The Southwest Marine Ecosystem conferences take place in the Spring of each year in Plymouth. The Objectives of the SWME conferences developed by the delegates are:

1. Networking   Through the conferences, website and mailings, to provide a networking opportunity for a wide cross section of people to meet, exchange views and build networks for the south-west’s marine ecosystems in order to:

– Provide active support for existing networks enabling and building citizen science project;

– To encourage collaboration between users, researchers/scientists and managers/policy makers;

– Encourage links between researchers on science projects throughout the region’s seas (e.g. the English
Channel, Bristol Channel, Celtic Seas and the wider Atlantic Ocean).

2. Annual Events & Recording   To use the annual conference to record observation on ecological and oceanographic events of the previous year that have affected the south west marine ecosystems and to make the linkages between environmental and biological phenomena. To publish these observations annually. To promote the recording of observations through the year and ongoing regional and national marine recording projects through the SWME website.

3. Ecology of marine species   To promote research studies that focus on the ecology of marine species, planktonic, benthic and ‘mobile’ species (fish, birds, mammals, turtles) and the ecosystem that supports them.  To understand the status of populations of marine species in the region’s seas and how they are responding to environmental and anthropogenic pressures. To enable stories to be told about the ecology of our common species, their distribution, movements and numbers, and importantly to highlight the gaps in our knowledge.

4. Management of south west marine ecosystems    To encourage strong relationships between policy makers and scientists; to promote science and the evidence base that underpins management of human activities in the coastal and marine environment with a view to supporting and promoting the health of south west’s marine ecosystems.

5. Marine Education and Outreach   To highlight marine education and outreach programmes in the south west. To support the development of new programmes that promote marine management and make use of marine science. To promote good practice in environmental education, interpretation, signage and outreach.

…and to come together to celebrate being part of the SWME!

For more details of the programme, directions and accommodation please go to http://swmecosystems.co.uk/

A University of Plymouth Sustainable Earth Institute public talk from Tom Burke.

Tom Burke will outline the threat to prosperity, security and stability posed by our failure to accompany globalisation of opportunity with globalisation of responsibility. He will discuss the importance of maintaining the social and environmental conditions for prosperity while meeting the rising expectations of our burgeoning population.

Tom will stress the importance of maintaining a global rules based system and sharing sovereignty if we are to meet the challenges of the 21st century and identify climate change as the biggest threat to the future of anyone under 40, but also the opportunity to build the kind of world that offers our children life chances comparable to those we have enjoyed.