@TCD
Tropical Conservation & Development Program Newsletter Center for Latin American Studies University of Florida | Gainesville, FL
Issue 05 | December 2012
Promoting biodiversity conservation, sustainable resource use and human well-being in the tropics Photo John Blake
TCD Director’s Note
Inside this issue: Director’s Note
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TCD News & Events
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TCD Faculty News
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TCD Practitioner
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TCD Student
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2012 Schmink Dissertation Award
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TCD Student Group News
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MDP Program News
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ACLI Program
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Alumni News & Notes
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Schmink Fund for Innovation in TCD
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Upcoming Events & Deadlines
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The Tropical Conservation and Development (TCD) Program in the Center of Latin American Studies emerged from a long history of interdisciplinary initiatives that promoted strong interactions among a network of researchers, students and practitioners. Today, TCD’s mission is to bridge theory and practice to advance biodiversity conservation, sustainable resource use, and human well-being in the tropics. One of the central goals of the TCD Program is to strengthen and expand learning and action networks. To achieve this goal, TCD capitalizes on >500 alum and partners to engage in joint initiatives that promote collaborative learning and action, foster capacity-building in conservation and development through new course and program activities, and engage in inter-disciplinary research focused on emerging issues in the tropics. Strengthening the larger TCD network means keeping people in touch and aware of what issues friends and colleagues are working on and where. In our newsletter, we highlight several activities over the past summer and fall that contribute to strengthen and expand the TCD network. TCD faculty worked with colleagues in China and Argentina to sign collaborative agreements to catalyze new research and educational activities in biodiversity conservation, environmental education, and natural resource management (p. 4). During fall 2012, two new competitions were initiated to promote innovative activities within the TCD network and facilitate interdisciplinary working groups (p. 5). TCD collaborated with former UF faculty, Dr. Peter Feinsinger, and partner Dr. Marisol Toledo (Instituto Boliviano de Investigación Forestal) to provide scholarship funding to Bolivian students to participate in a field-based course on research design in conservation and ecology (p. 5). In summer 2012 through the leadership of Dr. Robert Buschbacher, and in partnership with several Amazonian Universities and NGOs in Brazil, ACLI offered the last module in their specialization course “Collaborative management of socio-ecological systems” in Mato Grosso, Brazil. In the ACLI news section (p. 16), the results of a recent exchange visit between Brazilian partners and UF are described as the partnership moves forward. These stories and others highlight the many opportunities for collaborative learning and action within the larger TCD network and exemplify one of the most important valueadded components of the TCD program. Bette Loiselle 1
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News & Events
TCD Fall Orientation The TCD Program started off the fall semester with a very successful orientation session for new and current students and faculty (photos at the bottom of the page). Jon Dain was the facilitator and, as always, put together a session full of information that provided ample opportunity for re-connecting. Over 70 faculty and students attended the event. This year the TCD student group invited all participants to discuss the formation of working groups and organized an activity to brainstorm topics of interest. The idea is for these groups to work toward producing publications, conference presentations, or opportunities for in depth learning about topics of interest. The following list of potential working group topics emerged from the TCD orientation:
Environmental Policy Rural Economic Development Water Restoration and Conservation Governance Scientific Community Collaboration Tools and Methods for Sociological Research Market Chains Gender and Conservation Ecological Restoration Corporate Social Responsibility Ethnobotany and Permaculture
TCD community around the globe!! Map created at 2012 TCD orientation indicating participants’ country of origin:
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News & Events Marianne Schmink Fund for Innovation in Tropical Conservation & Development The Marianne Schmink Innovation Fund became an official endowment at the University of Florida Foundation this past semester as it surpassed its fundraising goals thanks to the generous gifts from the TCD community. TCD is extremely grateful to all of you that contributed to this special endowment which honors Dr. Schmink and her exceptional contributions to TCD Program, interdisciplinary activities and collaborative learning in conservation and development over the past decades. The Schmink Innovation Award seeks to ensure the long-term impact of the Tropical Conservation and Development (TCD) Program around the world by catalyzing new ideas and innovative approaches and by enabling shared learning throughout the tropics. After the endowment was established, the first call for proposals was announced to the TCD community. Five high quality applications were submitted by current TCD students, faculty and partners on a variety of subjects. The selection committee, which was composed of UF faculty from natural and social sciences and a TCD alum, had the difficult task of selecting the first award from this strong set of proposals. Due to the high quality of the proposals, two proposals were chosen for Innovation Awards: “An innovative University-NGO partnership for leadership training” submitted by Dr. Robert Buschbacher (SFRC/ TCD) in collaboration with Drs. Wendy-Lin Bartels (UF), Renato Farias (Instituto Centro da Vida) and Alexandre Olival (Instituto Ouro Verde). The award recognizes the innovative university-NGO relationship that has developed and evolved over the past years using TCD approaches and methods. In the latest phase, NGO partners take the lead in developing a specialization course with support from University partners to strengthen their capacity as agents of change in the Amazon frontier. For more about this partnership see ACLI Program News in this issue. “Feasibility of butterfly farming initiatives as a viable tool for sustainable development and capacity building in Western Ecuador” submitted by Maria Fernanda Checa (Ph.D. student, Entomology and M.S. student, MDP Program) in collaboration with Drs. Marianne Schmink (UF), Keith Willmott (UF) and Catherine Woodward (Ceiba Foundation). The award recognizes the project’s goals of promoting capacity of local communities in western Ecuador to monitor biodiversity conservation and create opportunities for development using butterflies, a charismatic, yet climate sensitive taxon group. As one of the products of this exciting project, Checa will work with local stakeholders to produce a booklet that can be used as a tool to share information about butterflies and techniques relevant to butterfly-farming initiatives.
