A Warm Invitation to the European Small Mammal Conservation Conference 2026
Dear Colleagues and Friends, It is our great pleasure to invite you to the first European Small Mammal Conservation Conference (SMCC 2026), which will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 21 to 25 September 2026.
Many small mammals are overlooked in conservation despite their key ecological roles, and changing policy priorities is difficult. Limited data and a lack of standardized monitoring mean population declines often go unnoticed, with broader consequences for biodiversity. The Small Mammal Conservation Conference 2026 aims to address these gaps by exploring new approaches and tools for small mammal research and conservation.
The conference is jointly organised by the Habitat Foundation, the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, BAS, the Dutch Mammal Society and Mammal Conservation Europe, under the auspices of the Faculty of Biology at Sofia University.
SMCC is part and partially funded by the project Life for Falcons (LIFE20 NAT/BG/001162) funded by the EU Life Programme. We look forward to welcoming you to Sofia for a dynamic exchange of knowledge, experience, and passion for mammal conservation.
With kind regards, The SMCC 2026 Organising Committee
Scientific Committee
The Scientific committee gives advice on the scientific program and evaluates submitted abstracts. The committee consists of:
Henri Thomassen, Researcher at the University of Tübingen, Germany
George Mitsainas, Assistant Professor in Biodiversity of Mammals, University of Patras, Greece
Eva Millesi, Associate Professor, University of Vienna, Austria
Nedko Nedyalkov, Associate Professor, National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
Yordan Koshev, Associate Professor, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
Maria Kachamakova, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Science
Caroline Habold, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France
Olivér Váczi, Herman Ottó Institute, Nature Conservation Directorate, Hungary
Csongor Gedeon, Institute for Soil Sciences, HUN-REN CAR, Hungary & Nature Conservation Directorate, Herman Ottó Institute Non-profit Ltd., Hungary
Mikhail Rusin, PhD, Researcher and Project Leader, Kyiv Zoo, Ukraine
Maurice La Haye, Researcher and Project Leader, Dutch Mammal Society, The Netherlands
Registration
To register for the SMCC, fill out the Registration Form and pay the fee.
