Humid tropics: Ecology, Subsistence and Development
Geography 538
Instructor: Professor Lisa Naughton
373 Science Hall
Tel: 262-4846
email: naughton@geography.wisc.edu
Location: 444 Science Hall
Office hours: 12:30-2:30, T, R, or by appt.
Writing fellows: Joelle Lomax (jelomax@wisc.edu) and Karen Walsh (kcwalsh@wisc.edu).
Course description: The humid tropics encompass roughly 10% of the earth’s surface and are home to 40% of the world’s human population. This region is characterized by extraordinary cultural and biological diversity, and a common dependence on agriculture to sustain local and national economies. Within the development process, the humid tropics are undergoing rapid social and environmental change, including extensive deforestation, loss of biodiversity and release of carbon. We begin this course with an overview of the physical environment of the humid tropics. Then we study the complex forces driving deforestation in different realms (Africa, Latin America, SE Asia). Finally, we evaluate the ecological and social viability of dominant strategies for conserving tropical forests, including protected areas, community-based forest management, ecotourism, sustainable use, and conservation concessions.
Course readings: Readings are drawn from several disciplines, including physical geography, political ecology and conservation biology. The readings will be available in 3 formats: 1) for purchase from Humanities Copy Center, 1650 Humanities Building, 2) on reserve at the Geography Library, or 3) on-line at: http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/Geography/reserves.htm .
Grading will be based on:
First exam (multiple choice, short answer, matching) (October 2) = 75 points
Second exam (in-class essay) (December 11) = 75 points
Four assignments 150 points
a. Pass/fail movie review, 2-3 pp (15 pts)
b. Review of Posey vs. Parker debate, 3-4 pp (50 pts)
c. ‘Eating the tropics’ food diary, 1 p. (10 pts)
d. Conservation case study, 7 pp. (75 pts)
Class participation 50 points
a. discussions in class (25 pts)
b. oral presentation of conservation case study (25 pts)
Total possible = 350 points.
The importance of writing in this course: The writing assignments are designed to help students master the course material and improve their writing skills. The role of the writing fellows in this course is particularly important. All undergraduate students are required to work with the Writing Fellows (Joelle and Karen) during the preparation of two assignments: 1) a 3-4 page position paper on the ‘Ecologically Noble Savage’, and 2) a 5-6 page case study related to biodiversity conservation in the humid tropics. Two weeks before the final due date for each of these assignments, students will submit polished drafts of their paper to Joelle or Karen who will offer suggestions for revising and improving the paper before it is graded by Prof. Naughton. Similarly, graduate students will exchange drafts of their papers 2 weeks before the due date. Additional writing assignments include: a 2-3 page pass/fail movie review, a one-day food diary and an essay exam during the last scheduled day of class.
Note: all readings should be completed before the listed lecture date.
Section I. Introduction
T, Sep. 2 Introduction of course and students. Perceptions of the humid tropical environment.
Writing: Handout in class. Assignment #1. DUE: SEP. 16.
R, Sep. 4 Geography of the humid tropics. Climatic conditions.
Readings:
Forsyth, A. and K. Miyata (1984). Tropical Nature. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, chap 1.
Trewartha, G. and L. Horn (1980). Tropical humid climates. An Introduction to Climate. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company: 233-253.
Vandermeer, J. & I. Perfecto Breakfast of Biodiversity, 1995. Oakland, CA, Food First Books. Chap. 1
Recommended:
Reading, A. J., R. D. Thompson, et al. (1995). Humid Tropical Environments. Cambridge, MA, Blackwell Publishers, Ltd. pp. 15-20.
Handout: Climate worksheet. Review in class Sep. 9.
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Section II. Physical Geography and Subsistence Systems
T, Sep. 9 Types of tropical forests. Forest succession.
Readings:
Whitmore, T. C. (1990). An Introduction to Tropical Rain Forests. Oxford, Clarendon Press: pp. 9-29.
Vandermeer, J. & I. Perfecto Breakfast of Biodiversity, 1995. Oakland, CA, Food First Books. Chap. 2.
Muller, E. 2002. "Making secondary forests visible", ITTO Update. 12/4: pp. 16-18.
Review: Climate worksheet in class.
R, Sep. 11 Biodiversity - Why are the humid tropics so rich in species?
Readings:
Dobson, A. (1996). Conservation and Biodiversity. New York, Scientific American Press. Chap. 1.