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News & Events
Collaboration agreement between UF and the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Science Submitted by Kaoru Kitajima, Biology
TCD and the International Center (UFIC) at the University of Florida welcomed a visit by a delegation of scientists from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) in September 2012. The delegation was led by the Director Dr. Jin Chen, and included Drs. Kunfang Cao, Jiang Yun Gao and Ling Zhang. The meeting was highlighted by the official signing of a new collaborative agreement between the University of Florida and XTBG by Dean David Sammons (UFIC) and Director Jin Chen (XTBG). Dr. Jin Chen, also presented a The Chinese delegation with Dean David Sammons (UFIC), Provost Joseph Glover, and TCD special lecture on Integrative Conservation in TCD faculty Richard Stepp, Kaoru Kitajima and Southwest China’s Biodiversity Hotspot: Past Efforts Bette Loiselle and Future Perspectives. Located in the southern province of China, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, XTBG is the recognized leader in tropical botany and tropical conservation biology in China. During their three day visit, enthusiastic exchanges between XTBG and TCD-affiliated faculty and students provided excellent opportunities to discuss development of joint programs and research and educational exchanges. As the first concrete activity of this new collaboration, Dr. Kaoru Kitajima (Professor, Biology and TCD Faculty Affiliate) participated in the XTBG’s Asian Field Ecology Course (AFEC) as a faculty resource person. Kaoru led the 22 graduate students from 11 different countries of Asia-Pacific region in field research activities and shared her extensive knowledge of plant functional ecology. AFEC is a 6week course taught in English every year. Anyone interested in potential collaborative research and education activities with XTBG, please contact Drs. Bette Loiselle, Rick Stepp or Kaoru Kitajima. Dr. Kaoru Kitajima with AFEC course in China
TCD signs a MOU with Argentina’s CONICET Submitted by Lyn Branch, WEC
As part of TCD’s Southern Cone Conservation Leadership Initiative in November, UF signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Argentina’s CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas) to promote training of Argentine graduate students, exchange of scientists and other scholars, and joint research projects between UF and Argentine institutions. This MOU will help build new collaborations and broadly foster university partnerships, particularly in interdisciplinary natural resource management and biodiversity conservation. 4
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News & Events TCD supports IBIF’s field course “Research Design in Conservation Biology and Ecology” in Bolivia Organized by Universidade Autónoma Gabriel Rene Moreno (UAGRM) and Instituto Boliviano de Investigacion Forestal (IBIF), a 2-week field course entitled “Research Deisgn in Conservation Biology and Ecology” was held in October 2012 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia with support from TCD, Wildlife Conservation Society and host institutions (course flyer image on the right). Twenty six participants were selected from a pool of 48 applicants by a nationwide committee. Participants came from Departments of La Paz (9), Cochabamba (8), Chuquisaca (1) and Santa Cruz (8) and were mostly professional biologists. Dr. Peter Feinsinger and Dr. Iralys Ventosa from Salta, Argentina were the primary instructors for the course. The lectures ranged from basic and applied statistics to design for field studies, with theoretical and field practice components. Participants designed the study, collected field data, analyzed field data and prepared an oral presentation for the group. The course was evaluated by all students as ‘excellent’.
TCD Working Group Grant: UF REDD+ Submitted by Thales West, Anand Roopsind, Ruslandi, Claudia Romero, Francis Putz, and Michael Bauman (Biology), winners of TCD’s first Working Group Grant Competition.
Preparations are underway by the REDD+ Working Group for a March workshop at UF on agent-based modeling (ABM) with funding from the new TCD Working Group grant. The goal of the workshop is to develop a model that simulates the effects of REDD+ policy decisions on deforestation. The intended outcome of the workshop is a peer-reviewed article that evaluates the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation as well as the effects of REDD+ interventions on household-level decision-making processes related to land-use change. To lead the workshop, the group expects to host two ABM and NetLogo experts from offcampus, Drs. Daniel Brown (University of Michigan) and Lykke Anderson. Dr. Brown studies land-use change and its effects on ecosystems and human vulnerability and Dr. Anderson has substantial experience using ABM for a REDD+ initiative in Bolivia. During the fall semester, REDD+ Working Group participants reviewed a substantial amount of literature on ABM theory and case studies. With the help of Professor Wendell Cropper, group members started to develop their skills in code writing in the NetLogo program. On behalf of the group, Masters student Michael Bauman made a presentation of this work plan to the Florida Climate Institute’s annual research meeting in November to explore FCI’s collaboration on this specific initiative. 5
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TCD Faculty News
Launching of the Published Translation of Book on Amazonia Development Drs. Marianne Schmink and Charles H. Wood have published a newly-translated book entitled, “Conflitos Sociais e a Formação da Amazônia” (Belém, Brazil: Editora da UFPA, 2012). This book is the Portuguese translation of Contested Frontiers in Amazonia (Columbia University Press, 1992), which traces the history of Amazonian development during the 1970s and 1980s with a focus on the expansion of farming, ranching, logging, and gold mining in the southern Pará region and the impacts of these changes on the town of São Felix do Xingu. In September and October of 2012, Dr. Schmink traveled to Brazil to participate in book launchings at the Feira Panamazônica in Belém, at two community events in São Felix do Xingu (PA), and at the Amazon Congress for Sustainable Development in Palmas (TO). Dr. Schmink also was an invited speaker on “De Fronteira a Florestania: São Felix do Xingu (Pará) e Rio Branco (Acre),” at the Panel on “Public Policies, Work, and Quality of Life in Amazonian Cities,” at the II Congresso Amazônico de Desenvolvimento Sustentável in Palmas (TO), Brazil (October, 2012).
