We are pleased to announce the next Vth International Congress of Ethnobotany (ICEB 2009), “Traditions and transformations in Ethnobotany” that will be held in the city of San Carlos de Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina, in September 21-24, 2009.

San Carlos de Bariloche is a very nice city located in North-Western Patagonia, very near to Los Andes cordillera. It has beautiful landscapes, several cultural sites and interesting intellectual and academic atmospheres. In addition, the city of Bariloche is placed in the heart of Nahuel Huapi National Park.  It is an ecotone between the Nothofagus forests on the west and the arid Patagonian steppe on the east and it is surrounded by a spectacular landscape of glacial lakes and snow - capped peaks.

Objectives

The International Congress of Ethnobotany (ICEB) is a series of events coordinated by an international committee and different local committees. The aim of the ICEB is to bring together every 4 years scholars interested in ethnobotany from various areas of this discipline. It will provide a platform of dialogue for those who wish to rethink and evaluate the relationship between human beings and plants.

In this fifth edition to be developed in Bariloche city we hope to bring together participants from diverse parts of the world to discuss and exchange viewpoints on different issues central to the ethnobotanical enquiry. Therefore, the objectives of the meeting are:

• bring together scholars who study the relationship between human beings and plants from different disciplines and perspectives in an international discussion forum
• generate a discussion scenario on local wisdom and its possible contributions in a globalised context, where the general tendency implies an accelerated loss of traditional botanical knowledgear
• promote an inter-change of experiences and the interaction among different scientific groups which contribute to the preservation bio-cultural diversity

Topics of the ICEB 2009 Congress

The ICEB 2009 title “Tradition and transformations in Ethnobotany” refers to the dynamic and adaptive character of traditional botanical knowledge, and also to the importance of this discipline associated with the preservation of local wisdom.

To whom is adressed

Ethnobotany is a scientific subject of interdisciplinary nature, which studies the relationship between human beings and plants. This branch of science is quite young, and has been developed thanks to the convergence of diverse perspectives, which includes interesting contributions from biologists, anthropologists, geographers, ecologists, historians, linguists, among others. We invite professionals as well as pre and post graduate students interested in this discipline to attend to ICEB 2009 Congress.