The Internet Conference on Material Flow Analysis of Integrated Bio-Systems (ICMFA) is the follow-up of the 1998 Internet Conference on Integrated Bio-Systems (ICIBS).  ICMFA will provide papers on the web for discussions. The goal of the conference is to advocate a better understanding and awareness of the applications of integrated bio-systems in industry, agriculture, aquaculture and in human habitats in order to achieve zero waste, i.e. bioconversion of biodegradable wastes into value-added products and zero discharge of wastewaters into the river or sea and ocean. It will also facilitate a dialogue with governmental and non-governmental organizations and funding agencies on the use of integrated bio-systems in sustainable development.

An integrated bio-system (IBS) integrates at least 2 sub-systems so that the wastes generated by the first system are used by the next biological sub-system to produce a value-added product(s). A common example is the use of human and animal excretement to produce biogas and then using nutrients in the digested slurry for e.g. crop, aquatic plants or algae production. The general aim of an IBS is to turn material flow with losses that contributes to pollution into a closed and integrated one where nutrients are recovered by plants and animals. IBSs can therefore be designed for a number of applications in agriculture, aquaculture, industry and for eco-buildings, human communities and cities (see http://www.ias.unu.edu/proceedings/icibs/ibs/info for examples). The material flow analysis (MFA) in an IBS is key to its design and operation since quantifying the flow of materials through the sub-systems provide useful information for generating new products and ideas, solving problems, and making systems more robust and stable. 

The central focus of the Internet Conference is on the analysis of material flows in integrated bio-systems. The scope includes 11 themes :
1) Municipal Biodegradable Solid Recycling and Conversion Systems
MFA of systems that includes recycling and conversion of biodegradables, food scraps, yard trimmings and greens into bio-fuels, organic fertiliser, animal feed, biochemicals, etc. using biological sub-systems such as anaerobic digestion, composting, vermi-culture, etc.. New methods, alternative natural systems for control or remediation to avoid the need for landfills, conventional wastewater plants, etc. 

2) Wastewater Treatment and Utilisation Systems
MFA of systems using plants, microbes, algae, shellfish in wastewater treatment and use of wastewaters in crop irrigation, aquaculture, wetlands, forests, etc. crop-aquaculture, livestock-aquaculture systems, integrated aquaculture/polyculture systems, etc.. 

3) Integrated Aquaculture Systems
MFA of aquatic food production systems such as integrated aquaculture/polyculture systems, fish-shellfish-seaweed systems, aquaculture-terrestrial integrated bio-systems, silvifisheries, fish ranching, etc. 

4) Small Scale Farming Systems
MFA of household bio-systems with sub-systems like livestock, biogas digesters, fish ponds, compost, vermicompost, vegetable gardens and crops plots, fruit trees, aquatic plants, etc. 

5) Large Plantations, Farms and Feedlots
MFA of corporate and cooperative agricultural systems using of agro-crop residues and livestock manure for production of feed, food, fibre, chemicals, energy, etc. 

6) Constructed Building Complex, greenhouse and Eco-house Systems
MFA of bio-systems in/on buildings for waste water treatment, food production, hydroponics, aquaponics; waste recycling or using animals and compost to heat greenhouses, etc. 

7) Industry and Eco-Industrial Parks
MFA of bio-systems for cleaner production, industries and industrial parks to utilise primary by-product wastes for biochemicals, food and energy production in co-operative implmentation of shared systems for complementary recovery and use. 

8) Resource Utilization and Conservation in Sustainable Natural Eco-Systems
MFA of bio-systems for sustainable resource utilisation e.g. in watersheds, reservoirs, lakes, river basins, community forests, natural parks, coral reefs, mangroves, etc.. 

9) Small Islands, Community, Villages and Cities
MFA of IBSs for sustainable living in human communities for urban ecology, urban agriculture and environmental management; 

10) Global Issues related to Food Security, Environment and Climate Change
e.g. regional studies (national, regional and global) where integrated bio-systems are used to play crucial roles to sustain food security, zero wastes and zero wastewater discharge; and reduction of greenhouse gases. 