Front cover of Schmink & Wood published translation of their 1992 book
TCD Post-doc and Collaborators Coordinated Workshop on Interactive Storytelling Dr. Simone Athayde (TCD) and Dr. Elaine Sponholtz (College of Journalism) co-chaired a panel on “Stories from the Ancestors: Uncertainty and Resilience in a Vulnerable World” during the 13th International Congress of Ethnobiology held in Montpellier, France, May 25, 2012. The session aimed to explore the message and the role played by myths and traditional stories in coping with uncertainty in a world of increased risk and vulnerability. The participants, from all over the world, had the opportunity to experience a diversity of interdisciplinary tools and methods for cultural interaction, such as participatory games and activities, role-playing, musical instruments, hands-on activities, craft making, storytelling, theatre, multimedia in the exploration of myths and storytelling. A video report was produced as a memory of the session, and can be accessed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UNuFPBfO_w.
Interactive Storytelling Workshop in Montpellier, France
TCD/UF Leadership at Rio+20, July 2012 Gator nation and TCD alumni are socio-environmental leaders around the world. During the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in July 2012, a group of TCD current students, alumni and faculty met and participated in the discussions about perspectives, policies and programs for reconciling conservation and development for global sustainability “Forests 8th Roundtable at Rio+20”organized by Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). TCD/UF alumni, students and researchers during Rio+20, Brazil. From left to right: Manuel Guariguata (CIFOR, TCD/UF alum); Raissa Guerra (PhD student, TCD/UF), Cláudia Stickler (IPAM, TCD/UF alum), Amy Duchelle (CIFOR, TCD/UF alum), Marina Londres (PhD student, TCD/UF), Omaira Bolaños ( front, RRI, TCD/UF alum), Ane Alencar (back, IPAM, TCD/UF alum), Mary Menton (CIFOR, TCD/UF alum), Peter Cronkleton (CIFOR, TCD/UF alum), Marlene Soriano (TCD/UF alum), & Simone Athayde (TCD/UF postdoc). 6
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TCD Faculty News Strengthening Capacity for Environmental Monitoring & Forest Biodiversity Conservation in the Bolivian Amazon. Submitted by Stephen Perz (Sociology) Drs. Stephen Perz (Sociology and Criminology & Law), Bette Loiselle (LAS/ Wildlife Ecology and Conservation), and Kaoru Kitajima (Biology) will lead a new cooperative agreement between the University of Florida and Higher Education for Development (HED) for capacity building activities in the Bolivian lowlands. HED has an agreement with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to administer a Higher Education Partnership Program (HEPP) as part of USAID’s Initiative for Conservation of the Andean Amazon Phase II (ICAA II). UF will lead a consortium with Bolivian organizations featuring the Amazonian University of Pando (UAP), supported by the Gabriel René Moreno Autónomous University, and the socio-environmental NGOs Herencia and the Bolivian Institute for Forest Research. This consortium will draw on the TCD program and other innovative learning platforms for research, training and practice in conservation and development to support comparative research on humid and dry forest ecology and management in Bolivia, visiting professionals from Bolivia to UF, and the creation of a new MA program in natural resource management at UAP.
Extension and Advisory Service Delivery for Women’s Groups in Jordan: Assessing Competencies and Building Social Capital. Submitted by Sandra Russo (UFIC) In November of 2012, activities commenced for the Extension and Advisory Service Delivery for Women’s Groups in Jordan: Assessing Competencies and Building Social Capital project. This is a one year project funded by USAID through the Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services (MEAS) program which is administered from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Research will be conducted in collaboration with the National Center for Agricultural Research and Extension (NCARE) in From left to right : Ms. Hanaa Chehabeddine (LARI), Ms. Omama Hadidi (NCARE), Mr. Tayseer Jordan as they work toward building the capacity of Abo Ammash (NCARE), Jeremy Lambeth (UF), Dr. cooperatives and women’s groups in water-scarce Connie Shehan (UF) and Ms. Lana Abo Nowar areas of the country. Pilot research utilizing the (NCARE) Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index was conducted in Jordan during Summer 2012 by Drs. Sandra Russo and Connie Shehan with UF students Kristen Augustine, Jeremy Lambeth, Chesney McOmber, Claudia Youakim, and Nargiza Ludgate with NCARE and ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas) colleagues. Female participants will attend a number of trainings designed to give them information and skills needed to improve their livelihoods and the market success of their products. During this process the UF team will focus on researching how the building of women’s social capital and networks during these activities can help women to better utilize and share extension and agricultural services. It is expected that the findings will be used to inform future activities in the MENA region aimed at improving women’s livelihoods and access to extension services. 7
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TCD Faculty News
Dr. Kaoru Kitajima is Program Chair for 2013 ATBC-OTS Meeting in Costa Rica The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) and the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) will be celebrating their 50th anniversary with a joint scientific meeting in San JosÊ, Costa Rica, from 23 to 27 June, 2013. The Program Chair, Kaoru Kitajima (Professor, Biology TCD Faculty Affiliate), has been busy preparing for this special joint meeting of the world’s largest scientific society of tropical biology (ATBC) and OTS a non-profit consortium of more than 60 universities, internationally recognized for its leadership in education, research and the responsible use of natural resources in the tropics. University of Florida is one of the founding members of OTS, and many UF faculty and students have been active in ATBC. The call for abstracts for contributed oral and poster presentations will be open from the end of December through 15 February 2013. Please visit the meeting website to learn more. If you are interested in helping to organize this meeting, which will have over 1,000 tropical biologists and conservationists from around the world, please contact Kaoru Kitajima or sign up on the meeting website.
