Come to the one monitoring symposium that puts it all together. Senior policy makers, resource managers and scientists from many organizations and a wide range of disciplines will address critical needs for unified information and knowledge. The symposium is designed to facilitate how this information and knowledge is obtained to support monitoring for ecosystem sustainability and to assure a sound, defensible foundation for sustainable economic development. Its expected outcome is to identify for decisionmakers and stakeholders, at all geographic scales, the nature of the most important messages that need to be communicated about the condition and trends of ecological, economic and social systems, and the significance of those messages to sustainable development.

This symposium engages you in discussions of technological advances and knowledge needs across institutions and disciplines to make monitoring of ecosystem sustainability both effective and efficient. You will participate both within and outside of your disciplinary area since the focus of the symposium emphasizes working across disciplinary boundaries. You will be challenged to think outside the box to advance monitoring science through cross-disciplinary presentations and discussion.

As organizations and governmental institutions increasingly engage in monitoring and inventory activities, it has become clear that much value is lost when these activities fail to embody common information or common protocols. Interoperability is a common thread running through the symposium.