11) Tools and Methodology for Design and Analysis of Integrated Bio-Systems. 
e.g. softwares and methods for material flow analysis showing how it is applied to an example(s) in an integrated bio-systems

SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME
LIST OF TITLES OF PAPERS, ABSTRACTS and CHAIRPERSONS
 

Paper Nr	Author(s), Title of Paper with link to homepage	Chairpersons
P3-1	Kangmin Li & Qiuhua Wang (P R China) : Digester Fishpond Interaction in Integrated Biomass System	Julián D. Chará (CO) Bui Xuan An (VN)
P3-2	Julian David Chara,  Elkin Dario Pulido & Piedad Cuellar. (Colombia) : Material flow in "Pozo Verde" Integrated Farm in Cauca Valley Province, Colombia.	E.L. Jacky Foo Punya P. Regmi (TH)
P3-3	Paul Adler (USA) : Phytoremediation of aquaculture effluents.	Kangmin Li (CN) Asifo Ajuyah (WS)
P3-4	Punya Prasad Regmi (Thailand) : Resource Flow Analysis of the Nepalese Mountain Farming System.	Michael O. Agho (NG) Marlito L. Cardenas (PH)
P4-1	Amrit B. Karki and Upendra Gautam (Nepal) : Community Latrine-cum-biogas plant at Ward No. 1 of Pathari VDC of Morang District of Nepal.	Punya P. Regmi (TH) Lylian Rodriguez (KH)
P4-2	Song Xiangfu, Ying Huodong, Wu Weiming, Jin Qianyu,  Zou Guoyan, Zhu Quilin, Zhu Ming, Li Kangmin* and Li Peizhen (P.R. China) : Study of Agriculture-Aquaculture Ecological Economic System With Nutrient Flow Analysis.	E.L. Jacky Foo (SE) Paul Adler (USA)
P4-3	John Cline and Vernon Rodd (Canada) : Rural Composting Model for Organics Diversion	Johannes Biala (AU/UK) J. Venkataramaih (IN)
P4-4	E-L. Jacky Foo & Simon Appleby (Sweden/Indonesia) : Integrated bio-system for a feedlot-abattoir-meat processing and research complex in Bali	Nduka Okafor (USA) Elaine Newman (CA)
P6-1	Hermenegildo Losada, R. Bennett, J. Vieyra, R. Soriano, J. Cortes and S. Billing (Mexico) : Recycling of solid wastes in the east of Mexico City by livestock and agricultural production systems.	Manfred Fehr (BR) Horst Doelle (AU)
P6-2	Manfred Fehr, M.dos R. Calcado, D.C. Romao (Brazil) : Landfill diversion of biodegradables seen and solved as an administrative challenge	V. Jagannatha (IN)
P6-3	H.S. Sudhira & Ann Jacob (India) : Reuse of byproducts of coir industry : A Case Study.	Koji Iwase (JP) Nduka Okafor (USA)
P6-4	Aran H-Kittikun, P. Prasertsan, G. Srisuwan and A. Krause (Thailand/Germany) : Environmental Management for Palm Oil Mill	Ah Ngan Ma (MY) Alvaro Ocampo (UK)
P8-1	M. Kranert & K. Hillebrecht (Germany) : Anaerobic Digestion of Organic Wastes - Process Parameters and Balances in Practice	Sergio Piccinini (IT) Jan K. Dobelmann (DE)
P8-2	Kefa V. O. Rabah (Kenya/Turkey) : Application of Sugarcane Residues as Biofuel for Cogeneration of Electricity Kenya.	Gregely Toth (HU)
P8-3	José Ignacio Ramírez, Björn Frostell, Raúl Galindo Urra (Sweden/Chile) : A Systems Approach Evaluation of Sludge Management Strategies in Latinamerica. Case Study: sludge management in Valparaíso and Aconcagua regions, Chile	Manfred Fehr (Brazil)  V Jagannathan (India)
P10-1	Anna Hedlund & Bui Xuan An (Sweden/Vietnam) : A theoretical integrated nutrient flow on a farm with three sub-systems in a village in Southern Vietnam	Gregely Toth (HU) Raul Galindo (CL) Punya P. Regmi (TH)
P10-2	Inge Lardinois & Rogier Marchand (The Netherlands/Ecuador) :Technical and financial performance at integrated composting-waste management project sites in the Philippines, India and Nepal.	Andreas Behnsen (DE] Manfred Fehr (BR)
P10-3	Venkataramaih Jagannath  (India) : Validation of micro treatment plants for community solid waste using Environmental Sound Technology criterion	Marlito L. Cardenas (PH) Jacky Foo (SE)

GENERAL INFORMATION 

General information and updates on the Conference will be made via the mailing list ET-W11 (see also ET-ANN) 
(a) To receive such information by email, you need to join the mailing list. This is done by sending an email to listserv@segate.sunet.se and use the subscription command: 
SUB ET-W11 yourfirstname yourlastname, organization 
e.g. 
SUB ET-W11 Kenichi Sakamoto, UNU/IAS-Tokyo 
(b) All earlier messages in this mailing list can also be read via the web at http://segate.sunet.se/archives/et-w11.html

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

1) Is there a participant fee
Yes.... but it is free for people with an annual income of below 24,000 US$.

2) What do I need to participate in the Internet Conference ?
Minimum requirement is access to an email account. You can also participate via the web.

