In the increasingly vital quest to build a sustainable economy, the conservation of freshwater systems and the biodiversity that depends on their ecological integrity is a paramount, but elusive, goal.  Dedicated scientists and managers have worked for decades to improve the health of rivers, lakes, and wetlands, yet in most places the battle is being lost.

New Currents in Conserving Freshwater Systems provided a forum for scientists and conservation practitioners to highlight recent successful initiatives in freshwater conservation, to discuss cutting-edge ideas and tools, and to investigate how and where these innovations might be implemented on the ground.  The symposium showcased projects that are rooted in the best available science, integrate scientific fields, and link science with other disciplines and highlighted initiatives from around the world that inform our ability to understand and protect the biota, processes, and habitats of aquatic ecosystems as well as to identify and mitigate threats.

The symposium was sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation and the World Wildlife Fund, in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and U.S. Geological Survey.  Support from the symposium was provided by Daniel and Sheryl Tishman, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Mack Lipkin Man and Nature Series.  Additional support was provided by The Conservation Trust of the National Geographic Society, the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, The Nature Conservancy, and the American Fisheries Society.

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AGENDA

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2005

8:30 SESSION ONE
INNOVATIONS IN UNDERSTANDING FRESHWATER SYSTEMS

Session Moderator: Dan Ashe, Science Advisor to the Director, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Department of Interior, USA

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
Michael J. Novacek, Senior Vice President and Provost of Science, American Museum of Natural History, USA

Ellen V. Futter, President, American Museum of Natural History, USA

Plenary Address
INNOVATIONS AROUND THE WORLD: WHAT DO WE NEED, AND WHY?
Melanie Stiassny, Axelrod Research Curator , American Museum of Natural History

PANTANAL: DRIVING FORCES AND TERRESTRIAL-FRESHWATER INTERACTIONS
Wolfgang J. Junk, Max Planck Institute for Limnology, Germany

BRIDGING TROUBLED WATERS – TAXONOMIC SCIENCE IN THE SERVICE OF FRESHWATER FISH CONSERVATION IN SOUTH AFRICA
Paul Skelton, Managing Director, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity

USE OF GENETIC TOOLS TO EXAMINE REGIONAL PATTERNS OF BIODIVERSITY
David J. Berg, Department of Zoology, Miami University, Ohio, USA

VIDEOGRAPHY OF SUBSURFACE AQUATIC LIFE TO MAKE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION OF SUBTERRANEAN ANIMALS ATTRACTIVE: THE LOBAU WETLANDS EXPERIENCE (AUSTRIA)
Dan Danielopol, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Limnology, Austria

IMPERILED GIANTS OF THE MEKONG
Zeb Hogan, Aquatic Ecologist, University of Wisconsin, USA

REMOTE SENSING TOOLS FOR UNDERSTANDING FRESHWATERS
Stephen Hamilton, Associate Professor of Zoology, W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, USA

1:15 SESSION TWO
INNOVATIONS IN PLANNING FOR CONSERVATION

Session Moderator: Felicity Arengo, Associate Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, USA

WATER SNAKES, LIVELIHOODS AND CONSERVATION: TONLE SAP, CAMBODIA
Sharon Brooks, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, UK

RESTORING THE MESOPOTAMIAN MARSHES
Azzam Alwash, Project Manager, Eden Again/New Eden, Iraq

FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS AND MOBILE SPECIES IN AUSTRALIA: IS CONSERVATION POSSIBLE WITH NO HANDS ON THE RIVER TAP?
Richard Kingsford, Professor of Environmental Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science, University of New South Wales, Australia

COUNTING ECOSYSTEMS AS PART OF DEVELOPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE - USING ECONOMIC VALUATION TO PROMOTE FRESHWATER BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN AFRICA
Lucy Emerton, Regional Group Head, Asia Ecosystems and Livelihoods Group, IUCN-The World Conservation Union, Sri Lanka

IRRAWADDY DOLPHIN AND CAST-NET FISHERMEN: A CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP IN THE AYEYARWADY RIVER, MYANMAR
Tint Tun, Wildlife Conservation Society, Myanmar Program Office, Myanmar

CONSERVING WETLAND NETWORK ACROSS BORDERS IN THE ALTIPLANO
Sandra Caziani, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Salta-CONICET, Argentina
Patricia Marconi, Fundación YUCHAN, Argentina

ALTERNATIVE FUTURES ANALYSIS IN THE WILLAMETTE RIVER BASIN
Stanley Gregory, Professor, Oregon State University, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, USA

HYDROLOGY FOR THE WORLD: NEW DATA, TOOLS AND APPLICATIONS
Bernhard Lehner, Freshwater GIS Specialist, Conservation Science Program, World Wildlife Fund, USA

Panel Discussion
LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR FRESHWATER CONSERVATION: WHAT CHARACTERIZES INNOVATIONS AND SUCCESSES?
Moderator: Robin Abell, Freshwater Conservation Biologist, Conservation Science Program World Wildlife Fund - United States

