The 13th Congress of the International Society of Ethnobiology will be held in Montpellier, France from 20-25 May 2012. The Congress theme will be Cultural diversity and biological diversity for sustainable development: Exploring the past to build up the future.

While many examples in ethnobiological research have attempted to build strong linkages between local communities and national and international research teams, a major challenge put forward to our community of ethnobiologists in the 2012 congress will be to improve our understanding of how research in ethnobiology can fruitfully build on partnerships both with local organizations and with public authorities.

Many concrete examples of strong involvement of researchers in Montpellier with local and regional public administration (Department, Region) and with local citizen organizations (environmental NGOs, agricultural and forestry associations) will provide food for thought during the congress upon ways on how academic research may link fruitfully with citizen organizations as well as public administration.