Workshop 2: Disease Risk Analysis for Conservation Translocations
This one-day workshop will be co-run by the University of Edinburgh (UoE) and ZSL.
Date: 6 September 2026
Cost: £120 full rate; £60 discounted rate for students
Capacity: 30 people
Location: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Workshop leaders: Katie Beckmann, UoE, and Claudia Carraro, ZSL
Workshop summary: Disease risk analysis (DRA, also called health risk analysis) is an important evaluation of conservation translocations to safeguard the health of animals, humans and the ecosystem both at the source and destination sites.
Our vision is to ensure healthy and abundant free-living wildlife populations result from conservation translocations. We aim to provide conservation translocation stakeholders with an insight into disease threats associated with conservation translocations and to promote best practice in mitigation of those threats to promote successful conservation outcomes. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to gain an understanding of how the DRA process is applied, possible pitfalls and how to address them by considering real conservation translocation scenarios.
The workshop will be facilitated by a number of tutors from the ZSL and UoE with expertise in assessing and managing risks from disease in conservation translocations of various species, including invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. The day will start with an overview of the topic followed by group sessions to work through the DRA process. No prior knowledge of DRA is required.
Workshop registration includes learning/reference materials (provided in advance of the day), and hot drinks and light refreshments in the morning and afternoon; participants will need to bring or purchase their own lunch.
Workshop 3: From Planning to Persistence: Best Practices and Lessons Learned in Plant Conservation Translocations
This one-day workshop will be co-run by experts from the Center for Plant Conservation and Atlanta Botanical Garden.
Date: 6 September 2026
Cost: £30
Capacity: Approx. 35 people
Location: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Workshop leaders: Wesley M. Knapp, Center for Plant Conservation, & Emily E. D. Coffey & Loy Xingwen, Atlanta Botanical Garden
Workshop summary: This workshop will focus on best practices and lessons learned from plant conservation translocations, drawing on real-world case studies from the Center for Plant Conservation network and international partners. Participants will explore how IUCN conservation translocation guidance and CPC Best Practices are applied in practice for plants, from early planning and risk assessment through implementation, monitoring, and long-term persistence.
Through a combination of short presentations, facilitated discussion, and small-group work, the workshop will highlight successes, challenges, and unresolved questions across regions and taxa. Emphasis will be placed on bridging research and practice, strengthening transatlantic exchange between North American and European practitioners, and ensuring that plant translocations are fully integrated within the broader conservation translocation framework.
The workshop is intended for practitioners, researchers, and decision-makers seeking practical, experience-based insight into effective plant translocation design and delivery.
Workshop registration includes a hot drink and light refreshment in the morning; participants will need to bring or purchase their own lunch.
Workshop 4: Human Dimension of Conservation Translocations
This one-day workshop will be run by members of the IUCN SSC Conservation Translocation Specialist Group - Human-Wildlife Interactions Working Group.
Date: 6 September 2026
Cost: £40
Capacity: Approx. 20 people
Location: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Workshop leader: Adriana Consorte-McCrea, Canterbury Christchurch University
Workshop summary: Issues arising from human–wildlife interactions (HWI) are often experienced in conservation translocations (CT) and can occur at any stage of a project life cycle. Overlooking or failing to consider the human dimensions could jeopardise the long-term success of CTs. When the human dimensions are included, there is a greater possibility of community involvement, peer acceptance, support from various interest groups and, ultimately, the avoidance of conflict situations.
In this action-oriented workshop, we invite participants to bring real-life human–wildlife interaction issues from their projects and offer a step-by-step process to identify what to look for at each stage of a CT cycle, with recommendations on how to address these issues. Participants will work in groups facilitated by core members of the IUCN/SSC CTSG Human–Wildlife Interactions Working Group. Together they will address key issues guided by a newly launched framework for HWI in CT. Participants will take away action-oriented messages and resources to support them along the way.
Facilities for making hot drinks will be provided; participants will need to bring or purchase their own refreshments and lunch.
