SEH News

8th Ordinary General Meeting of the SEH: Candidates for the Council elections

As announced in 'Amphibia-Reptilia' 16(l), the 8th Ordinary General Meeting of the SEH, scheduled for Saturday 26 August, 1995, at 15.00 hrs at the "Congress Centrum at Konrad-Adenauer-Haus", Bonn, will include election of four new Council members.

Council herewith proposes the followingcandidates: - Dr. Michael R. K. Lambert, Great Britain, for General Secretary; - Dr. Zbynek Rocek, Czech Republic, for Vice President; - Dr. Günther Gollmann, Austria, for First Co-Editor; - Mrs. Claudia Corti, Italy, for Vice Treasurer. Names of alternative candidates should be brought to the attention of the General Secretary as soon as possible, and be accompanied by the written consent and the curriculum vitae of the candidate. The followingare the curricula vitae of the proposed candidates:

Michael R. K. Lambert (nationalityBritish) was born on November 3, 1941, near London. He studied botany and at the University of Dublin, and while employed at the Natural ResourcesInstitute (where he is still working)obtained his doctoral degree at London University in 1975. He has worked in Australia, Mediterranean countries and sub-Saharan Africa for the British Government's overseas aid programme. Interests have included conservationand ecologyof Mediterranean . Secretary and Chairman of the British Herpetological Society, 1977-91, he co-founded the IUCN Survival CommissionTortoise Specialist Group (1980) and was a member of the Executive Committee, World Congress of (1992-93). A member of SEH since 1980, he served on the UK National Executivefor the First World Congress that constituted the 5th O.G.M. at Canterbury, 1989.Now a member of the IUCN SSC AfricanReptile & Specialist Group, he has investigatedthe ecologyand sustainable utilization of sub-Saharan Tortoises, herpetofaunaldiversity (Mali), effects of pesticideson non-target populations(Zimbabwe) and use of and as bioindicators of chemical contamination (Somalia).

Zbynek Rocek (nationality Czech) was born on August 16, 1945, in Litomysl, Czechoslovakia.He studied zoology,geology and palaeontology at the Universityof Prague, where he obtained his doctoral degree (Rerum naturalium doctor) in 1972, and his PhD in 1980. From 1975 to 1991 he was employedat the Department of Palaeontology,University of Prague, as Assistant Professor and later AssociatePro- fessor of Palaeontology.Since 1991 he has been Senior Researcher at the Czech Academy of SCiCIlCCS,Prague (GeologicalInstitute, Paleontological Department). Rocuk's main research activities have dealt with morphology and of fossil and recent amphibians, as well as Tertiary Sauria. Numerous congress and research trips have led him to Germany, the Netherlands, Greece, Russia, Hungary, Sweden, France, England, Spain, USA, Canada, Libya, and Australia. 308

A member of SEH since 1984,he was the chief organizerof the European HerpetologicalMeeting (3rd OGM of the SEH) in Prague, 1985, and has again invited SEH to convene in Prague in 1997, in connection with the 3rd World Congress of Herpetology. Giinter Gollmann (nationality Austrian) was born on January 3, 1957 in Graz, Austria. He studied biologyat the Universityof Vienna,where he obtained his doctoral degree in 1981.Since 1982he has been working as a research zoologistat the Universitiesof Vienna and Melbourne, Australia (1987-1989).His research interests in ecologyand evolutionarybiology have been focusedon hybrid zones in amphibians. Currently he is a part-time lecturer in ecologyand a research associateof the ZoologyDepartment at the Universityof Vienna. He has been a member of SEH since 1980. From 1991 to 1994, he was Board member of the International Society for the Study and Conservation of Amphibians and Deputy Editor of 'Alytes - International Journal of Batrachology'.

Claudia Corti (nationalityItalian) was born on April 26, 1956, in Florence,Italy. She studied biologyat the Universityof Florenceand passed her state examinationas a biologistin 1990.Since then she has been occupied with her PhD thesis on the systematics and evolution of Podarcismuralis, at the Zoological Research Institute and MuseumA. Koenig, Bonn, Germany, and with her work as a collectionsmanager in the ZoologicalMuseum 'La Specola' in Florence. Research trips and expeditionshave led her to Nepal, India, Thailand, Japan, Kuwait, North and South America, and diverse European countries. She speaks five languages. Her membership of SEH dates back to 1989.

Ulrich Joger General Secretary

CONVENTION ON THE CONSERVATION OF EUROPEAN WILDLIFEAND NA'fURAL HABITATS

Standing Committee 13th meeting Strasbourg, 29 November - 3 December 1993 Thepositive role of theBerne Convention in progressingHerpetofaunal Conservation in Europe

Paper submitted by the Societas Herpetologica Europaea

The particular vulnerabilityof Europe's amphibians and reptiles was first recognisedby the Committee of Ministersin 1978 via their Resolution No. 22 "On Threatened Amphibiansand Reptiles in Europe". This was followed in 1979 by the Council of Europe's "Berne Convention" - The Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats - whose Annexe II & III required protective measuresfor all herpetofaunalspecies within the area of Europethen covered.In recent years more species have been included as the Conventionhas expanded to eastern Europe. Currently there are no less than 75 and 42 amphibian speciescovered under AnnexeII which requires their strict protection including their resting and breeding habitats. The fact that European species represent 19% and 13% respectivelyof the World Red Data listed amphibians and reptiles can only serve to vindicate Berne's herp listing as well as further indicating the disproportionate pressures on European wildlifeand their habitats. In our experience, although conservation decisions are essentiallymatters of politics, they cannot be deduced without sound ecologicaldata. S.E.H. was therefore pleased to work with the Council of Europe in assessingthe status and conservationneeds of 13 priority species.The conclusionsof this project were debated at a number of Strasbourg fora, however they did not lead as had been initially envisagedto the designation of a series of herpetologicalBiogenetic Reserves. The speciesand habitat requirements were eventuallytranslated into the substanceofBerne's RecommendationNo. 13 (1988)"Concerning Measures for the Protection of Critical Biotopes of Endangered Amphibians and Reptiles."