Tuesday, 13 February 2024 The successful conclusion of the COST Action CA18201 project - An integrated approach to conservation of threatened plants for the 21st Century (ConservePlants) - brought together researchers from 25 countries
The rapid changes in climate and the environment are more noticeable today than ever before, directly affecting plants that enhance our lives through various services. Despite the goals that domestic scientists strive to achieve, these have not bring the desired results. Therefore, the collaboration and establishment of a network of scientists and other stakeholders through the project have served as an excellent opportunity to explore and strive to improve the condition of endangered plant species throughout Europe.
Between February 12 and 13, 2024, the final conference of the COST Action CA18201 project - An integrated approach to the conservation of threatened plants for the 21st Century (ConservePlants) - took place in Izola, Livade 1.0 facility, which started in the fall of 2019.
The conference organized by the Department of Biodiversity UP FAMNIT brought together 74 participants from 25 countries, including Slovenia, Albania, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
Throughout the conference, various scientists and researchers shared their insights, contributing to the conservation of endangered plant species across Europe.
In the introduction, participants were welcomed by Dr. Klavdija Kutnar, the rector of UP, who encouraged all to continue their actions for the conservation of endangered species even after the conference.
Project manager, Dr. Živa Fišer from the Department of Biodiversity (UP FAMNIT), presented achievements that have been lined up until the very end, which serves as an excellent opportunity for further growth: "The concluding conference marks the end of a four-and-a-half-year period of our COST project, focusing on the conservation of endangered plant species. Throughout this project, we established a vast network of collaborators from more than 40 countries, providing us with a foundation for future collaboration."
The invited speakers of the conference are experts in ethnobotany and plant ecology, Silvia Castro, and Andrea Pieroni.
Andrea Pieroni obtained his PhD in 1998 from the University of Bonn, Germany, and is currently engaged in research on cross-cultural ethnobotany and traditional food in the Balkans and the Middle East especially among mountain pastoralists and ethnic and religious minorities and diasporas. In 2008-2010, Professor Pieroni also served as Vice-President and President of the International Society of Ethnobiology. He is also a founder and Chief Editor of the J Ethnobiol Ethnomed, and a member of the editorial boards of various international ethnological scientific journals.
He believes that this kind of cooperation is crucial for the conservation of endangered species, with a focus on raising people’s awareness of the importance of plant species. He shared his perspective in the following statement: "To Conserve Plants, we need to conserve people and their links to plants. Plants are not just plants but are also part of the history of the interaction between them and the human community."
Silvia Castro, from the University of Coimbra, views the COST action as a significant opportunity to connect with various researchers working on similar topics and to acquire new ideas over the past four years, as she states: "Today, I presented one of the projects focusing on nature conservation and the preservation of endangered plants, especially invasive species. In short, we brought together a diverse group of experts, including botanists, entomologists, and colleagues from various disciplines, who joined forces to sample these invasive species in the Mediterranean basin. So, we got this very nice picture illustrating the plant's capability to become invasive."
In addition to the plenary sessions, there were also 21 lectures by conference participants.
In addition to showcasing the project's key accomplishments, the collection of four children's books titled 'Stories of Endangered Plants' was presented. Crafted as part of the project's commitment to preserving endangered plants, these engaging and educational picture books aim to familiarize children with the importance of plant conservation.
Conserve Plants is one of the major COST actions, uniting 39 countries with over 150 members of working groups from academia, research institutions, and NGOs. They collaborate on diverse activities aimed at conserving endangered plants.
The book of abstracts and poster, are available electronically at the following link.