Kricher, J. (1989). A Neotropical Companion. Princeton, Princeton University Press: pp. 122-133
Recommended:
Tilman, D. (1999). "Diversity by default" Science. 283:pp. 495-496.
T, Sep. 16 Australian rainforests over time. Guest: Dr. Patrick Moss, Biogeographer
[no assigned readings]
R, Sep. 18 Rain forest soils. Shifting agriculture.
Vandermeer, J. & I. Perfecto. Breakfast of Biodiversity, 1995. Oakland, CA, Food First Books. Chap. 3.
Assignment #1 DUE.
Handout: Assignment #2. Ecologically Noble Savage. Draft due Sep 30, Final copy due OCT 14
T, Sep. 23 Case study. Indigenous management of neotropical forests. Video: Keepers of the Forest
Readings:
Redford, K. H. (1990). "The ecologically noble savage." Orion Nature Quarterly 9: 24-29.
Diamond, J. (1982). "Man the exterminator." Nature 298(26): 787-789.
Stevens, S. (1997). "Introduction". Conservation through Cultural Survival. S. Stevens, ed. Washington, D.C., Island Press: 1-4.
Posey, D. (1988). Kayapo Indian Natural-Resource Management. People of the Tropical Rain Forest. J. Denslow and C. Padoch. Berkeley, California, University of California Press: 89-90.
Herlihy, P. (1997). Indian Peoples and Lands Today. Central America. A Natural and Cultural History. A. Coates, ed. New Haven, Yale University Press: 218-219. [MAP]
Alcorn, J. B. (1993). "Indigenous peoples and conservation." Conservation Biology 7(2): 424-426.
Recommended:
Agrawal, Arun. (1995). "Dismantling the divide between indigenous and scientific knowledge", Development and Change. 26:413-439.
R, Sep. 25 No class.
T, Sep 30 Wildlife, hunting and rainforests.
Readings:
Whitmore, T. C. (1990). "Rainforest animals" in An Introduction to Tropical Rain Forests. Oxford, Clarendon Press.
Bennett, E. and J. Robinson. 2000. Hunting Wildlife in Tropical Forests. Paper #76, World Bank, Washington, D.C.
Recommended:
Dove, M. 1993, "Responses of the Dayak and bearded pigs to mast fruiting in Kalimantan", in Tropical Forests, People and Food. Paris, Parthenon.
DUE: Draft of Assignment #2. Ecologically Noble Savage debate.
R, Oct. 2 First exam
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Section II. Political ecology of deforestation – causes and consequences
T, Oct. 7 Tropical deforestation. Overview.
Readings:
Geist, H. J., & Lambin, E. F. (2002). Proximate causes and underlying driving forces of tropical deforestation. BioScience, 52(2), 143-151.
Fairhead, J., & Leach, M. (1996). Misreading the African Landscape. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1-23
R, Oct. 9 Mangrove destruction in Ecuador. Guest: Eric Carter
Readings:
Martinez-Alier, Joan. 2001. "Ecological conflicts and valuation. Mangroves versus shrimps in the late 1990s. " Environment and Planning. Vol. 19:713-728.
Handout: Assignment #3. Eating the tropics? Due OCT. 16
T, Oct. 14 Oil & natural gas extraction in the rainforest. Social & ecological impacts.
Readings:
Gedicks, A. 2001. Resource Rebels. South End Press. Cambridge, MA. Section: Ecuador: Oil and Genocide pp.67-84.
Bowles, I., Rosefeld, A., Sugal, C., & Mittermeier, R. (1998). Natural resource extraction in the Latin American tropics. Washington, D.C.: Conservation International. n
Diamond, J. (1999). Paradise and oil: In a New Guinea rain forest, environmentalists and business executives learn that what's good for this pristine world is good for the bottom line. Discover, 94-102.
DUE: Final version of Assignment #2. Ecologically Noble Savage Debate.
R, Oct. 16 Population growth, urbanization and deforestation in West Africa.
Guest: Madeline Wong, Prof. of Geography. Reading: TBA.
DUE: Assignment #3. Eating the tropics
Handout: Assignment #4. Conservation case study.
T, Oct. 21 The bushmeat 'crisis' in Central Africa.
