Dunedin will host the world’s leading researchers responsible for the care of natural history collections in 2018, the first time such an event will be held in the Southern Hemisphere. The inaugural conference for both the Society of the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) and the Taxonomic Database Working Group (TDWG) will take place at the Otago Museum and neighbouring University of Otago, reflecting the city’s first-class knowledge in this field.
Robert Morris, Director of Collections, Research & Education at Otago Museum and the man behind the bid, said getting both groups together and hosting an event of this scale was a real coup for the museum and the city: “We expect around 300 people, possibly more. It's a bit of an unknown because SPNHC is predominantly a North American and European association, but we sold it to them as they have never been to this part of the world before. It's the first time the two bodies will hold a conference together, perhaps as a parallel conference with shared events. One focuses on the data and standards and one deals with the practice of looking after natural history collections so there is a lot of overlap, it makes sense to work together.”
Morris said the drawcard for New Zealand was a mix of its local knowledge together with its renowned natural beauty and reputation as a popular tourist destination. The event, themed ‘Collections & Data in an Unstable World’ will incorporate three to four days of conference, plus workshops and field trips. These will make the most of Dunedin’s unique features including the Royal Albatross Centre, and Orokonui Ecosanctuary, home to native flora, fauna and endangered species.
“New Zealand is quite unique, we have very few native land mammals, a large number of marine animals, and amazing ornithology from kakapo to ancient moas. Both TDWG and SPNHC are interested in seeing how different countries deal with, research and interpret their natural history collections. It is always good to see what other people are doing,” he notes.
“We have had very positive feedback about the choice of host city. A number of delegates said ‘New Zealand's on my bucket list and we can tick it off when we come to the conference’.
“There were questions about what the weather is like in winter here in August, they had heard it was pretty bad, but I said ‘it’s nothing like New York!’ That did make me laugh, you’d think people working in natural sciences would have a better idea of the weather in this part of the world.”
Weather aside, Morris says the other main concern in luring the event to the Southern Hemisphere was how many delegates would have sufficient funds to attend. Those fears were allayed with the help of Tourism New Zealand, which provided strategic marketing support and funding for the bid under its Conference Assistance Programme. “They did a fantastic job, creating a beautiful booklet and presentation. The Conference Committee had never seen anything like it before and were very impressed. One city took it as reference for their next bid,” Morris says. “Tourism New Zealand provided information about flight times and costs to New Zealand and compared it with travelling from North America to Europe, and that showed it wasn't hugely different. That helped a lot. As part of the proposal, a PCO also helped us work out an estimate of costs, which was very important for the organising bodies. Plus, Tourism New Zealand largely covered the expenses of travelling to present the bid in Berlin. It was an enormous help.”
Apart from the estimated economic benefit to the city of $630,000, Morris is positive about the wider outcomes of hosting the conference. “Our work is about drawing upon our natural science collections to inform us about species distribution in space and time and how such research might inform climate change and environmental management practices in the future. Contributing to the complex picture of our ecology, how it has changed over time and how it might be sustained in the future is important for all of us.
“It’s likely that, by hosting this conference, we could end up with an Oceania chapter for both bodies. That's a possible outcome and one we’re very keen to pursue. Talking with colleagues in Australia, there's a real opportunity to build information and collaborate across the pond.
The real strength is getting to know more people working in the industry and the facility to share knowledge in a more immediate way. We have shared concerns like rising seas, and islands at risk of flooding in the Pacific. If this leads to collaboration and assistance on issues like that, it's a really good thing,” he says.
“This conference exposes the university research and activity to the wider world as well, plus there’s the opportunity to learn from the experts coming from abroad. We're really looking forward to the networking. It's a great opportunity to showcase New Zealand and this part of the world and it will have benefits all round, really.”
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