22nd International Conference on Environmental Indicators 2017

It is our privilege to announce that the International Society of Environmental Indicators will be hosting the 22^nd International Conference on Environmental Indicators (ICEI 2017) on August 1-5, 2017 in Helsinki, Finland. The Conference will feature highly respected speakers who will share and discuss significant new developments, overall views and scientific advancements that will impact the ways we monitor our environment and promote healthy living and our relationship with the microbiomes. The planned program will provide keynote lectures, lectures, seminars, symposium and excursions with learning opportunities for students, biologists, chemists, physicists, other scientists, microbiology experts, process developers and environmental engineers, medical specialists and clinicians from all fields of endeavor, as well as world-class content for researchers and industry supporters.

The main theme is: "Microbiome and Health: Indications of Sustainable Agriculture and Food-Chains". This motif is underlining our unity with the global environment. Food production and health maintenance or promotion include all biotypes: the fields and forests, waterways and oceans, deserts and mountains, as well as our industries. The human contribution to the status of the ecosystems, their functionality, diversity and sustainability is a central factor in global development.

Since environmental indication is such a wide area, we wish to promote discussions between the experts of different disciplines. Also the geographical distribution and expression of environmental issues and ideas are on the list of topics of the conference. Together it is possible for us to understand the trends and developments in the ecosystems, and to outline strategies for planetary survival on Earth.

Human microbiome, as well as the microbial communities in the environment plays a crucial role both in our health and metabolism, as well as in the capacity of the ecosystems to circulate and repair the potential damages. Besides the microbial contribution to the issues of food production, human and environmental health, climate change, land restoration, sustainability and versatility, also other invisible influences could be measured, such as electromagnetic environment, safety issues of the chemicalization, microplastics, indications of thermal effects, climate related effects on winds, currents, desertification and many others. Special symposium on sustainable agriculture is to be held at the Helsinki University Viikki campus. Also special sessions on the extremophilic microbes and the human microbiome are included.

Year 2017 is the centenary celebration for Finland. She has been selected as one of the most interesting travel destinations by Lonely Planet, New York Times, Evening Standard etc. The fascinating archipelago, Lakeland, wilderness, Lapland and other areas of natural life are within easy reach. Helsinki is one of the most beautiful summer cities which situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea.

On behalf of the Organizing Committee of ICEI 2017 we cordially invite all speakers and participants to the 22^nd conference of the 40 years old International Society of Environmental Indicators (ISEI) (formerly Environmental Bioindicators Division, International Union of Biological Sciences) to Helsinki to discuss, learn and share views on the situation of our global environment.

The International Society of Environmental Indicators (ISEI) and its journal, Environmental Indicators (JEI), seeks to explore the scientific bases and uses of indicators (biological, chemical, physical) and biomarkers as they relate directly to specific measurable effects in ecological and human populations from environmental exposures. Emphasis is placed on the application of molecular to landscape level indicators as tools to help in understanding the probability that the presence of a contaminant(s) or other disturbances in the ambient environment that may produce an adverse effect in exposed receptors or populations, the degree of harm that may be indicated, and the integration of these data to characterize environmental health. Environmental indicators range from molecular and genetic indicators to landscape-level indictors reflecting the conditions of the human and ecological environments.

It is the objective of the Society to provide an empirically-derived foundation in the use of indicators to help define environmental health and requisite protection or restoration needs, and from which responsible action, including informed and cost-effective regulatory endpoints, can be developed.

1. Human microbiome in relation to health, nutrition and environmental challenges
2. Microbes in soil, water and industrial processes
3. Atmospheric pollution and climate change, and their monitoring
4. Screening of oceans, waterways and sources
5. Circulation economy and sustainable agriculture - screening of their indications
6. Electromagnetic radiation and thermal pollution, indicators of the health effects
7. Diversity of natural habitats and human impacts on it
8. Urban environment and future cities: indicators to follow up the threats and progress
9. Food improvement: enhancing cleanliness and nutritive qualities - removal of recalcitrant compounds
10. Avoidance of soil destruction, erosion and degradation - increasing sustainability and resilience