Global threats to development of just, sustainable human societies are addressed in the context of local and regional management of forests and rangelands. Students will link global problems and local management of natural resources within the context of a liberal education that includes the study of art, philosophy, politics, and science.
The primary objective of this course is to present principles of natural resource management within a global framework that incorporates ecological, economic, and sociopolitical factors. Specifically, we will address the importance of several globally important issues within the context of local and regional management of forests and rangelands. In short, we are trying to teach, and learn, how to save the world's remaining biological diversity in light of five global-scale forces that threaten our ability to develop a just and sustainable human society: greenhouse gas concentrations, consumption of resources, extinction, infectious diseases, and human population growth. This course will address each of these issues within the context of local and regional management of forests and rangelands. In addition to discussing these significant problems, we will work to develop solutions.
In addition to focusing on education about these global-scale forces -- as if that task is not Herculean enough -- we will work on development of communication and critical-thinking skills. We view these skills as foundational for a career in natural resources management. And also for a life of excellence.
This class will focus neither on the teacher nor the learner, but on the subject: sustainable management of natural resources. As such, regular contributions are welcome and expected from every participant.
RA M 446/RA M 546 is a senior- and graduate-level course.
|Instructor:||Guy R. McPherson|
|Teaching Assistant:||Chris McDonald|
|Home Department:||School of Natural Resources, University of Arizona|
|Semester offered:||Spring 2006|