2012 Nahelehele Dry Forest Symposium-Hawaii-Feb. 24, 2012

CBD SBSTTA-16--Call for Posters- Due Feb. 29, 2012
Call for posters for the Sixteenth Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-16)

Mangrove Forest Ecology, Management and Restoration Course - Florida, USA - March 1-2

20th High Altitude Revegetation Workshop - Ft Collins, CO - March 6 - 8, 2012

SER-Midwest-Great Lakes 4th Annual Meeting-Call for Abstracts- Due March 9, 2012

Fundamentos de la Restauración Ecológica -- New Online Course for Spanish Speakers (fechalímite el 16 de marzo de 2012)

Nominations now open for 2012 Thiess International Riverprize -Closes March 16, 2012

Louisiana: Help Restore a Floodplain! March 24 & 31, 2012
Volunteers needs to help plant over 10,000 trees at the Upper Ouachita Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana.

Restoration 2012: Beyond Borders- Call for Abstracts- Due April 1, 2012
SER NW, SER BC and AFS recently launched their new conference website for Restoration 2012 to be held May 15-18 in Victoria, Canada.

ER Special Issue on Corridor Restoration - Call for Papers- April 1, 2012

Urban Wetland Restoration Course- Halifax, Nova Scotia: April 30-May 2, 2012

The 8th Conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration - Europe-Sept. 9-14, 2012

EcoSummit 2012-Ecological Sustainability- Sept. 30- Oct. 5, 2012

6^th Annual Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration- Oct. 20-24, 2012

2012 Conference Listing on the Global Restoration Network (GRN)
 Check out our 2012 conference listing for a full year view of upcoming conferences and events

SER Members receive 25% off Island Press book purchases. Contact caroline@ser.org for details!

Beyond Environment: Falling back in love with Mother Earth
Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh explains why mindfulness and a spiritual revolution rather than economics is needed to protect nature and limit climate change. Change is possible only if there is a recognition that people and planet are ultimately one and the same.

Create effective new global environmental agency, ministers urged

The Wonder and Hope of Planetary Ecological Restoration
How do we heal the planet, Mother Earth? Not with technology, but with people. Ecological restoration is the art of working with nature - and, most importantly, the people living in any particular ecosystem - to restore not only nature, but the lives of people. I often seek mental anchorage in the growing movement for ecological restoration, and permaculture - "you can solve all the world's problems in a garden", says one of its leading lights. Well, the milieu demands we all become gardeners.

Busting the Forest Myths: People as Part of the Solution
The long-held contention that rural forest communities are the prime culprits in tropical forest destruction is increasingly being discredited, as evidence mounts that the best way to protect rainforests is to involve local residents in sustainable management.

China: 298-Million-Year-Old Forest Found In Northern China (PHOTOS)
A fossilized, 298-million-year-old forest has been found under a coal mine near Wuda, in northern China. Like the Roman city of Pompeii, the 10,763-square-foot (1,000-square-meter) peat forest was preserved by ash spewed out by the eruption of an ancient volcano. The remarkable find--to be described in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences--gives a "snapshot" of the climate and ecology at the time of the eruption.

Response to Environmental and Societal Challenges for our Unstable Earth (RESCUE)
This report synthesizes the contributions from approximately 100 experts in 30 countries. It is based on the input of 5 working groups from autumn 2009 to spring 2011.

Shrimp: luxury food with a hidden environmental price tag
Our love affair with shrimp has fuelled the destruction of the 'rainforests of the sea' - mangroves - whose biodiversity and carbon-storing capacities are much undervalued. The author of 'Let Them Eat Shrimp', Kennedy Warne, talks through his alarming findings.

Climate change threatens tropical birds
Climate change spells trouble for many tropical birds -- especially those living in mountains, coastal forests and relatively small areas -- and the damage will be compounded by other threats like habitat loss, disease and competition among species. That is among the conclusions of a review of nearly 200 scientific studies relevant to the topic.

Marine protected areas: changing climate could require change of plans
 Marine protected areas (MPAs) may turn out to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. As a result of changing conditions, marine species have been on the move with observed shifts of as much as three kilometers per year over the past 50 years, and forecasts of shifts of as much as 300 kilometers in the coming 50 years. Also available in French.

China's farming calendar 'out of step' with global warming
 The 24 'solar terms', a set of timings reflecting the seasonal cycle, were laid down 2,000 years ago as a supplement to the traditional Chinese calendar. The traditional Chinese farming calendar, still used by millions of farmers to guide their farming activities, should be adapted to reflect global warming, say scientists.

US Forest Service Chief Presents Proposed FY2013 Agency Budget

UK: £38,000 heath land restoration on Bushey Heath border welcomed by politicians
 The Harrow Heritage Trust was handed the windfall from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The project will involve restoring the natural heath flowers and plants as well as building habitat for wildlife and insects.

Gulf Coast: Minority owner of Macondo well to pay $90 million in record settlement
MOEX Offshore, the minority owner of a well that was the source of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will pay a total of $90 million in the settlement, the U.S. EPA announced Friday. Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Texas will receive $25 million divvied up between the states accordingly. The remaining $20 million will go to land acquisition projects in several Gulf States with the aim of funding environmental and natural resource-protected habitats.

Colombia Environment Protection Gets Renewed Attention
Resource-rich Colombia will ramp up sanctions against companies in the booming oil and mining sectors that abuse the environment and fail to abide by protection norms, a government minister said on Wednesday. The government will adopt a "carrot and stick" approach to raise the standards of firms that plough money into the Andean nation's mountain ranges and jungles to extract oil, gold and coal, Environment Minister Frank Pearl said.

