Dear MARMAM list members, We invite you to attend in the workshop “Development of a conservation status surveillance system for monk seals” in 30th Annual ECS Conference, Funchal, Madeira Sunday, 12th March (all day) Participation fee €25 Aim: To gather and exchange knowledge about systems used to build up a system to survey the monk seal conservation status in its different populations. Summary: Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus) is one of the most endangered and scarce marine mammal species in the world. Its scarcity together with the habitat used currently by the surviving populations, marine caves, makes this species difficult to monitor and to identify conservation actions to undertake, as well as to determinate its conservation status and trends. Moreover, monk seal populations are dispersed from the eastern Mediterranean to the Atlantic, making that several groups and administrations perform the monitoring of the populations in different nonstandard ways. In the other hand, different groups have developed different successful systems and methodologies to undertake the same problems in their respective working areas. The workshop will allow participants to know and exchange experiences and methodological solutions successfully applied in the monitoring of different monk seal populations. Monk seal experts will be invited to present their approaches in their working areas. A forum of analysis and discussion about these matters will be established to determinate the minimum data required to be able to determinate and survey the conservation status of a monk seal population. The main output of the workshop will be a set of recommendations of consensus for the survey of the conservation status of monk seal populations. These recommendations will be used as an input for the development of the EU LIFE Madeira Monk Seal project (www.lifemadeiramonkseal.com) which has as one of its main objectives the development of a system to survey the conservation status of the Madeira archipelago monk seal population and its habitat. It is an open workshop and will allow a maximum of 30 participants. More information about the workshop at: <http://www.europeancetaceansociety.eu/conference/workshops-0> http://www.europeancetaceansociety.eu/conference/workshops-0 Further details will be sent closer to the date of the workshop to those who have registered to attend. If you are interested to attend to the workshop, please write an email to Rosa Pires: <mailto:rosapires@gov-madeira.pt> rosapires@gov-madeira.pt with copy to pablo.fernandezdelarrinoa@cbd-habitat.com <mailto:pablo.fernandezdelarrinoa@cbd-habitat.com> and rosapnm@hotmail.com. Rosa Pires Divisão de Conservação da Natureza Serviço do Parque Natural da Madeira Caminho do Meio, Quinta do Bom Sucesso 9064 – 512 FUNCHAL Telf. (+351)291 214 360 Fax (+351)291 214 379 Mail: <mailto:rosapires@gov-madeira.pt> rosapires@gov-madeira.pt <http://www.pnm.pt/> http://www.pnm.pt <http://www.facebook.com/pages/Funchal-Portugal/Servico-do-Parque-Natural-da-Madeira/123814440971195?filter=1> P Antes de imprimir este e-mail pense bem se tem mesmo que o fazer. Há cada vez menos árvores!