GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - 'Celebrating the joy of conservation in the Garden Route' is the theme of the annual key stakeholder report-back session of the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) on Wednesday 13 December at the Fairy Knowe Hotel.

GREF is the premier public platform for regional environmental and conservation managers in the Southern Cape.

At the meeting, the GREF will be highlighting some of the most burning issues related to environmental management in the Garden Route.

Some of the speakers and topics are:

* Mike von der Heyde, Environmentalist, Wilderness - The outstanding SaveWild initiative in Wilderness.

* Dr Arné Witt, regional (Africa, Asia and Caribbean) invasive alien species coordinator for the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) – ‘Addressing burning environmental issues in the region’.

* Prof Stephanie Midgley, specialist scientist for Climate Change, Research and Technology Development Services, Western Cape Department of Agriculture - new partnerships being forged for opportunities in climate change research, capacity building and adaptive practices.

* Prof Christo Fabricius, Sustainability Research Unit, Nelson Manela University - Monitoring, evaluation and learning in the wildlife arena.

* Dr Johann Schoeman from the Garden Route District Municipality -  Monitoring and measuring air quality in the Garden Route.

* Christiaan Viljoen, Curator at the Garden Route Botanical Garden (GRBG) - Marketing the Garden Route as a premier birding destination.

* Johan Baard, scientist: GIS and Vegetation Ecology, SANParks - State of rehabilitation of former plantation areas (exit areas).

For more information and enquiries, send an e-mail to louisamare@gmail.com.

Visit www.grefscli.co.za for more information on the GREF.

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