The Quiet Clean Mining Revolution
Few industries have got the black eye, literally and metaphorically, of mining. After centuries of environmental effects ranging from toxic emissions to unsightly tailings ponds, acid mine drainage, massive energy consumption and other impacts, mining is slowly cleaning up its act.

Europe: The battle of the ladybirds
Ladybirds are currently a focus of ecological attention, with the publication of two international studies of these much-loved insects. One provides evidence that the harlequin ladybird, an invasive species introduced to Europe from east Asia, is causing large declines in several native species. The second study shows that the intensity of a ladybird's red colour is a direct indicator of how toxic it is to predators.

Big City Conservation: New York City's Hidden Biodiversity
 Where every great city stands today, a natural ecosystem once thrived. London was built on a floodplain of the River Thames; New York was set up on great tracts of oak woodland; and Tokyo, the most populous metropolis in the world, once supported a lush and verdant subtropical forest. Since their ambitious beginnings, cities all over the world have sacrificed natural diversity to become the cultural, artistic and economic centers they are today. But in an increasingly green-minded world, many cities are working to reverse their reputations and are redefining the concept of urbanity altogether.

US: NOAA Natural Resources Damage Assessment Grants-Closes Feb 23, 2012
NOAA cooperates with the public to identify restoration projects that benefit a wide variety of habitats and biological resources and will partner with non-profit groups, local governments, and other organizations to carry out the restoration. The deadline for applications is February 23, 2012.

US: Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife- Closes Feb 29, 2012
 The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is accepting grant applications for the Aquatic Land Enhancement Account. The agency expects to award about $180,000 in grants from the program in the coming year. Five types of projects are funded through the program - habitat restoration, research, education and outreach, facility development and artificial production. Applications must be received or postmarked by Feb. 29.

Alabama: Longleaf Pine restoration grant available - Closes March 1, 2012
 The Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division (WFF) of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) is currently accepting applications through its Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) to continue longleaf pine restoration efforts in Alabama. The grant was awarded through a partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and will be made available to qualifying landowners for longleaf pine restoration on private lands.

Indiana American Water 2012 Environmental Grant Program - Closes March 10, 2012
 The program is designed to support diverse types of activities, such as watershed cleanups, reforestation efforts, biodiversity projects, streamside buffer restoration projects, wellhead protection initiatives and hazardous waste collection efforts,

California American Water Funds 2012 Environmental Grant Program-Closes March 9, 2012
 California American Water announced it is accepting applications for its 2012 Environmental Grant Program. The company will award several grants for a combined total of $10,000 to innovative community-based environmental projects that improve, restore or protect watersheds and drinking water supplies within the state. Applications must be postmarked by March 19, 2012.

California: Dept. of Fish and Game (DFG) Fisheries Restoration Grants-Closes March 30, 2012
Applications will be accepted beginning at 8 a.m. Feb. 15, 2012 through 3 p.m. March 30, 2012. Proposals should focus on projects that restore, enhance or protect anadromoussalmonid habitat in the coastal watersheds of California or projects that lead to the restoration, enhancement or protection of anadromoussalmonid habitat.

US: Minnesota State Funding Available for Environmental Project-Closes April 6, 2012
 The Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) has issued its 2012-2013 Request for Proposal (RFP) for funding from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund beginning July 1, 2013. Approximately $31 million is expected to be available for projects being sought in environment and natural resource areas that will provide multiple ecological and other public benefits. Proposals responding to the 2012-2013 RFP are due Friday, April 6, 2012.

US: Emergency Forest Restoration Program
USDA Farm Service Agency's (FSA) Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) provides payments to eligible owners of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) land in order to carry out emergency measures to restore land damaged by a natural disaster.

Earth Island Institute: Supporting community-based wetland restoration initiatives
Through the Small Grants Program, Earth Island Institute has been able to support locally based restoration efforts to do just that. Small grassroots efforts to restore the coastal habitats of Southern California, which have been depleted by an astounding 98%, have been slowly working to bring our wetlands back from the brink of extinction. By supporting and empowering the new restoration leaders, we ensure our collective success in restoring some of the earth's most fragile ecosystems.

The Gulf of Mexico Foundation's Community-based Restoration Partnership has reached a milestone by providing grants for now more than 75 different projects in coastal areas throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Restoring a total of about 15,000 acres over the past decade, these CRP projects have improved a wide variety of habitat types, including coastal dunes, coral reefs, oyster reefs, marshes, seagrass beds, mangrove forests and artificial reefs. Funding from NOAA and EPA make it possible for the GMF to provided more than $3 million to projects. Other partners have contributed an additional $5.5 million in funding.  The GMF is offering a new round of CRP funding for 2012.

 Terra Viva Grants develops and manages information about grants for agriculture, energy, environment, and natural resources in the world's developing countries. 

 California: Ecosystem Restoration on Agricultural Lands (ERAL)
 Grant funding applications are accepted on a year-round basis. The WCB meets four times each year, normally in February, May, August, and November to consider approval of funding for projects.

 Tamarisk Related Grant Opportunities
 The Tamarisk Coalition has developed a list of available Grant Opportunities to address tamarisk issues and riparian restoration. This list was revised as part of the Colorado River Basin Tamarisk and Russian Olive Assessment.