IMBER (Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research) will hold the third in its IMBIZO* series in Goa, India from 28-31 January 2013.
(*IMBIZO is a Zulu word meaning a ‘meeting or gathering’).

Overall theme of IMBIZO lll:
The future of marine biogeochemistry, ecosystems and societies.
Multi-dimensional approaches to the challenges of global change in continental margins and open ocean systems

Summary
Marine ecosystems are essential to life as we know it on this planet, yet the oceans are undergoing fundamental change. More than 20% of the global population resides within 100km of the coast, leading to increasing pressure on the ecosystems in continental margins; more than 90% of natural and farmed fish production is supported by the continental margin ecosystems, thus serving as an important food source. Meanwhile, global change has added a new set of threats, such as increased acidification and warming of the oceans. Humans are both a driver and a recipient of this change and it has become increasingly critical to understand, at multiple scales from the local to the global, how biogeochemical cycles, ecosystems, societies, governments and people, might respond to these changes and threats. The objective of IMBIZO lll is to explore the linkages and interactions between humans and marine systems to create understanding of the possible futures of the interrelated ecological and biogeochemical systems in the continental margins and in the open ocean and their societal implications.

Meeting format
We will follow the proven IMBIZO format of three concurrent but interacting workshops, and joint plenary and poster sessions. This has been found to provide a forum for stimulating discussion between interdisciplinary experts and also linkages between biogeochemistry, ecosystem and social science research. To facilitate effective discussion, each workshop will be limited to 40 participants, so participation will be selective. The participants, coming from communities with active interests in the topics, will be chosen to provide balance in scientific disciplines as well as geographic distribution

Workshops
Each of the three workshops will include oral and poster presentations to showcase the current state of knowledge in each area and discussion sessions to identify key questions to be addressed by IMBER.

We would like to invite members of the community to provide ideas for the themes of the three workshops. The workshops should be related to the overall theme of the IMBIZO and should foster the collaboration between the natural and social sciences. Please include a short description of the proposed workshop topic and indicate how this addresses the overall IMBIZO goals. Also please include a list of potential conveners.

Please send your suggestions to Lisa Maddison (Lisa.Maddison@univ-brest.fr) before 15 November 2011.
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Juliette RIMETZ-PLANCHON
Deputy Executive Officer
IMBER International Project Office
IUEM, place Nicolas Copernic
29290 Plouzané
France
www.imber.info