Update (4-Octoboer)
The conference program is now available on the Presentations and Program page.
Update (25-June)
We are pleased to announce that H.E. Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, will give a keynote speech at the conference opening.
Update (18-May)
Please note, if you are a participant from outside the UAE you are required to complete forms found on the Travel Tips & Visa Info page.
Background
It is well known that the Gulf’s marine environment has long suffered due to the extraction of oil, effects of drilling, refining, dredging and landfilling, as well as global maritime transportation continue to be a source for anthropogenic stresses. The impacts of coastal development, multiple stressors and emerging issues, such as climate change, invasive species and costal alterations, have further degraded the Gulf ecosystem. These negatively affect water quality, fisheries, aquaculture and tourism which are all economically critical to the region.
The Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society (AEHMS) is not new to the region, over the last 15 years it has been actively involved in organizing scientific conferences on the health of the Gulf marine ecosystem. The Society was instrumental in organizing and publishing the first comprehensive book “The Gulf Ecosystem: health and sustainability” (Khan et al. 2002) which was sponsored by the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR). This was followed by the convening of the first GULF conference in collaboration with Dr. Waleed Hamza of United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, in 2006. This event resulted in the publication of a special issue of the journal, Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management, which was sponsored by UNESCO. Following this, the GULF II conference was held in Kuwait, in 2011, which also resulted in the publication of a special issue to ensure that science presented at the conference was shared with the world. In 2014 the AEHMS refined its focus in order to address the threat of Marine Invasive Species in the region with a conference in Muscat, Oman; again resulting in a special issue of the journal which became the most downloaded in our journal’s 20 year history.
The Gulf3 conference is a continuation of the collaboration between the AEHMS and the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). This conference confirms the serious intention of the UAE to tackle major environmental problems which stress the Gulf ecosystem, through the exchange of scientific knowledge of both international and regional experts. This has inspired the AEHMS to take the lead in collaborating with the UAEU to organize the Gulf3 international conference on 5-7 November 2018.
Feel free to download our promotional conference poster and hang it at your institution, school, or anywhere really!