Conference proposal: 2018 Joint Conference of the Society for Economic Botany and Society of Ethnobiology.

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides partial support for a combined annual meeting of the Society for Economic Botany and the Society of Ethnobiology, held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The Society for Economic Botany fosters and encourages scientific research, education, and related activities on the past, present, and future uses of plants, and the relationship between plants and people. The Society of Ethnobiology promotes the understanding of past and present relationships between humans and their biological worlds. The theme of the 2018 conference will be Food Security, Sovereignty, & Traditional Knowledge. Bringing these two groups together around this theme will permit the exchange of information and opportunities for resolution of differences that may exist between Western scientific and indigenous knowledge perspectives and create new interdisciplinary collaborations for future research. This effort is important because having access to indigenous knowledge is critical for ensuring the development of future sustainable foods, pharmaceuticals, and other resources that will benefit all Americans. To ensure future food and plant security, researchers from universities, governmental, and non-governmental organizations are working to conserve seeds of crops in germplasm banks. At the same time, indigenous nations are working to protect their food, water, and seeds. Inadequate communication between these two groups risks creating unnecessary barriers and the loss of important information. The conference will provide the opportunity for scholars, practitioners, and advocates to share their understandings of issues that are critical to the wellbeing and survival of people around the world. Conference outcomes will also further social science theories of how different cognitive understanding of the natural world lead to critical differences in human behavior in relation to nature. Funds will support the participation of invited speakers at the plenary symposium, professional development of students through travel scholarships and a mentoring lunch, and broadened participation of underrepresented groups in social and biological sciences. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.