Mission of this Meeting

Tropical rainforests disappear at an alarming rate causing unprecedented losses in biodiversity and ecosystem services. Despite an increased recognition of the value of these goods at national and international levels, rainforests continue to be seriously threatened by human-induced global change such as agricultural intensification and climate change. Understanding these processes needs an integrated scientific approach linking ecological, economic and social approaches at different scales, from the household and village level to landscapes and regions.
    The global human population is expected to increase further in the near future with the probable consequence of an expansion and intensification of agriculture and the associated destructive impacts on the natural environment. These impacts will particularly happen in regions where agricultural intensification is a relatively recent process such as frontier zones in the humid tropics. Currently, too little is known how to control this process and to identify ecological-socioeconomic trade-offs or synergies of land use and conservation. Land-use systems need management decisions based on the assessment of environmental costs and benefits and a thorough knowledge of ecosystem properties.
    Human-induced climate change is already causing changes in extremes of temperatures and precipitation and is likely to continue for many centuries affecting tropical forest growth and carbon stocks. Climate scenarios predict a warming trend and more frequent occurrence of droughts of increasing severity. Such scenarios are of serious concern for the future of the rainforest and agroforestry that depend on irrigation or regular rainfall. Assessments of land-use practices need to be linked to sustainable alternatives with concepts and data-driven models of large-scale land-use change in tropical, human-dominated landscapes.

Meeting Location - Island of Bali, Indonesia

The conference will be held at the Jayakarta Bali Hotel & Resorts, Bali. The hotel is situated in lush gardens and located right on Legian Beach, Kuta, famous for it's sunsets. While offering peace and tranquillity, the hotel is also within walking distance to shopping and entertainment areas. Bali's many noteworthy attractions are within easy reach from the hotel and offer more than a casual glimpse of the "Island of the Gods".