LIFE FOR SPECIES International Conference concludes successfully
Last week saw the successful conclusion of the LIFE FOR SPECIES international conference "Safeguarding Biodiversity: Red Lists and Beyond." The conference took place from September 18-20 in Riga, with participants also having the option to join remotely (hybrid format). The event attracted over 140 participants representing 14 countries, including the Philippines, Nepal, and the USA.
On the first day of the conference, participants had the opportunity to join one of four excursion groups organized in collaboration with the participants of the "Nordic Baltic LIFE Platform meeting".
The variety of routes provided participants with a chance to explore protected species in Sigulda, river restoration mechanisms in northern Latvia, conservation efforts in the Krustkalni Nature Reserve, and nature conservation examples in the western Latvian region. Each route offered an in-depth look at the achievements of Latvian LIFE projects, sharing valuable experience in species and nature conservation.
On the second day of the conference, September 19, there was a formal opening ceremony, followed by 11 diverse and educational oral presentations on species conservation cooperation, species monitoring, and other related topics. Participants also had the opportunity to view and discuss 27 poster presentations.
For more information about the conference, please visit the conference website. A detailed program can be found here.
On the final day of the conference, September 20, 13 presentations were delivered on topics such as nature communication, various species protection mechanisms, and many others. Additionally, a database session titled "Biodiversity Data Systems: Storage, Analysis, and Sharing" was held, featuring 9 reports led by Jēkabs Dzenis, coordinator of the Nature Conservation Agency's project.
During the two presentation days, participants had the opportunity to vote for their favorites from oral presenters, poster presentations, and the database session. At the conclusion of the event, the project manager awarded diplomas and small mementos to the winners.
Among the oral presenters, the audience's favorite and first-place winner was keynote speaker Nicklas Jansson from Sweden, who gave an in-depth presentation on innovative solutions for creating habitats for protected invertebrate species. The second place went to Narayan Prasad Koju from Nepal, who joined remotely and shared insights into snow leopard research, community involvement in studies, and the harmony between people and nature in the mountains of Nepal.
Third place was awarded to Dmitrijs Teļnovs, leader of the invertebrate species group of the LIFE FOR SPECIES project from the University of Latvia and keynote speaker, whose presentation highlighted the project's achievements in protecting rare and endangered species in Latvia.
In the poster session, Elza Birbele won first place for her poster on the identification of natterjack toads after their release into the wild. Second place went to Rūta Starka for her poster on the IUCN assessments of grasshopper species in Latvia. Ilze Matisone took third place with her presentation on the condition of young ash stands in Latvia after their dieback.
In the database session, participants voted for the best presentation, with Jānis Kotāns winning for his presentation on the national database "OZOLS."
In total, the conference featured 33 oral presentations, including 6 keynote speaker presentations and 27 poster presentations. The diversity of presentation topics can be explored in the conference's Book of Abstracts.
LIFE FOR SPECIES project participants delivered 17 presentations at the conference:
- Aunina L. et al., "Results of the extinction risk assessment of nationally protected vascular plant species in Latvia"
- Avotins A. et al., "Little and a lot of data, both with their own challenges: approaches used for the red listing of birds in Latvia"
- Ceirans A. et al., "Results of the extinction risk assessment of nationally protected vascular plant species in Latvia"
- Degtjarenko P. et al., "Results of the extinction risk assessment of nationally protected vascular plant species in Latvia"
- Ķerus V. et al., "Bird threat status: a step in setting priority"
- Ozols J. et al., "Present threats to and future of saproxylic beetles (Coleoptera) in the EU-importance forest habitat types in Latvia"
- Pilāts V., "Red List assessment of mammal species in Latvia"
- Telnov D. et al., "LIFE FOR SPECIES project contribution to the protection of rare and endangered species in Latvia: Results, challenges and next steps"
- Ukass J., Dzenis J., "Project LIFE FOR SPECIES actions to improve the quality and applicability of geospatial data on endangered species"
- Bojare A., Evarts-Bunders P., "Rare hawthorn species in Latvia and their protection status"
- Cera I., "Spider (Araneae) species assessed in accordance with IUCN criteria in Latvia: results and recommendations"
- Dāniele I., "New Red List of Latvian fungi (Agaricales s. l.) based on IUCN criteria"
- Kalnins M., Pīpkalēja Z., "Extinction risk assessment of the Latvian regional population of freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera (L.) (Mollusca: Bivalvia) in accordance with the IUCN criteria"
- Kalnins M., Pīpkalēja Z., "First national-level extinction risk assessments of Latvian dragonflies (Odonata) using the IUCN criteria"
- Ozolins D., "Assessment of some Latvian freshwater mollusc (Mollusca) species according to the IUCN criteria"
- Roze I., "Trifolium fragiferum L. - why is it endangered (EN) in Latvia?"
- Starka R., "Singing in the rain: IUCN assessment of Orthoptera species in Latvia"
A huge thank you to all the participants and the organizing team for their hard work in making the conference a success!
Special thanks to the volunteers: University of Latvia students Jeļena Mjagkova and Barbara Auzāne.
The conference was organized by the LIFE FOR SPECIES project – the University of Latvia's Institute of Biology in collaboration with the Nature Conservation Agency, Daugavpils University, and the French Institute in Latvia.