3) How is the Internet Conference organized ?
Conference papers will be availabe for discussion via separate mailing lists. These papers will be available on the web. To join a paper discussion you need to join the specific mailing list where the discussion is being conducted. Details will be announced via ET-W11

4) Which country / city is the conference held ?
The Conference and the discussion of papers will be held over Internet, thus there is no physical venue. You can participate if you have an email account or from any part of the world that has Internet connection.

Sponsors/Donors Wanted
Sponsorship of US$ 10,000 or more will be used to cover the general costs in organizing and running the conference between 1999 and 2000 as well as to fund authors and participant groups from developing countries. Donors may contribute 1,000 US$ (and above).

Planning Group
Current Members are:

Austria Prof. Dr. Hans Schnitzer (Joanneum Research) Chile Dra. Doris Soto (Univ Austral Puerto Montt) China Mr. Kangmin Li (Cell Bio Technol Reseach Inst) Prof. Jingsong Yan (Cen. Ecol. Engn.& Tech.) Hungary Mr. Gergely Toth (University of Veszprem) India Mr. Venkataramaiah Jagannatha (Bangalore Univ.)  Japan Mr. Shinichi Kyan (Res. Inst. for Subtropics) Prof. Dr. Tarcisio Della Senta (UN University) Prof. Dr. Kenichi Sakamoto (UN University) Namibia Dr.Philippe Talavera (IFAD)

Nepal Dr. Punya Regmi (Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science) Spain Dr. Guillermo Garcia Reina (Univ de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) Sweden Ms. Anna Bjorklund (Royal Inst of Technology) Dr. Max Troell (Beijer Institute) Mr. Jacky Foo (UNESCO Microbial Resources Center) USA Dr. Tom Abeles (Sagacity, Inc.) Dr. Paul Adler (USDA-ARS) Dr. Maithili Iyer (Univ of Delaware) Dr. Martin Medina (UN Centre for Human Settlements) Cambodia Ms. Lylian Rodriguez

Participant Fee
Participant fee is according to your income. 
FREE for individuals with income of below 24,000 US$ per year (before tax); 
FREE for all IBSnet Members, authors, chairpersons, sponsors and donors, members of the Planning Group.
US$ 50 for individuals with income of 24,000-48,000 per year (before tax)
US$100 for individuals with income of above US$48,001 (before tax)

Please use the following form. 
The return of the form to foo@swipnet.se is essential if you wish to join any paper discussions.

      Please accept my participation (put " X " on the appropriate line)
      ___- as a free participant (income below 24,000 US$ per year before tax) 
      ___- with US$ 50 (income between 24,000-48,000 US$ per year) 
      ___- with US$ 100 (income above 48,001 per year)
      ___- as a Sponsor (US$ 10,000 and above) 
      ___- as a Donor (US$ 1,000 and above)

      Declaration : 
      I declare that the information provided above is true and will notify IBSnet upon any change in my income.

2nd Call for Abstracts
The Call for Abstracts is now closed. (31 Dec 1999).

US$ 150 AWARDS 

(a) To Authors
The AEON Foundation (Japan) is providing 20 AWARDs of US$ 150 each to authors in countries with GNP per capita of US$10,000 and below (http://www.worldbank.org/depweb/english/modules/economic/gnp/data.htm, see column 5, 1995) to cover additional communication costs encountered in the preparation of the paper, during their active participation in the discussion of papers between March and October 2000 as well as to assist other colleagues to participate.

A single author cannot receive two awards but if you are presenting two papers, then the second award will be given to a co-author. Recipients of the AWARD are also required to encourage and assist other colleagues/participants in your institution and country. This responsibility may include: (a) sending hard copy of papers to the local participant who do not have access to the web (b) making hard copies of messages for your Institute/group participants if they share one email account only (c) occasional gatherings of your local group to get their comments and (d) others if needed.

Awardees are not required to give a financial report of how you use the money but you are required to provide a list of names of the local participants in your group (4 names minimum) and information about their work. This information will be submitted  to the AEON Foundation in the chapter of the Final Report on the recipients of the award.

Awards will be given with consideration to geographical distribution. The number of awards to one country is max 3 but this may be increased if there are unused awards or even if there is a need to increase the total number of awards.

(b) To Local Participant Groups
Five special Awards will be given to 5 groups of participants from developing countries who will actively participate in the paper discussions and to provide them with the opportunity to exchange information on their work related to integrated bio-systems. These Awards will be given to countries other than those represented by the authors of papers. 
Applicants should provide information related to the themes of the Conference for 
(a) work done at your organization 
(b) current related studies in your country and 
(c) names of at least 4 persons who will participate in the Conference and descriptions of their works.
Please send information to foo@swipnet.se

SECRETARIAT

Mr. Jacky Foo <foo@swipnet.se> 
UNESCO Microbial Resources Centre, Stockholm.
Fax: +46 (0)8-5982 9229