COURSE DESCRIPTION
The purpose of this course is to establish a conceptual foundation for analyzing and addressing practical conservation and sustainable development issues from an interdisciplinary perspective. The course will generate insight into the complexities of conservation and sustainable development by highlighting diverse points of view and by examining various strategies for achieving sustainability in different contexts. It will engage students in both the inherent conflicts and potential compatibilities between natural resource conservation and development for human needs. Principles will be identified for effective interdisciplinary analysis of biodiversity conservation efforts, natural resource management systems, and agricultural production technologies by examining real-world issues in both the developed and developing world. The course is oriented towards a graduate student audience.
COURSE FOCUS AND OBJECTIVES
This course focuses on the intersection between people, biodiversity, and rural land use at the ground level, with an emphasis on communities and regional ecosystems. We will also discuss relationships between local conservation and sustainable development and macro-level issues such as government policies, population, and trade. Through lectures, discussion, readings, and case study analysis, we will address the role of background variables, processes, technologies, and projects in producing ecosystem and human welfare outcomes at specific sites, with an emphasis on ways to achieve incremental improvements in conservation and sustainable development.
The principal goals of the course are to broaden students' perspectives on conservation and sustainable development and to gain experiences in group problem solving.
Specific material to be covered in the course includes:
COURSE FORMAT
This three-credit course will meet twice a week for two hours. The class periods will be a combination of discussion of conservation and sustainable development issues, presentations by the instructor and guest speakers from different fields, and group activities. Work outside of class includes readings for each class period and four group projects. For the latter, students will work in small, interdisciplinary groups to develop an interdisciplinary framework for analyzing conservation and sustainable problems and apply this framework in the analysis of three case studies. Each case study will be discussed during a class period.
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADES
Each student must: (1) Do the assigned readings and participate in class discussions. (2) Participate with his or her group in the four group projects. (3) Be the group leader or facilitator for one of these four projects. (4) Serve as a discussant for one of the discussion sessions. (5) Contribute at least two "found objects" (news article, product packaging, advertisement, etc.) related to conservation and sustainable development to the class. (6) Write a final essay at the end of the course. Grades (letter grades only) will be determined based on attendance, participation, group project reports, and the final essay .
READINGS
Students are expected to come to each class prepared to discuss the readings. Two reading lists will be handed out, one for the first two course segments and a second for the last two. Two reading packets will be available from Custom Publishing at the Campus Store. Students are strongly encouraged to purchase the reading packets. One copy of each reading will also be on reserve in Mann Library.
WEB SITE
A syllabus, reading list, and assignments will be maintained on the Department of Natural Resources web site: http://www.dnr.cornell.edu/courses/courses.htm
INSTRUCTOR
Dr. John Schelhas
Research Associate and RTG Coordinator
Department of Natural Resources
10 Fernow Hall
255-7037
e-mail: jws13@cornell.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:30 - 2:30, or by appointment
Conservation and Sustainable Development Concepts
| Aug 27 (Th) | Introduction |
| Sept 1 (T) | Conservation and Sustainable Development--Concepts (L/D) |
| Sept 3 (Th) | Conservation and Sustainable Development--Practice (L/G) |
| Sept 8 (T) | Social perspectives on CSD--Pfeffer (L/D) |
| Sept 10 (Th) | Conservation biology perspectives on CSD--Gavin (L/D) |
| Sept 15 (T) | Agricultural Perspectives on CSD--Fernandes (L/D) |
| Sept 17 (Th) | Governance--ACM conference |
Social Issues, Policies, and Processes
| Sept 22 (T) | Presentation of Frameworks |
| Sept 24 (Th) | Local to Global Approaches to CSD (D) |
| Sept 29 (T) | Population (D) |
| Oct 1 (Th) | Case Study: Protection in the Adirondacks --Thorndike (CS) |
| Oct 6 (T) | Policies and the Environment--Norman Myers (L/D) |
| Oct 8 (Th) | Case Study Discussion--Adirondack Park, New York (G) |
| Oct 13 (T) | Fall Break |
| Oct 15 (Th) | Discussion of key topics and Mid-Term Evaluation (D) |
Conserving Biological Diversity
| Oct 20 (T) | People and Biodiversity Conservation (L/D) |
| Oct 22 (Th) | Case Study: Protected Areas (CS: Langholz or Geisler) |
| Oct 27 (T) | Sustainable Use: Elephant Video (D) |
| Oct 29 (Th) | Case Studies: Introduced Species (Flecker) (CS) |
| Nov 3 (T) | Found Objects (D) |
| Nov 5 (Th) | Case Study Discussion--Braulio Carrillo National Park, Costa Rica (G) |
Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry
| Nov 10 (T) | Agricultural Change (L/D) |
| Nov 12 (Th) | Case Study: Sustainable Agriculture (CS: Mt. Pleasant or Fernandes) |
| Nov 17 (T) | Soil Erosion (D) |
| Nov 20 (Th) | Trade Liberalization--Lee (L/D) |
| Nov 24 (T) | Found Objects (D) |
| Nov 26 (Th) | Thanksgiving Break |
| Dec 1 (T) | Case Study Discussion--Machakos District, Kenya (G/D) |
| Dec 3 (Th) | Discussion of key topics and Conclusion (D) |
L=Lecture; D=Discussion; G=Group Activity; CS=Case Study.