The conference will take place from Thursday 20 October to Saturday 22 October 2022 at Natur'Agora, the house of the actors and users of nature in the department of Aisne in Barenton-Bugny, and in the salons of the town hall of Laon. It is co-organised by the GHZH, Natura'Agora and ADREE (https://www.naturagora.fr/naturagora-adree-projets-en-cours-454 ), which is involved in a regional action in favour of ponds in Hauts-de-France (https://www.maresetetangs.fr ) and which are partners of the Groupe Mares des Hauts de France (https://groupemares.org/ ) as well as the SNPN (https://www.snpn.com/creer-une-mare/ ). It is supported by the two water agencies concerned (Artois-Picardy and Seine-Normandy), the "Pôle-relais" (relay centre) for ponds and inland wetlands, the Hauts-de-France Region, and the France Nature Environnement network, which, in the Centre Val-de-Loire region, has launched the "Objectifs Mares" programme (https://cdpne.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=7714fa720b6b450f8037855faafdbbc4 ).
On a scientific level, in addition to the CEDETE laboratory of the University of Orléans and the CITERES laboratory of the University of Tours, the LADYSS laboratory of the University of Paris, which is very involved in the study of biological connections and landscape ecology, and the LaCoMoFa laboratory of the University of Biskra (Algeria) are also involved. Similarly, the Zone Atelier Loire, the MIDI network and the European Pond Conservation Network (https://www.europeanponds.org ) have been contacted.
The SNPN, which is involved in an ambitious programme on ponds in the Île-de-France region (https://www.snpn.mares-idf.fr ) and which runs an annual multi-partner event called "Fête des mares" (https://www.snpn.com/portail-fete-des-mares/ ), will disseminate the main findings of the symposium in a special issue of the general public magazine Le Courrier de la nature and in an issue of the magazine for managers of water areas, Zones humides infos. Via the SNPN, the conference will be officially launched on 24 May 2022 as part of the media communication day preceding the Fête des Mares (https://www.snpn.com/portail-fete-des-mares/ ) which will take place from 28 May to 15 June 2022.
In addition, as for the other symposiums organised by the GHZH, the selected papers will be published in a dedicated book by a scientific publisher.