This conference aims to address all aspects of forest fires, from fire propagation in different scenarios to the optimum strategies for firefighting. It will also cover issues related to economic, ecological, social and health effects.

Forest fires are very complex phenomena which, under the right physical conditions, can rapidly devastate large areas, as demonstrated by recent events. Different approaches are required for controlling fires in rural areas as opposed to urban environments, and strongly depend on the physical characteristics of the surrounding region. It also depends on weather conditions, regional activities, forest type, as well as social and economic factors.

At present there is insufficient knowledge of the behaviour of fires and how they propagate. This lack of appropriate studies makes these phenomena very difficult to control, and is one of the most important obstacles to development of a reliable decision support system. Public concern in this topic is increasing as uncontrolled fires may lead to major ecological disasters, and usually result in negative economic and health implications for the region.

Topics:

• detection, monitoring and response systems
• decision support systems
• resource optimisation
• risk and vulnerability assessment
• computational methods and experiments
• air quality and health risks
• environmental impact
• emergency response systems
• human behaviour and education
• economic impact

http://www.wessex.ac.uk/12-conferences/forest-fires-2012.html

The 2012 International Paper and Coating Chemistry Symposium is the eighth in a series of meetings that started in 1988. The symposium will cover the latest developments in the fields of paper chemistry, coating chemistry and nanotechnology for the paper industry.

The 2012 International Paper Physics Conference is the tenth in a series of conferences that started in 1971. The conference will focus on the physical properties of materials and structures from wood fibres, such as paper, board, biocomposites and nanostructured materials. The programme will contain presentations on the latest experimental and theoretical findings as well as on advanced physical simulations.

The two conferences will be arranged together as a way for the paper and coating chemistry and the paper physics communities to interact and to offer the industry an insight into the latest developments in these fields.

Topics:

• Paper, coating and barrier properties
• Experimental methods
• Computational methods and simulations
• Coating chemistry
• Paper chemistry

http://www.paperconferences2012.com/

MMM is an international conference on mangrove ecosystems that is held every 6 years.  Although dealing with a variety of ecological themes, incl. flora, fauna, biogeochemical cycles and human impacts, this conference originally stood for the ‘International Meeting on Mangrove Macrobenthos’ and was organised by the Università degli Studi di Firenze (Italy) as MMM in Mombasa (Kenya), 7–11 September 2000.  Six years later a consortium including Griffith University and University of Queensland organised ‘MMM2:  Mangrove Macrobenthos Meeting’ in Coolangatta (Australia), 25–30 June 2006, where it was decided that the meaning of the MMM could be opened up in order to continue this conference as the first global recurrent conference on mangrove ecosystems.  Hence, the name for MMM3: Meeting on Mangrove ecology, functioning and Management.    MMM is to be organised by mangrove scientists world-wide, every 6 years, i.e., at an interval that allows scientific innovation.  It is not aiming at massive attendance but at single sessions covering various topics, with plenty of time for discussion in each of them.  As a matter of fact, macrobenthos will still form a solid theme together with vegetation, trophic, restoration and management issues, just like MMM1 and MMM2.  The conference is usually accompanied by a mid-conference excursion and followed by mid-week workshop in a mangrove site aiming at identifying research gaps through joint-fieldwork, analyses and brainstorming.

Topics:

• flora, fauna, biogeochemical cycles and human impacts
• vegetation, trophic, restoration and management issues

http://www.vub.ac.be/APNA/greendyke/MMM3/