
Prof. Eric N. Smith
Prof. Eric N. Smith. —Herpetofaunal exploration has been central to him since he was an undergraduate student in Guatemala, 1988–1992, where he conducted surveys of rain and cloud forests of eastern and northern Guatemala. In 1989 he surveyed the poorly known cloud forests of the Andes of Central and Southern Bolivia, and from 1994–1995, he was funded by grants from WCS and Audubon Soc. to survey montane rainforests in Guatemala. As a graduate student at UTA from 1997–2001 he surveyed the herpetofauna of Guatemala under NSF support (NSF DEB-97050277 to J.A. Campbell), from 1992–2001 he explored highlands of four Central American countries, and from 2001–2004 he surveyed southern Mexico (NSF DEB-0102383 to J.A. Campbell). As a postdoctoral fellow working on coralsnake systematics and biogeography (NSF DEB-0416160 to E. N. Smith), and then as assistant and associate professor (Bioclon and UTA funding), Eric surveyed remote areas in India, Mexico, Honduras, Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and the USA, and he visited herpetological collections in many countries in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. Current interest in his laboratory resides on the Exploration and Speciation in the Volcanoes of the Indonesian Ring of Fire: A Large Scale Inventory of the Herpetofauna of the Highlands of Sumatra and Java, an NSF funded project, DEB-1146324. This project is conducted by an international team of researchers and students from Indonesia and the USA, including, Brawijaya University, the Bogor Museum/Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Broward College, the University of Texas at Arlington, and individual researchers of other institutions. Smith has published mostly on biogeography, systematics, population genetics, morphology, and taxonomy but, he has also participated in studies related to ecology and conservation, venom evolution and characterization, and invasive species. He is currently at the University of Texas at Arlington serving as Associate Professor of Biology and Associate Curator of Herpetology at the Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center.

Prof. Dr. Charlie D. Heatubun
Prof. Dr. Charlie D. Heatubun, Head of Research and Development Office of West Papua Province

Dr. Victor Nikijuluw
Dr. Victor Nikijuluw, Senior Director of Marine Program in 2015-2019 and Senior Adviser in Science, Policy, and Program Development since June 2019. He was the former Director General of Fish Processing and Marketing of the Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF). He received his Ph.D degree in Resource Economics from the University of the Philippines in Los Banos (UPLB) in 1994, Master of Science in Fisheries and Aquaculture Economics from UPM-Malaysia in 1989, and S-1 degree from School of Fisheries IPB-University in 1983. He authored 15 books on fisheries management and economics that are widely used in the fisheries schools in Indonesia. He also wrote 6 books on Christian Theology.

Robert Hewat
Robert Hewat is an ethno-ecologist, environmentalist and sustainable development expert with over 30 years’ experience working to empower indigenous and local communities and develop the technical capacity and political will of government agencies, civil society organizations, research institutions, private sector companies and international development agencies to develop adaptive-collaborative approaches to natural resource management, sustainable development and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
This includes over 15 years living and working in Papua and West Papua provinces, and a further 15 years’ experience working throughout Indonesia, Melanesia, Southeast Asia and beyond. Over the past decade much of his work has focused on the conservation and sustainable utilization of mangroves, sago and other swamp and lowland forests, particularly along the south-west coast of Papua.
Mr Hewat is currently working with the National University of Cambodia in Battambang, advising them on the Tonle Sap Lake Conservation and Sustainable Ecotourism Project.
Important Dates
Abstract Submission - Oct 26, 2021
50%
Notification of Acceptance - Oct 28, 2021
70%
Final Paper Submission - Nov 12, 2021
80%
Conference Days - Nov 24-25, 2021
100%