International Society for Mediterranean Ecology (ISOMED)

The origins of ISOMED go back to March 1971, when the first international meeting of Mediterranean-climate ecologists took place in Valdivia, Chile. At this meeting it was decided to begin a cycle of international conferences on Mediterranean-climate ecosystems that would rotate through time among the five Mediterranean-climate regions of the world: Southwestern and South Australia; California (USA-Mexico); the Cape region of South Africa; Central Chile; and the Mediterranean Basin itself. The second meeting was held at Stanford, California in 1977; the third at Stellenbosch, South Africa in 1980, and the fourth at Perth, Australia in 1984 and was called MEDECOS.

At the 4th Mediterranean conference at Perth it was proposed that a society be formed to ensure the continuity of the international conferences that had proved so important in fostering inter-continental comparisons and in advancing knowledge of the nature of the unique Mediterranean-climatic regions. The Society of Mediterranean Ecologists (ISOMED) was thus formed. The objectives of the Society are to promote communication among ecologists working in the five Mediterranean-climate regions of the world through the continuation of the international conferences, as well as through special symposia and exchanges of personnel, and to work toward the conservation of the globally-significant biodiversity of the five mediterranean-climate regions.

In the past, the MEDECOS conference has been the main activity of ISOMED. However, ISOMED lacked an organized and legal body, and a permanent address. Having ISOMED as an officially chartered organization has many advantages, including having representation at meetings of international ecological bodies.

Following the work of the past few months, coordinated by three members of ISOMED (namely, Dr Francisco Rego, Dr. Margarita Arianoutsou and Dr. Phil Rundel), ISOMED was legally registered on February 2007, under the name of International Society for Mediterranean Ecology, with permanent address in Lisbon, Portugal. The bylaws are now available on-line.

All participants at MEDECOS are welcome to become members of ISOMED. The first General Assembly of ISOMED will take place during MEDECOS XI and all members are welcome to participate. At the General Assembly the bylaws and internal rules will be discussed and there will be elections to nominate officers for the organs of ISOMED until the next MEDECOS conference. Proposals for the next MEDECOS conference will also be discussed. More information will be given at MEDECOS XI.

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