Guest: Michelle Schenck, Dept. of Geography
Readings:
Wilkie, D. and J. Carpenter. 1999. Bushmeat hunting in the Congo Basin: an assessment of impacts and options for mitigation. Biodiversity and Conservation. 8:927-955.
Robinson, J. G., Redford, K. H., & Bennett, E. L. (1999). Wildlife harvest in logged tropical forests. Science, 284(5414), 595-6.
R, Oct. 23 Environmental degradation and violent conflict. DISCUSSION.
Readings:
McNeely, J. A. (2003). Biodiversity, war, and tropical forests. In S. Price (Ed.), War and Tropical Forests (pp. 1-16). New Haven: Yale University Press.
Recommended:
Kaplan, R. D. (1994). "The coming anarchy." The Atlantic Monthly February: 44-76.
Section III. Conservation strategies: Saving forests and protecting rural livelihoods
T, Oct. 28 Perspectives on environmental conservation and development.
Readings:
Byron, N., & Arnold, M. (1999). What futures for the people of the tropical forests? World Development, 27(5), 789-805.
Recommended:
Kiss, A. (2002). Making biodiversity conservation a land use priority. In M. Wells (Ed.), Making ICDPs Work. (pp. 1-28). In Press.
R, Oct. 30 Are national parks working? Evidence from Ecuador and Peru.
Readings:
(Vandermeer & Perfecto, 1995) Chap. 7.
Bruner, A., Gullison, R., Rice, R., & Fonseca, G. (2001). Effectiveness of parks in protecting tropical biodiversity. Science, 291, 125-128.
DUE: One paragraph describing conservation case study.
T, Nov. 4 CBC. nov4.html
Readings:
Western, D., & Wright, R. M. (1994). The background to community-based conservation. In D. Western & R. M. Wright (Eds.), Natural Connections (pp. 1-12). Washington, D.C.: Island Press
Ghimire, K. B., & Pimbert, M. P. (1997). Social change and conservation: an Overview of Issues and Concepts. In K. B. Ghimire & M. P. Pimbert (Eds.), Social Change and Conservation (pp. 1-45). London: Earthscan Publications, Ltd.
Recommended:
Barrett, C.B., K. Brandon, C. Gibson, and H. Gjertsen. 2001. Conserving tropical biodiversity amid weak institutions. BioScience 51: 6 (June): 497-502.
R, Nov. 6 Extractive reserves and non-timber forest products
Readings:
Peters, C. M., A. H. Gentry, et al. (1989). "Valuation of an Amazonian rainforest." Nature: 655-656.
Recommended:
Nash, S. (1991). What price nature? Future ecological risk assessments may chart the values, and the odds. BioScience, 41(10), 677-680.
T, Nov. 11 Natural forest management and the tropical timber trade.
Video clip from USAID.
Readings:
Vandermeer, J. and I. Perfecto. Chapt. 6.
Pearce, D., F.E. Putz, J.K. Vanclay. 2003. Sustainable forestry in the tropics: panacea or folly? Forest Ecology and Management 172:229-247.
R, Nov. 13 Ecotourism.
Readings:
Brandon, K. (1996). Ecotourism and Conservation: A Review of Key Issues (Environment Department Paper no. 33 033). Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.
Kinnaird, M., & O'Brien, T. (1996). Ecotourism in the Tangkoko DuaSudara Nature Reserve: opening Pandora's box? Oryx, 30(1), 59-64.
T, Nov. 18 Using tropical forests to sequester carbon. Social & ecological concerns.
Readings:
Bass, S., Dubois, O., Moura Costa, P., Pinard, M., Tipper, R., & Wilson, C. (2000). Rural Livelihoods and Carbon Management (IIED Natural Resource Issues Paper 1). London: International Institute for Environment and Development.
Recommended:
Klooster & Masera, (2000). Community forest management in Mexico: Carbon mitigation and biodiversity conservation through rural development. Global Environmental Change.
R, Nov. 20 Conservation concessions.
Readings:
Rice, R. (2001). Conservation Concessions - Concept Description. Center for Applied Biodiversity Science at Conservation International.
DUE: Polished draft of conservation case study.
T, Nov. 25 Biosphere Reserves in Cambodia. Guest: Haidy Ear-Dupay, World Vision.
Readings: TBA
R, Nov. 27 Thanksgiving recess
T, Dec. 2 Second Exam, in class.
4, 9, 11 Oral presentations of case studies.
Dec. 11. DUE: Final version of conservation case study.