Evaluation of Forest Management Certification Drs. Claudia Romero and Jack Putz (Biology), TCD faculty affiliates, were recently funded by USAID to carry out a field-based evaluation of the environmental, social, economic, and policy impacts of voluntary, third-party certification of responsible forest management. Although certification has been underway for nearly 20 years, the impacts of this conservation intervention have yet to be assessed with field data. The international team of collaborators they are assembling through the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Indonesia will focus on the impacts of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification of natural forest management in several tropical countries (e.g., Indonesia, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Brazil, and Mexico). Their approach builds on insights derived from several recent workshops they held in the USA, France, and Indonesia that facilitated open exchange of information and built solid collaborations among a variety of individual researchers and institutions, including the FSC. The general goal for the first year of the project is to use this open and transparent approach to design an evaluation framework that reflects the many recent insights of the international community of evaluators, those of researchers focused on biophysical and social impacts of other conservation interventions, and the views and needs of stakeholders at local, regional, and national levels. At the end of the year and before moving into the evaluative field research, the team plans to release the details of their evaluation design and associated protocols so as to encourage the participation of new collaborators working in other countries and with other certification programs. For more information please contact: romero@ufl.edu. 8
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TCD Student Practitioner Experience Field Course for Latin American Students in Colombia Submitted by Judit Ungvari-Martin, PhD student, Biology
As conservation issues such as climate change and deforestation continue to span political borders, there is an ever-increasing need for international scientific collaborations. Much research takes place in developing countries, and in many cases research projects in Latin American countries provide opportunities for local students to improve their field-techniques, by training students in specific data collection methods. Much less frequent is the involvement of these students in the development of the questions, analysis and data interpretation of each project. Thus, our objective has been to close the loop by instructing local students who have leadership potential and the motivation necessary to conduct their own research. We first developed the Field Course for Latin American Students in 2009 to train and recruit student assistants who were not yet qualified to fill positions on our field crews in Peru. After working with the students for a few days, it became apparent that these promising students had no training in the process of scientific investigation. We therefore decided to have the students develop a hypothesis-driven independent thesis project. The following year the scope of the field course was broadened, and eight students from Peru and three from Colombia spent 10 days in a peer learning environment about scientific inquiry that included research design and critical reading of journal articles as well as training in basic tools and techniques of ecological research. The students subsequently used these tools and techniques to design and execute small pilot projects with structured peer group feedback on all components of their project including their hypotheses, methods, and interpretation of their results. In 2011, we broadened the recruitment process yielding a massive response with more than 100 applicants from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. In 2012, Judit Ungvari-Martin (PhD student, Biology) received a TCD Practitioner Grant to help support the 4th version of this field course. This time around, 21 students from Colombia, Peru and Bolivia attended the course that took place at the Centro Forestal Tropical Pedro Pineda in Colombia. The students received hands-on research training in a variety of fauna groups and also learned about research design. They also participated in a workshop about preparation of curriculum vitae and letters of intent for future prospective jobs. At the end of the course, the students presented results from their independent studies in a mini-symposium. Ultimately, we expect this educational program to have a long-lasting positive impact by enhancing capacity building for future conservation leaders and by helping them to prepare for their studies and research. For more information about the course and pictures please go to: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/ ordwaylab/judit/Curso_de_campo/ Curso_de_campo.html 2012 Field course participants in Colombia
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TCD Student Practitioner Experience
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Workshop for Extension Officers in Timor Leste Submitted by Austen Moore, PhD student, Agricultural Education and Communication
Prior to arriving at UF for my PhD in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, I served in the Peace Corps in Timor Leste, working with a variety of international development and conservation non-profits, and completed my Master’s degree in Agricultural and Extension Education at New Mexico State University. My research focus is on small-scale sustainable farming systems and international agricultural Extension. As a recipient of the TCD Practitioner Experience Grant, I had the opportunity to spend May-June 2012 working closely with the government of Timor Leste to improve its agricultural Extension system. I conducted this project in three parts: First, research results from my master’s thesis (An Analysis of the Agricultural Sustainability of Small-Scale Farms in Lacluta Sub-District of Timor Leste) were presented to stakeholders in the Ministry of Agriculture, local leaders in Lacluta, and the farmers that had participated in the original study. Recommendations for improved agronomic, agribusiness, and agroecological practices were wellreceived and hopefully will help stimulate policy and behavior changes that can develop the agricultural sector and improve rural livelihoods. Second, I conducted a training workshop with Extension officers in the rural district of Viqueque. Officers were taught participatory methods for working with Extension clientele and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) methods for conducting local needs assessments. The training was taught in the national language of Tetum and utilized a combination of teaching methods to convey the material. Officers were very positive about the training and requested continued linkages with UF and the TCD program. Third, I collected data through in-person interviews with Extension personnel at the national and field level to determine the challenges/constraints facing Extension and the opportunities for strengthening the system. Preliminary data were presented to the Ministry of Agriculture and USAID-Timor Leste’s agricultural development team, and future publications are planned. Hopefully this research will lead to improvements to Timorese Extension and/or additional development interventions that improve agriculture in Timor Leste. 10
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TCD Student Spotlight
Name: Antonio Crespo Degree: PhD Affiliations: SNRE, Environ. Horticulture, and TCD Hometown: Cuenca, Ecuador
Prior to UF: Undergraduate degree from Universidad del Azuay (B.Sc. Biology, 2001). From 1999-2001 he worked in environmental NGOs in southern Ecuador. He left for Germany in 2002 to enroll at the Masters Program in Sustainable Resource Management at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (M.Sc. 2004). From 2005 to 2009, Antonio worked at Universidad del Azuay as teaching and research staff.
Reasons for joining TCD: Antonio wanted an interdisciplinary perspective focused in the tropics to construct a more comprehensive research project. He was also moved by the possibility of collaboration and friendship with fellow students and faculty working all over the tropics.
