The Bahamas National Trust held its fourth Bahamas Natural History Conference (BNHC) last week at the Baha Mar Resort Convention Center, marking it to be a huge success since its conception in 2013.

The BNHC is the largest science conference in the country. It started in 2013 as the Bahamas National Natural History Conference (BNNHC), took place again in 2014, and then began a two-year cycle, with the third happening in 2016.

This year, the event was deemed a great success by event organizer and Director of Science for the Bahamas National Trust, Shelley Cant-Woodside, and Minister of Environment & Housing The Hon. Romauld Ferreira, the latter whom addressed attendees at the Opening Ceremony held on Monday evening.

There were more than 70 presenters and 13 workshops and meetings taken place over the course of four days (March 19-22). There were also presentations made on interesting findings presented by scientists who visited and studied the islands’ terrestrial and marine life and environments.

Over 500 participants including government officials, teachers, students, scientist and environmentalists from all walks of life took advantage of the conservation summit, which is known for inspiring new avenues of research and cooperation across various disciplines while highlighting the benefits of research of the environment, economy, and human society of The Bahamas.

The 2018 Bahamas Natural History Conference titled, “Pathways to Conservation,” emphasized the need to bring the different sectors together to ensure the successful conservation of natural resources in The Bahamas. The goal of the summit is to convey to attendees across all industries that conservation achievement cannot happen through the advancement of science alone, and policy change cannot be actioned without public support.