survey conducted by the SCB Social Science Working Group of early and mid-career researchers (EMCR) in the conservation science and related fields identified ...

The Most Language-Inclusive ICCB in Its History? ICCB 2025 Language Accessibility Subcommittee Attending an international conference can be intimidating, especially for those whose first language is not English. Failing to address language barriers is a tremendous loss to the conservation community, as diverse ideas, knowledge, experience, and expertise are essential to tackle the ongoing biodiversity crisis. That is why we decided to provide as many types of support as possible for non-fluent English speakers at the ICCB 2025. As a group of seven members with diverse linguistic backgrounds, we worked over the past year to (i) provide Writefull ...

ICCB 2025 Recap SCB Oceania hosted the Society for Conservation Biology’s 32nd International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB 2025) from 15–19 June in Brisbane, Australia. With 1,919 delegates, ICCB 2025 was the second most attended congress in its history, and it featured more presentations than any ICCB to date. Truly global in scope, ICCB convened conservationists from more than 90 countries who collectively spoke over 60 languages. More than half of the delegates at ICCB were international visitors, with professionals comprising 68 percent and students 32 percent of total attendance. This mix reflects ICCB’s strong focus on fostering collaboration, ...

SCB North America Works to Protect Roadless Forests Conserving roadless areas has long been a shared priority across SCB Regions, which have documented their biodiversity value Some of the wildest, most pristine forests in the United States are under threat. In June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced its intent to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, a cornerstone of conservation that protects more than 58 million acres of national forest land from road-building and large-scale development. In a formal letter to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture , the SCB North America Region (SCBNA) warns that repealing the policy would ...

SCB Member Spotlight: Ethan Prall Ethan Prall worked with colleagues at a local conservation organization in Mombasa, Coastal and Marine Resource Development (COMRED) Ethan Prall, winner of a 2024 Graduate Student Research Award, sat down with us to share a bit about his research project, Diverse values and policies to conserve coral reefs and reef fish in Kenya. Ethan is a Ph.D. candidate in environmental science and policy at the University of Miami, holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and is based in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. With an educational background in ethics, law and philosophy, and experience practicing environmental law, Ethan brings ...

The Society is awarding ten graduate students with $1,000 fellowships this month to carry out field research on their topic area in conservation. This year’s winners were selected from an applicant pool of 50 students, from all SCB regions, whose projects ranged from improving our knowledge about drivers of biodiversity loss to strategies for restoration and management. “The projects submitted this year were very exciting and competitive with many novel approaches, including equity and feminism. Unfortunately, a final decision had to be made to choose this year’s awardees, so those who were not selected this year are encouraged to continue their important ...

The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) bestowed high honors on four conservationists from around the world for their contributions to the science and practice of biodiversity conservation. The Society presented the awards at the 2023 International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB) in Kigali, Rwanda. SCB’s global awards , presented every other year at the ICCB, are given to individuals, groups, or institutions for distinguished service in any field associated with biodiversity conservation and whose work has furthered the mission of SCB. This year, four individuals were honored at ICCB 2023 under four categories for their outstanding work in the ...

In alignment with the Society’s evolution into a global network, SCB Regions are empowered to register as non-profit entities as one way to enhance their regional influence and operational effectiveness and flexibility. In this vein, SCB's Africa Region took a critical first step to achieving regional incorporation when the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Rwanda signed a memorandum of understanding with the Africa Region during ICCB 2023. In signing the MOU, the SCB Africa Region is firmly on the path to incorporation in Rwanda. The MoU is the culmination of months of concerted efforts and trust-building between the Africa Region board, SCB Global ...