In late January 2012, Antonio Crespo travelled to the south Andes of Ecuador to begin the field component for his dissertation “Direct seeding with local native trees to initiate restoration in Andean valleys: Empirical data from an agricultural landscape”. The work focuses on developing cost-effective restoration that better relates to the reality of Andean stakeholders while contributing to the recovery of natural capital and biodiversity. The ecological setting for this study is the Pamar River Valley (PRV) while the stakeholders are the farmers of Pamarchacrín, a small local community. Since knowledge exchange and local empowerment are the philosophical pillars of this project, a great amount of time and effort has been invested in garnering trust and acceptance from Pamarchacrín farmers while creating channels for participation. Door-todoor conversations began in summer 2010 (with a TCD field research grant) and in summer 2011 Antonio was able to conducted two workshops with the entire community. These workshops resulted in a communal agreement that allowed for research to be conducted in the area; workshops also included a participatory selection of native trees and target habitats based on farmers’ interests and perceptions. Six native trees were selected for in situ experiments in degraded hillsides and ex situ experiments in lab facilities. Species include: Caesalpinia spinosa; Erythrina edulis; Hesperomeles ferruginea; Juglans neotropica; Oreocallis grandiflora; Prunus serotina capuli. A first direct-seeding experiment was installed in early March 2012 with 3 species (E. edulis; P. serotina capuli; O. grandiflora) following the techniques and timing normally applied by farmers to establish seedbeds for agriculture. Seven families from Pamarchacrín endowed space from their landholdings for these experiments and chose the exact location of plots in late January 2012. So far these 3 species have successfully germinated in field conditions: For E. edulis an average of 60% germination was recorded 3 weeks after sowing; for P. serotina capuli 40% germination after 5 weeks; and for O. grandiflora 50% germination after 6 weeks. Currently, lab experiments are being conducted in the remaining 3 species to develop germination protocols and acquire a preliminary understanding of their germination behavior prior to direct seeding in summer 2012. Antonio also partnered with a local university from southern Ecuador, Universidad del Azuay (UDA), which permitted the use of lab space for seed experiments. He is also guiding an undergraduate thesis project from the Biology Department in UDA and responding to undergraduate request for internships in seed ecology. 11
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2012 Marianne Schmink Outstanding Dissertation Award Lecture
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Christine Lucas has been selected as the 2012 recipient of the Marianne Schmink Award for the Outstanding Dissertation in Tropical Conservation and Development. Dr. Lucas completed her dissertation in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation under the supervision of Dr. Emilio Bruna. Her dissertation was entitled “Successional dynamics and seedling regeneration in Amazonian floodplain forests.” The selection committee was particularly impressed by Dr. Lucas’ innovative use of participatory research methods and her commitment to capacity building. In addition, the committee highlighted the high standards for the science behind her project that will have real impacts on conservation and development in the region. Dr. Lucas’ dissertation exemplified the TCD mission of bridging theory and practice to conserve biodiversity, promote sustainable resource use, and advance human well-being. Throughout her tenure at UF, Dr. Lucas was an active participant in the TCD community and a recipient of numerous awards, including fellowships from the Working Forests in the Tropics NSF-IGERT Program and the Inter-American Foundation and an NSF Doctoral Dissertation Enhancement Grant. For her dissertation, Dr. Lucas focused on the influence of land-use history and resource extraction by local land-holders on the regeneration of Amazonian flooded forests. The flooded forests of the Amazon are incredibly important ecosystems that not only sustain the productivity and diversity of the largest and most diverse freshwater system of the planet, but also contribute substantially to the economy and culture of the millions of people that live in the region. Despite their importance, these forests are under great pressure from cattle ranching, over-fishing, and timber extraction. Dr. Lucas’ research revealed how these disturbances and environmental stresses, such as severe floods, interact to affect forest regeneration at multiple scales. Further, her research evaluated the social and economic aspects of alternative forest uses for local communities.
Christine Lucas at dissertation field site in Brazil
During the course of her research, Dr. Lucas worked closely with local community residents from Ilha do São Miguel, Santa Maria do Tapará, Tapará-miri, and Aracampina do Ituqui in eastern Amazonia region of Brazil. She also established collaborations with scientists at the Universidade Federal Rural da Amazonia (UFRA), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisa Amazônica (INPA), Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment (LBA) in Santarem, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria (EMBRAPA) and Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (IPAM). In the tradition of TCD, Dr. Lucas contributed to local capacity building through engaging women from local communities to organize and conduct research on seed dispersal by commercially important fish. She also mentored women undergraduate students from the Universidade Federal do Para and served as an excellent role model for aspiring young scientists from the region. In October of 2012 Dr. Lucas accepted the Schmink award and presented the talk “Integrating capacity-building & participatory research methods into graduate student research” . She presented mostly about her experience in collaborating with local Universities, floodplain communities, and NGOs in the Eastern Amazon of Brazil to develop research and capacitybuilding opportunities within tropical forest ecology and botany. She highlighted not only the successes of the research experience but also the major conflicts and challenges that were confronted. She described how the skills she learned from TCD helped her navigate these difficulties and created opportunities for new collaboration. Finally, she talked about where this experience has led her today as a researcher in Uruguay.
Christine Lucas (center) with advisor Emilio Bruna, Marianne Schmink and Bette Loiselle (far right) after receiving the 2012 M. Schmink Dissertation award
She has currently accepted a post-doctoral position with the Grupo de Biodiversidad y Ecología, Instituto de Ecología y Ciencias Ambientales at the Universidad de la Republica del Uruguay. Here she is developing a program to assess and monitor the ecological integrity of the National System of Protected Areas. She will have the opportunity to conduct research, teach, and advise students. Christine has also been offered a part-time consultancy to work with FAO on the workshop “Integrating Fisher's Knowledge into Fisheries Management Planning”. 12
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TCD Student Group News Contributed by the TCD Student Ggroup
Conservation & Development Forum (CDF): Translating Research into Practice The Fall 2012 Conservation and Development Forum covered the topic Translating Research into Practice. This academic space, hosted by the TCD Student Group, brought together more than 40 students and faculty from the TCD community in an effort to discuss experiences and viewpoints on how to bridge the gap between research and practice. The forum featured a group of 5 TCD faculty and 1 visiting scholar who gave short thought-provoking talks on the topic. These short presentations were followed by a prolonged discussion by all participants. Both the talks and discussion highlighted the intricate relationship that exists between research and practice and how one cannot advance without the support of the other. Research is indispensable to make well-informed decisions but practice will always be the acid test of any decision. In a community such as TCD, which has an explicit focus on multi-disciplinary work, scholars are frequently taking the role of both researcher and practitioner. We might have a competitive advantage if our scholarly approach erases the barriers between the two. Talks were given by Drs. Karen Kainer (SFRC/ SNRE), Grenville Barnes (SFRC/MDP), Sebastian Galindo (AEC), Mickie Swisher (FYC/ SNRE/Geography), Greg MacDonald (Weed Science) and Walterina Brasil (visiting scholar).