2005 Mack Lipkin Man and Nature Lecture
THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AND FRESHWATER BIODIVERSITY: A FOCUS ON PARTNERSHIPS AND AN EYE ON THE FUTURE
Mamie Parker, Assistant Director for Fisheries and Habitat Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USA

6:15 THE MACK LIPKIN MAN AND NATURE SERIES RECEPTION
Hall of Northwest Coast Indians

6:30 POSTER SESSION/RECEPTION
Hall of Northwest Coast Indians

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FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2005

8:30 SESSION THREE
INNOVATIONS IN PUTTING PLANS INTO PRACTICE

Session Moderator: David P. Braun, Senior Watersheds Biohydrologist and Director, Agricultural Watersheds Initiative, Upper Mississippi River Program, The Nature Conservancy

INTRODUCTION
Ian Harrison, US Coordinator, Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners Project, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation and Axelrod Research Assistant, Department of Ichthyology, American Museum of Natural History, USA

FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEM CONSERVATION IN SRI LANKA
Rohan Pethiyagoda, Founder, Wildlife Heritage Trust of Sri Lanka

FLY FISHING FOR BIODIVERSITY: TAIMEN IN MONGOLIA
Jake Vander Zanden, Assistant professor, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Center for Limnology, USA

ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW ASSESSMENT: ISSUES AND INNOVATIONS
Rebecca Tharme, International Water Management Institute, Sri Lanka

PROTECTING SUBTERRANEAN ANIMALS IN SLOVENIA: FOCUSING ON HABITATS, NOT SPECIMENS TEXT
Boris Sket, Professor of Zoology and Speleobiology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

TURNING BACK THE CLOCK: RESTORING LAKE ECOSYSTEMS BY ERADICATING INTRODUCED FISH
Roland Knapp, Research Biologist, Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory, University of California, USA

THE CASE OF MAMIRAUA COMMUNITY-BASED MANAGEMENT OF PIRARUCU IN MAMIRAUÁ, AMAZON, BRAZIL
Leandro Castello, Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute, Brazil, and College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, USA

COMMUNITIES AND CATCHMENT STRATEGIES FOR FRESHWATER MANAGEMENT: SELECTED EXAMPLES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Caroline Sullivan, Head of Water Policy and Management, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, UK

2:20 SESSION FOUR
INNOVATIONS IN EVALUATING AND MONITORING OUTCOMES

Session Moderator: Charles P. Hawkins, Director, Western Center for Monitoring and Assessment of Freshwater Ecosystems, Utah State University

A BOTTOM-UP APPROACH TO MONITORING, CONSERVING, AND MANAGING IN THE ORANGE-VAAL RIVER BASIN, SOUTH AFRICA
Pierre de Villiers, Environmental Affairs Directorate, Department of Tourism, Environmental and Economic Affairs, Free State Province, South Africa

THE MIGHTY DUCK: USING DAMS TO RESTORE SPECIES TEXT
Paul Johnson, Director, Tennessee Aquarium Research Institute, USA
Steven A. Ahlstedt, Biologist, U.S. Geological Survey

FROM THRIVING WETLAND TO SALINE DESERT AND BACK: FLOODS FOR RESTORATION IN HOSTILE LANDS TEXT
Olivier Hamerlynck, Former Advisor, IUCN Wetlands and Water Resources Programme

ECOLOGICAL IMPACT OF SMALL DAM REMOVAL TEXT
Karen Bushaw-Newton, Assistant Professor, Microbial Ecology & Biogeochemistry, American University, USA

PROJECT PIABA: EVALUATING SUCCESS IN AQUATIC CONSERVATION THROUGH A SUSTAINABLE ORNAMENTAL FISHERY IN THE AMAZON BASIN TEXT
Ning Labbish Chao, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus, AM Brazil and Bio-Amazonia Conservation International, Baltimore, MD United States

THE US CLEAN WATER ACT: INNOVATIVE NATIONAL LEGISLATION GUIDING LOCAL AND REGIONAL FRESHWATER BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
Edward T. Rankin, Center for Applied Bioassessment and Criteria, Columbus, Ohio, USA

COMMUNITY MONITORING OF WETLANDS AT MULTIPLE SCALES IN AUSTRALIA
Max Finlayson, Principal Researcher, International Water Management Institute in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Panel Discussion
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM INNOVATIONS?
Moderator: Eleanor Sterling, Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation

Panelists:
Edward Allison, Senior Lecturer in Natural Resources, School of Development Studies, University of East Anglia, UK
Xanthippe Augerot, Director of Science, Wild Salmon Center, USA
Carmen Revenga,Senior Freshwater Scientist, Habitat Assessment Team, Global Priorities Group, The Nature Conservancy, USA
Brian Richter, Director, Freshwater Initiative, The Nature Conservancy, USA