COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The early registration window is about to close for one of the largest international gatherings designed to address ecological sciences and sustainability issues. EcoSummit 2012 will be held September 30 through October 5, 2012 in Columbus, Ohio. Summit participants will receive a reduced registration rate if they register by Friday, April 27, 2012.

EcoSummit 2012, co-sponsored by The Ohio State University and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, will feature addresses by Nobel Prize laureate Elinor Ostrom, Pulitzer Prize winners E.O. Wilson and Jared Diamond, Kyoto Prize winner Simon Levin, Stockholm Water Prize laureates Sven Jorgensen and William Mitsch and many others.

"Issues of sustainability and resource preservation will continue to be a top priority for companies because the natural world plays a critical role in the production of the food we eat, the services we use and the products we buy," said Dr. William Mitsch, professor of Environmental and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University.

Dr. Mitsch adds, "EcoSummit 2012 provides a link between groundbreaking research and management decisions being made in the boardrooms of companies around the world."  

EcoSummit 2012 has received nearly 1,950 abstracts from 100 countries for presentations in 69 symposia, dozens of general sessions, and hundreds of poster presentations. Conference participants will be able to select from 36 field trips that cover a variety of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, environmental technology sites and cultural features in Ohio.

This is the fourth International EcoSummit and the first to be held in the United States. Previous host sites were Beijing, Halifax and Copenhagen. Columbus, Ohio was selected as host of EcoSummit 2012 because of the region's ecological diversity and its commitment to sustainability efforts.  

"As a regional organization committed to partnerships that create tangible, sustainable ecological and economical projects that enhance prosperity for our communities, we offer a unique perspective of the results that can be produced during EcoSummit 2012," Jerry Tinianow, director for the Center for Energy and Environment at the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, said. "Columbus is a true microcosm of what can happen around the world."

The early registration fee is $500 and the discounted rate for students is $250. Presenters will need their abstract number to complete their registration, and students will need a letter signed by their department head to verify their student status. All registration information and forms can be found at www.EcoSummit2012.org.

SOURCE The Ohio State University