TCD Student Group Fundraiser: Bingo Night 2012 On Friday November 2nd, the TCD Student Group held its annual Bingo Night. The event was hosted by Emilio Bruna and Patricia Sampaio in a fun and family-friendly atmosphere. TCD Bingo has traditionally been a potluck event with voluntary contributions from faculty and students. This year the student group changed the tradition and charged an entrance fee, which included a tasty dinner and soft drinks. Thanks to a group of 7 creative chefs, our Bingo guests enjoyed Papas a la Huancaina, vegetarian and regular Lasagna, Salad, and assorted pastries for dessert. The TCD Program contributed for the dinner preparation. TCD students and faculty were incredibly generous this year with prize donations. Ten rounds of Bingo were played, each with a hefty prize package for the winner and with guaranteed prizes for the kids at every round. This Fall event was a lot of fun and was especially successful in strengthening the social and academic bonds that make the TCD Program so unique. 13
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TCD Student Group News Contributed by the TCD Student Group
TCD Student Group: Service Day The TCD Student Group held their first annual fall service event on October 20th in partnership with the Florida National Scenic Trail. Fourteen volunteers from the UF and three members and affiliates of the FNST spent the morning doing trail maintenance at the Swift Creek Campground loop near Lake Butler. We had a wonderful time doing some high-precision machete work, fallen tree removal, pruning, and blazing (painting trees to mark the trail), and the trail looked great when we were done! After all that hard work the volunteers enjoyed a potluck lunch with the volunteers from the FNST. The fall service event was such a success that the TCD Student Group is planning to continue to work with Allison and the FNST to organize a spring service event next term, including an overnight camping option for those who are interested.
TCD Student Group T-shirt and mugs for sale The TCD Student Group is selling T-shirts and travel mugs to help with their fundraising efforts. The organic cotton T-shirts with the TCD Student Group logo printed on the front pocket and on the back cost $15 and the stainless steel coffee mugs with the same logo in green cost $10. These are great gifts for family, friends and research collaborators! If interested, please contact Thaissa Sobreiro.
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Master in Sustainable Development Program (MDP) News Contributed by MDP Program
The Master of Sustainable Development Practice (MDP) Program held it’s 2012 Poster Session on Tuesday, November 27, 2012. The annual event was widely attended by students from MDP and others from programs and departments throughout UF. Several core and affiliate program faculty also attended the event. Ten 2nd year MDP students presented their field practicum projects in posters in a one-on-one basis or in small groups. The MDP Poster session had different objectives, such as: providing MDP students the opportunity to publicly present their field practicum project in a concise poster format; creating a forum for MDP students to reflect on and compare their field practicum experience; sharing field experiences with 1st year MDP students to assist them in the selection of their own field practicum and disseminating field experiences and results to a broad audience of students, faculty and affiliate faculty, and others interested in MDP. The judges for the evening included Drs. Ignacio Porzecanski (SNRE), Alyson Young (Anthropology), Sebastian Galindo (AEC) and Rosalie Koenig (Agronomy). We thank each of them for their invaluable participation in the process. Throughout the evening, posters were assessed based on a set of criteria and a first place and runner up were selected for special recognition. Congratulations to all students for their excellent work! Below you will find a list of the Ten MDP student presenters and their posters projects: Sheldon Wardwell (First place): CommunityBased Needs Assessment; Maar, South Sudan. Stephenie Chatfield (Runner up): Monitoring and Evaluation of Sanitation Behaviors; Southern Ethiopia. (Picture on right) Angela Quashigah: New Life Orphanage Needs Assessment and Building Project; Ghana, West Africa. Sky Georges: Youth Leadership Development; Chennai, India. Nicolas Vasconcellos: Livelihoods Improvement in Ngamiland Communities Through Better Market Opportunities for Cattle Farmers; Botswana. Indah Waty Bong: Learning What Life is Like for an ‘Insider’ while Remaining a ‘Lekgowa’: an Approach to Understand the Local Adaptive Capacity and Resilience to Manage Changes for Sustainable Development; Nokaneng, Botswana. Dave Pittman: Development of Sustainable Indicators for Integrated Water Quality Management in the Mayana Community; Namibia. Sydney Nilan: Operationalizing Participation in Data Collection for Community-Based Ecotourism Planning; Costa Rica. Marliz Arteaga Gomez Garcia: Develop and Test a Process for Creating a Regionally Appropriate Environmental Curriculum; Pando, Bolivia. Ramin Gillett: Sankoyo on the Eve of the Hunting Ban; Botswana. 15
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Amazon Conservation Leadership Initiative (ACLI) News
Drs. Wendy-Lin Bartels and Bob Buschbacher hosted an exchange visit with partners of the ACLI program from northern Mato Grosso, Brazil, the week of November 26-30. The group of 10 visitors from Instituto Centro Vida, Instituto Ouro Verde and Universidade Estadual do Mato Grosso (two NGOs and the State University) work on social organization and sustainability of family agriculture on the Amazon frontier. Building on the partnership developed during ACLI's course on Collaborative Management of SocialEcological systems, UF and the visitors are now developing a Specialization Course for NGO extension agents on their staffs.
