IPAMed project has participated in the XV OPTIMA (Organization for the Phyto Taxonomic Investigation of the Mediterranean Area) meeting, held in Montpellier (France) from June 6-11, 2016 and organized by Tela Botanica, the Conservatoire Botanique National Méditerranéen de Porquerolles and the University of Montpellier.

During this meeting a poster communication "Conserving wild plants and habitats for people in the south and east Mediterranean (IPAMed project)" was presented. This poster focused on the activities the IPAMed project is implementing throughout the Mediterranean Region. Examples of two different approaches to plant conservation in North Africa and the Balkans were provided to illustrate the preliminary results of the project.

Furthermore, IUCN-Med has held a side-event called: 'Round trip from Red List data to in situ conservation of Important Plant Areas', which has provided an overview of the IUCN Red List of threatened plant species of the Mediterranean region and how it has been used in the IPA Med project 'Conserving wild plants and habitats for people in the South and East'.

The OPTIMA meeting is held every three years and consists in 17 symposia of 5 lectures on Taxonomy, systematics, flora, biogeography, conservation, data collection of plants from all the Mediterranean area; Poster presentations; One day excursion; and Congress Dinner for researchers, teachers, students, PhDs, managers, experts and botanists.

The XV OPTIMA meeting, has been a successful meeting both from the scientific and interpersonal points of view. 202 participants from 26 countries attended the meeting that included 18 symposia with 87 oral presentations, 2 workshops and an animated poster session with 74 posters displayed.
The website of the meeting is still available at http://www.optima2016.org/en/welcome-to-montpellier/
The book of abstracts is available at http://www.optima-bot.org/meetings/XVAbstracts.pdf

The next OPTIMA meeting will be held in the first week of October 2019 in Athens thanks to the prof. Pepy Bareka of the Agricultural University of Athens.

For furhter information: Teresa Gi 

Photo: Antonello Brunu