Case study
International biodiversity event discovers Japan ’ s tropical islands
Event name : The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections ( SPNHC ) -Biodiversity Information Dates : 2-6 September 2024 Venue : Okinawa Convention Center , Ginowan , Okinawa Attendance : 377 onsite , 200 online
T he islands are the far southern end of Japan – once a separate kingdom , today a favourite travel destination offering unique culture , delicious foods , a beautiful tropical setting and a rich biodiversity . It is the last point that was especially important for Okinawa to attract the 2024 joint meeting of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections ( SPNHC ) and the Biodiversity Information Standards ( TDWG ). Some 580 people took part in the event , 377 in person and the rest virtually . The opening-night event included Eisa Okinawan folk dance and a traditional lion dance .
Bringing two organisations together SPNHC-TDWG 2024 was actually the second joint meeting for two related groups . SPNHC , pronounced ‘ Spinach ’, is a society for the preservation of natural history collections – specimen collections in museums and research centres , both digital and actual , but also observations and recording of things in the natural world – birds , plants , algae , fungi , etc . TDWG , pronounced ‘ Tadwig ’, is an acronym for ‘ taxonomic database working group ’. Although , says conference co-chair and TDWG deputy chair David Bloom , “ We changed the name to the biodiversity information standards organisation , or BIS , because that is what our activities have become :
Left : Visit to the Botanical Gardens exchanging data about biodiversity , earth sciences and so on . But we kept the TDWG brand name because everyone has used that since the 1980s .” Fellow event planner Dr Patricia Mergen , liaison officer at Belgium ’ s Meise Botanic Garden and AfricaMuseum , adds : “ SPNHC is a sister association , and sometimes we do meetings together . We did in 2018 in New Zealand , and again in Okinawa . Collaborating gives us more delegates .” “ Because Dr Mergen visited Okinawa back in 2019 , we knew this would be a promising candidate venue for a future event ,” says Mariko Kageyama of SPNHC , one of the steering committee members for the event . “ We had looked for a local host organisation , but when we couldn ’ t find a suitable partner , we decided to organise the conference directly under the oversight of a joint SPNHC-TDWG team . We received funding support from the Japan Tourism Agency and the Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau . But what really helped was to be able to work closely with a bilingual , Japanese American professional conference organiser . His presence convinced our international team that we could successfully hold an event here in Okinawa .”
Okinawa : biodiversity , culture and more Dr Mergen was the chair of the committee selecting the destination for the TDWG event . “ JNTO invited us to take an inspection tour to help us choose from the different regions of Japan ,” she says . “ I came to Okinawa and really liked it , especially the rich biodiversity in the north . Then we convinced SPNHC to come , too .” “ We prefer to go to parts of the country that are not necessarily main cities , so we can discover more local culture and biodiversity ,” Dr Mergen explains . TDWG often meets in North America one year , in Europe the next , and then the third year is sort of wild card , where the association meets at a location that
26 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / ISSUE 135