The visit included 3 panel discussions with TCD faculty and students. Professor Grenville Barnes, students Germain Mavah and Trent Blare, and alumna Laurie Wilkins shared their experiences with community-based natural resource management and commercialization. Professors Marianne Schmink, Carmen Diana Deere, Fred Royce, and students Ricardo Mello and Nathalia Ochoa shared a range of perspectives on Family Agriculture, Agrarian Reform and Collective Action. Finally, Jon Dain, Marianne Schmink, Sebastian Galindo and Bette Loiselle contributed valuable suggestions for the new Specialization Course. We also had an opportunity to observe and compare land use and family agriculture in Brazil and the southeastern United States, sparked by visits to Payne's Prairie in Gainesville and two coops of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives in Albany Georgia. The visit was highlighted by the Federation in a press release. The visitors were pleased with the warm welcome they got at UF, impressed with the wide range of experience and expertise offered at TCD, and motivated to continue our partnership through the course and future visits.
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TCD Alumni News & Notes Alumni: Kelly Biedenweg Degree, year: PhD, 2010 Current institution: Puget Sound Institute Kelly received a prestigious post-doctoral award through the Science, Education and Engineering for Sustainability program (SEES) at the National Science Foundation. The project entitled “Designing and testing quantitative and spatial measurements of sociocultural values for sustainability planning” received 3 years of funding to work with The Natural Capital Project, The Nature Conservancy, USFS PNW Research Station, and Puget Sound Institute, in Puget Sound, Washington. For the description of Kelly’s award follow: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=1215886
Alumni: Santiago Espinosa Degree, year: PhD, 2012 Current institution: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE) Santiago has started a position as an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE). One of Santiago’s main duties will be directing a M.S. program in conservation biology. Santiago is looking forward to open a space for collaborations between UF and PUCE that could enrich the learning process of students and expand the research of faculty. He expects to continue with research activities that can inform the management of natural areas and improve the conservation status of wildlife in Ecuador. And of course, he plans to expand his work for jaguar conservation!
Alumni: John Fort Degree, year: MS, 2010 Current institution: Re:Solutions Still thrilled to be spending quality time with his daughter in Southern California, TCD Alum John Fort is excited about the opportunities he has to put his Conflict and Collaboration process skills to work. The Applied Improv Network Conference was a wonderful venue to connect with other practitioners using improvisational theater to inform their experiential facilitation. At Re:Solutions (regardingsolutions.com), John is delighted to be able to work with the City of Claremont, the Center for Nonprofit Management, and the Visiting Nurses Association Hospice Group to help their clients and work teams enhance communication, strengthen leadership, and unlock creativity. He looks forward to applying these approaches to a wide array of group process situations, including those that deal directly with win-win conservation and development. 17
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TCD Alumni News & Notes Alumni: Robert Godshalk Degree, year: PhD, 2006 Current institution: Organization for Tropical Studies Robert recently completed his second term as co-coordinator for an undergraduate tropical ecology course with the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS). The course coordinator, Dr. Wendy Townsend, is also a UF and TCD alum. The 10-week NSF funded course is specifically designed for minorities that are under-represented in science and takes place in Costa Rica. The program, Native American and Pacific Islander Research Experience (NAPIRE) accepts US undergraduates from institutions with Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation programs, which leads to a very diverse group. The 17 participants in this year's course came from a wide variety of locations and backgrounds - Guam, Samoa, Palau, Hawaii, AK (Yupik), NC (Mohawk), MN (Chippewa), AZ (Navaho), CA (Washo), OK (Cherokee), among others. Students were housed at two world class OTS research stations (La Selva and Las Cruces) where they received basic ecology instruction. They chose among 8 research mentors to help design and complete 6-week individual field projects, an excellent student/mentor ratio. At the course end, students gave final presentations of their project results which was Skyped live to their home institution and family members. Excursions during the course included interactive visits at 3 Indigenous Territories and trips to National Parks and Biological Reserves (photo on right was taken at Tirimbina Bat Conservation Reserve). Students' performance was outstanding and 10 went on this fall to the SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) conference.
OTS NAPIRE students and Robert in Costa Rica
Alumni: Jeffrey Luzar Degree, year: PhD, 2006 Current institution: U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Jeff Luzar joined the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) in 2011 as a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow. His responsibilities have included coordination of the OES Bureau’s multilateral development bank loan review process, serving as the State Department’s Desk Officer for the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and contribution to USG preparations for the Rio+20 U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development and meetings of the GEF Council. In his work, Jeff also contributed to an interagency evaluation of proposed revisions to MDB environmental safeguards. Jeff also serves as the Bureau’s liaison at monthly NGO-chaired meetings focused on MDB operations. An article related to Jeff’s prior post-doctoral work in Guyana was recently published in Human Ecology: Luzar, J.B., K.M. Silvius and J.M.V. Fragoso. 2012. “Church Affiliation and Meat Taboos in Indigenous Communities of Guyanese Amazonia” Human Ecology 40 (6):833 -845. A second related article should be published in Human Ecology early in 2013.
Makushi research assistant on his way home from a hunt.
