IPS Jubilee Symposium 2018 in the Netherlands

In 2018, the International Peatland Society (IPS) celebrates its 50th anniversary from 11th to 13th September. The Dutch National Committee of the IPS (Nederlands Veengenootschap) is organizing a symposium on the wise use of peatlands, as well as peat, past and future, along with specific topics that will attract experts from all around the world. A grand gala evening will also be part of the programme. The symposium will be held in Rotterdam. The setting for this high-profile international jubilee symposium will be announced in January.

Thanja van Dongen is organizing and coordinating this symposium and she is supported by Guus van Berckel, Rens Jacobs, Anne Wolff, Jan van den Akker, Piet Cleveringa and Anne Jelle Schilstra. The organizers aim at getting together scientists, policy makers, regulators, representatives of NGOs and industry managers (peat harvesting, growing media and energy) to share most recent scientific research and technical developments in the field of peatland use by agriculture, forestry and peat industry.

Symposium
This jubilee symposium deals with typical Dutch issues such as subsidence of drained peatlands, CO2 emissions, submerged drains and paludiculture. But also subjects like landscape history, the use of peat in horticulture, planning of worldwide demand for food production and future availability of peat.

Lectures will focus on peat as strategic raw material, worldwide policy development and demand for peat, needed replenishment, soil subsidence, CO2 emissions, landscape changes and food security.

Registration
In January, it will be possible to register for this symposium. Interested people can pre-register without any obligation by sending their name to secretaris@veengenootschap.nl. When the programme is announced and the registration is opened, they will be the first to be informed.

Call for papers
The organizing committee kindly asks relevant speakers to indicate their interest in presenting an oral presentation on Thursday, 13th September 2018, by submitting a preliminary title and two to five sentences describing the topic by e-mail to Mr. Jan van den Akker JanJH.vandenAkker@wur.nl.

For general information, e-mail secretaris@veengenootschap.nl.