Programme

The Symposium Programme comprises a combination of plenary and parallel sessions. Prominent experts from within and outside of the region will be invited to attend the symposium and deliver keynote presentations. Posters will be displayed throughout the symposium and a dedicated poster session will be arranged to facilitate discussions with the presenting authors. Day 4 will provide the opportunity for special sessions focusing on particular issues to be held.

Scientific Programme

• Keynote Presentations
• Symposium Scientific Programme
• List of Posters

Special Sessions

During the Symposium there will be special sessions on topical issues that are of global and regional importance. These special sessions could be convened by individuals or organizations. All those who are interested to organized special sessions are requested to submit their general description of their session by 31 August 2015. All the special sessions will be held on 30 October 2015.

Symposium Events

A number of events associated with the Symposium are normally organized before, during and after the Symposium. Organizations, programmes, projects and commercial companies are welcomed to organize or sponsor events. Space will also be available for exhibits by different organisations or programmes.

Three competitions have been organized best student poster; best student oral presentation and best photo competition. Winners of these competitions will be awarded special prizes.

• Special Sessions
• Special Events
• Competitions
• Exhibition
• Field Excursions

All interested authors are invited to submit abstracts on the themes listed below. Authors may also submit abstracts on other topics relevant to the wider field of coastal and marine science. The main themes include but are not limited to:

Vulnerability, Resilience & Adaptation

• Implications of changes in major biophysical drivers on the coastal and marine environment. Major drivers include: demographic pressure, economic development, socio-political changes and climate change.
• Trends in extreme events and major oceanographic processes
• Combined effects of climate change, land-use practices (e.g. deforestation, coastal development that forms a barrier to mangrove landward migration), and other human impacts (e.g. pollution, eutrophication) on resilience and adaptive capacity.
• Costs associated with addressing the implications of global change

Biodiversity and ecological processes

• Biodiversity and diversification processes (including biology and reproduction of marine organisms; connectivity of marine populations and community resilience)
• Functional ecology of coastal ecosystems such as estuaries, coral reef, rocky shores, mangroves etc.
• Ecology and conservation of endangered marine species (eg. turtles, mammals, sharks, seabirds)
• Marine organisms and bioactive natural substances
• Ecosystem assessment and monitoring: roles of bioindicators, chemical tracers and models
• Ecosystem modeling and forecasting

Utilization of resources

• Fisheries: trends, challenges and sustainability
• The ecological impacts of fishing
• Ecosystem-based fishery assessment and management, in theory and practice
• The biology and ecology of marine birds, invertebrates, and mammals related to fisheries and ecosystems

Human dimension and governance systems

• Economic/Social/Environmental/Cultural opportunities and challenges of economic activities in the coastal and marine environment
• Communities’ use of, and dependence on, ecosystem services for livelihoods
• Interactions between conservation initiatives and poverty reduction strategies
• Mechanisms to strengthen fisheries management to meet both socio-economic and environmental conservation objectives
• Effectiveness, efficiency and accountability of policies and legislation of marine and coastal resources

Understanding Ecosystem Services

• Quantifying, valuing and describing patterns of ecosystem service provision from different ecosystems
• Social and cultural processes underlying ecosystem service provision
• Mainstreaming biodiversity conservation into national development plans
• The contribution of natural capital to economic development

Innovations in Support of an Ocean-based Economy

• Innovative solutions to climate change and disaster risk reduction