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TCD Alumni News & Notes Alumni: Richard Pace Degree, year: PhD, 1987 Current institution: Professor of Anthropology at Middle Tennessee State University
Richard Pace, Olga Pace, with Gurupaense Dona Seba in the middle
Richard spent the 2011-2012 academic year on a Fulbright Research and Teaching grant at the Federal University of Pará in Belém, Brazil. In addition to teaching a class on the Anthropology of Media in the Programa de Pos-Graduação de Ciênças Sociais (Graduate Program for the Social Sciences), he, his wife Olga and daughter Cynthia (graduate student Univ. of South Florida-Applied Medical Anthropology program) conducted research on the Belo Monte Dam and the emergent socio-economic, environmental, and health impacts up downstream ribeirinho communities. For Spring 2013, Pace has been awarded an $104,000 NSF grant (with co-PI Conrad Kottak—U. of Michigan—and Glenn Shepard— Goeldi Museum) to return to Brazil to study the evolving influence of media (television, internet, cell phones, DVDs) upon five rural communities (Turedjam of the Kayapó Indigenous Lands, Gurupá in the Amazon, Arembepe on the coast of Bahia, Cunha in the interior of São Paulo, and Ibirama in the southern state of Santa Catarina). In addition, Olga and he will continue research on the Belo Monte Dam’s impact in Gurupá, including the administration of a municipality-wide survey to establish a baseline to measure socio-economic and environmental changes affecting the community’s extractive reserves and quilombos. Lastly, Pace and co-author Brian Hinote’s book Amazon Town TV: An Audience Ethnography in the Brazilian Amazon (U. of Texas Press) will be out in May 2013. Alumni: David Salisbury Degree, year: MALAS, 2002 Current institution: University of Richmond David Salisbury led a transboundary mapping workshop bringing 16 individuals from 13 institutions to build a transboundary GIS database across the Brazilian state of Acre and the Peruvian region of Ucayali. More details can be found through in: 1) Salisbury, David S., Flores de Melo, A. Willian., Vela Alvarado, Jorge, and Bertha Balbín Ordaya. 2012. Amazonian States Map Threatened Borderlands. ArcNews 34, no. 3, (Fall, 2012): 33. 2) Salisbury, David S., Flores de Melo, A. Willian., and Bertha Balbín Ordaya. 2012. Taller Transfronterizo para la Amazonía Peruana y Brasileña. El Geógrafo 8, (August, 2012): 26-27. 3) Salisbury, David S., Flores de Melo, A. Willian, and Bertha Balbín Ordaya. 2012. Informe Técnico Final. Taller de Integración de Datos y Desarrollo de Capacidades Técnicas para Mitigar los Desafíos Ambientales en la Amazónia Peruana y Brasilena. 19 pgs. Pucallpa, Perú: Instituto PanAmericano de Geografía e Historia. Alumni: Arika Virapongse Degree, year: SNRE, 2012 Current institution: School for Field Studies in Bocas de Toro Island, Panama Arika has just finished her PhD this past December and accepted a position to be a Resident Lecturer for the Tropical Island Biodiversity and Conservation Studies program, School for Field Studies in Bocas de Toro Island, Panama. This is a recent program that has only started in July 2012. 19
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Marianne Schmink Fund for Innovation in Tropical Conservation and Development
TCD is pleased to announce that the Schmink Fund for Innovation in Tropical Conservation and Development has been established as a new endowment at the University of Florida. The campaign for this new fund was launched at a June 2009 dinner honoring Dr. Marianne Schmink for extraordinary contributions to conservation and development and her leadership in TCD. The Schmink Fund seeks to ensure the long-term impact of TCD around the world by catalyzing new applications and connections. It will complement the on-going successful campus and field-based TCD activities at the University of Florida both by fostering new ideas and innovative approaches and by enabling shared learning throughout the tropics. The first competition for the Schmink Fund occurred in the fall semester of 2012 (page 3). The TCD Program thanks all the individuals below that have generously contributed to the Schmink Fund for Innovation in Tropical Conservation and Development for the period of August 2012 to December 2012, which allowed us to reach our goal and establish the endowment! Amazon Level Marianne Schmink Sondra Wentzel
If you would like to contribute to the Schmink Fund or other activities of the TCD Program that support graduate student fellowships, research scholarships, conference travel, practicums, visiting scholar and practitioners, please visit our web site to make your gift; click on the ‘Make a gift’ icon below; or contact TCD Director, Bette Loiselle. Your donation would be greatly appreciated and will help strengthen the impact of the TCD Program!!!
Congo Level Bette Loiselle and John Blake Phil Williams and Victoria Condor-Williams
Dear TCD Alumni, Keep in touch with the TCD community by filling out the online Alumni update form.
If you would like to be featured in the next TCD e-newsletter, send your information and photo to tcd@latam.ufl.edu. If you haven’t received the TCD alumni listserv in a while or have any questions, please contact Patricia Sampaio at psampaio@ufl.edu. Thank you! TCD Program 20
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Upcoming Events … TCD Upcoming Deadlines: (click on grant name below to see full information)
* 2013-2014 TCD Assistantship / Fellowship deadline: February 4, 2013 * TCD Field Research Grant deadline: March 11, 2013 * TCD Conference Grant deadline: March 18, 2013 * TCD Practitioner Grant deadline: March 18, 2013 * Marianne Schmink Outstanding Dissertation Award deadline: April 29, 2013 Tropical Conservation & Development Program Center for Latin American Studies University of Florida 343 Grinter Hall
* TCD Book Scholarship deadline: May 10, 2013
TCD Upcoming Events: Tropilunch Tuesdays: First Meeting on January 15, 2013 Tropilunch is a weekly seminar run by the TCD Student Group that provides a forum for a range of discussions and presentations related to TCD work and research. Students have the opportunity to present and discuss their research projects with peers and faculty. In addition, discussion sessions on issues of current interest are also held. Visiting scholars and conservation practitioners also participate when available. Tropilunch is held every Tuesday at 12:45 p.m. in Grinter 376.
Gainesville, FL 32611
62ndAnnual Conference of the Center for LAS: February 14 & 15, 2013
Phone: 352-273-4734
“Emergent Brazil”. TCD Panel on “Emergent Amazonia”. University of Florida, Gainesville FL.
Fax: 352-392-7682 E-mail: tcd@ufl.edu Web: www.tcd.ufl.edu
Field Research Clinic: February 22, 2013 The FRC provides a unique opportunity for veteran students to present and discuss their research experiences and for new students to gain insight into the field research process. The Clinic combines a workshop on field research issues with a research poster competition highlighting the work of students who completed fieldwork in summer 2011.
TCD Student Group Spring Fundraising Taste of the Tropics : April / May 2013 More information coming soon!!
TCD Newsletter prepared by: Patricia D. Sampaio (Program Coordinator) & Bette Loiselle (Director)
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