The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation

The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) is a scientific professional society formed in 1963 as the Association for Tropical Biology. In 2003 the society changed its name to the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation. The ATBC is global in scope, membership, and objectives, functioning as an international body to promote research, education, conservation, and communication of tropical biology. We are students, researchers, educators, and conservation practitioners concerned with issues of science, conservation, development, and environmental policy in the tropics. We have over 900 members from 67 countries. The society holds annual meetings around the world, publishes the scientific journal Biotropica, and is increasingly engaged in conservation and capacity building activities internationally.

OUR MISSION

The ATBC seeks to foster scientific understanding and conservation of tropical ecosystems by supporting research, collaboration, capacity building, and communication among tropical biologists and conservationists. The ATBC promotes the following goals:

1. Promote awareness to as broad an audience as possible of the importance of the tropics

2. Improve communication and cooperation among tropical investigators, educators, environmental managers, and local communities

3. Inform and influence individuals and institutions whose decisions affect tropical habitats, their biota, and their inhabitants

4. Encourage the establishment, improvement, maintenance and accessibility of physical facilities, databases, and collections of biological materials for the study of tropical biology and conservation, and

5. Enhance the training of and interactions between the next generation of tropical scientists and conservation professionals.