Introduction

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BIODIVERSITY

Registration for presenters is extended until September 2, 2017

Sulawesi, formerly known as Celebes, is one of the large islands of Indonesia. It is the most important island in the “Wallacea subregion”, situated in the centre of the Indonesian archipelago, between Borneo (Kalimantan) and the Moluccan islands. The subregion of Wallacea is an area delimited by Wallace’s Line in the west and Lydekker’s Line in the east. Knowledge of Indonesia’s flora especially Sulawesi island is poorly known due to lack of study or botanical exploration in this area. For example the amount of botanical collecting in Sumatera is 20 times higher than in Sulawesi, even though Sulawesi has recently been identified as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, especially rich in species found nowhere else in the world and under major threat from widespread deforestation. The island‘s position directly to the east of the modern version of Wallace’s line, the biogeographical division between Laurasian and Gondwana elements of the flora and fauna, makes it a key for the understanding both the biogeography of Southeast Asia and the evolution of many Southeast Asian plant groups.

Sulawesi is comprised of about 182,870 km2 of land surface and has more forest per inhabitant than most other islands of Indonesia due to its rugged topography. The “spider shape” of the island of Sulawesi results from a very complex geological history, as yet not fully elucidated. The central part of Sulawesi is an area of mountainous landscape with rising over 3000 m, and huge tracts of rolling forest. The southern arms of Sulawesi have had an active agricultural population since early times and little forest area is left. From Tana Toradja southward the land is given over to grazing and rice production. Just North of Makassar are peculiar-shaped limestone cliffs and spectacular karst scenery, a wonderful setting for the Bantimurung butterfly sanctuary. Near Kendari is the large Rawa Aopa swamp with rather dry and seasonal climate.

The richness and the endemic flora of Sulawesi remains one of the least explored of the major Indonesian islands, both in terms of its taxonomic composition and ecological characteristics. No comprehensive source of information exists, other than brief accounts in the Ecology of Sulawesi (Whitten et al. 1987) and individual species descriptions from the Flora Malesiana series. These descriptions are buried in the Malesiana-wide monographs and must be found in reference to the most recent checklist. In the introduction to the Flora, van Steenis placed Sulawesi in its own minor phytogeographic region and noted the importance of Wallace’s Line, which separates Sulawesi from the major Sunda Shelf islands, in the distribution of many plant groups.

There are seven endemic genera on Sulawesi such as; Mahawoa, Oreospharte, Kallapia, Wallaceodendron, Bracisepalum etc.. This phenomenon is close relation to its small landmass and isolation from continental Asia, suggests an ancient and sustained flora. Total species richness and endemism of Sulawesi are comparable to those of Sumatra, Java, Borneo and New Guinea, in spite of the very different geological history of Sulawesi and the greater distance of the island to the mainland. Whereas the islands of Borneo, Sumatra and Java had terrestrial connections to mainland Asia in the past, Sulawesi was always isolated from these islands as well as from New Guinea by deep maritime straits as shown by Hall (1995) and Moss and Wilson (1998) through the reconstruction of the Malay archipelago since 50 million ago. Approximately 15% of the known flowering plant species of Sulawesi are endemic.

The avifauna of Sulawesi is highly indicative of the unique biodiversity of the island. As the largest island in Wallacea, Sulawesi has the richest avifauna in the region, with 224 resident species recorded and large number of them are endemic to this island. Approximately there are 127 species of mammals in Sulawesi and 60% of these 127 species are endemic to Sulawesi whereas the comprehensive knowledge of the mammals in the Wallacea region is still lacking. Although the presence or absence of mammals has been documented such as; Anoa (Bubalus spp.), Babirusa (Babyrousa babirusa), the Tonkean macaque (Macaca tonkeana), two species of tarsier (Tarsius spp.), both species of marsupials ; Bear cuscus (Ailurops ursinus) and Dwarf Sulawesi cuscus (Stigocusus celebensis), Sulawesi palm civet (Macrogalidia musschenbroekii) etc.

The International Conference on Biodiversity, the first international conference on the theme of the biodiversity of Wallacea; An Unique Hotspot of Biodiversity in the World is conducting in Palu, Central Sulawesi. The conference will be conducted in Scientific conference and field trip to the Montane Forest of Wallacea (Lore Lindu National Park).


THEME:

Wallacea: An Unique Hotspot of Biodiversity in the World


SUB-THEMES:
1. Genetic diversity
2. Diversity of species
3. Diversity of ecosystems
4. Ethnobiology & Socioeconomics
5. Life Science and Technology
 

SPECIAL SUB-THEME:

1. Biodiversity and Natural Products
2. Biodiversity and Global or Climate Change
3. Inventory and Discovery of New Species in Wallacea Region


TIME AND PLACE:

Place : CONFERENCE HALL AND MEDIA CENTER OF TADULAKO UNIVERSITY PALU
Jl. Soekarno-Hatta Km.9 Kampus Bumi Tadulako Tondo, Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

Date : 23-24 September 2017
Time : 08.00 to 16.30 WIB

 

Note: All manuscripts relating to the sub-themes can be submitted.

 

MAIN ORGANIZER:

Universitas Tadulako, Palu

Society for Indonesian Biodiversity