Report on the 21st SWS Annual Meeting

Abstract

The 21st Annual SWS Meeting was held in Quebec City, Canada during August 6-12, 2000. Unlike past SWS annual meetings, this one was held in collaboration with the annual meetings of three other cooperating societies: the International Peat Society 11th World Congress (IPS), the 9th Global Symposium of the International Mire Conservation Group (IMCG), and the 6th International Wetland Conference of the International Association of Ecology (INTECOL). This congress of four wetland societies chaired by Clayton Rubec and Bernard Belanger, known as Quebec 2000 The Millennium Wetland Event, became the largest wetland conference in history! A total of 2,068 participants attended from Canada, the United States and 68 other countries (see map). Hosting a conference of this size and coordinating the needs of the four societies could present problems. However, during the planning meetings, the societies had the courage and foresight to change their traditional ways of holding their annual conferences. The societies worked together to develop fully integrated social events, scientific programs, and administration. Still many of the events that are part of the SWS annual meetings, such as board meetings, chapter meetings, silent auction, awards banquet, etc., were preserved. In fact, the silent auction raised over $1,400 for the SWS Student Scholarship fund. From a scientific perspective, the meeting was an overwhelming success. There were 59 invited paper symposia, 72 contributed paper sessions, 1 poster session, 32 1-day field trips, 4 precongress and postcongress field trips, 6 training courses, and a very thick program book which contained the conference’s 1,416 abstracts (1,090 oral and 326 posters). Given the size and importance of the conference, The Millennium Wetland Event was able to attract considerable funds to support 138 delegates from developing countries. Finally, the conference organizers would like to thank all SWS members who attended, presented, and helped during The Millennium Wetland Event. The overwhelming participation of SWS members was a key reason for the ultimate success of this conference.