The success of the three previous International Conferences on Management of Natural Resources, Sustainable Development and Ecological Hazards (Ravage of the Planet) held in Bariloche, Argentina (2006); Cape Town, South Africa (2009); and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2011), has led the organisers to reconvene the Meeting in 2015. 

 

The Conference has always been well attended by a substantial number of scientists from all over the world, which underlines the concern of the international community regarding the state of the planet. The basic premise of the Meeting is the need to determine solutions before a point of no return is reached. 

 

Our society has fallen into a self-destructive process by which natural resources are consumed at an ever increasing rate. This process is now spread across the planet in search of further sources of energy and materials. The aggressiveness of the quest is such that the future of our planet is in the balance; the emphasis has been in dominating nature rather than trying to achieve harmonious relationships with her. The process is compounded by the pernicious effects of the resulting contamination of air, water and soil. 

 

The Conference will discuss the objective of reaching sustainability in the framework of different disciplines in order to arrive at optimal solutions. Hence this meeting is essentially trans-disciplinary in order to find appropriate sustainable ways forward, ie those involving collaboration across a wide range of disciplines. Like the first three meetings, the aim of this conference is to take stock of our situation and try to facilitate constructive principles and policies.