Projects
Integrating Ecological Sciences and Environmental Ethics for Biocultural Conservation in the Temperate Sub-Antarctic Region of Southwestern South America (IRES)
National Science Foundation Award
International Research Experience for Students
$150,000 x 3 years (2009-2011)
PI: James Kennedy (UNT)
CoPIs: Ricardo Rozzi (UNT-IEB-UMAG) and Christopher B. Anderson (IEB-OSARA)
Apply Now!
Download SEEDS Application
Biocultural diversity has been defined as the “diversity of life in all its manifestations— biological, cultural, and linguistic—which are interrelated within a complex socio-ecological adaptive system.” Addressing modern day environmental issues requires approaches that take into account this multi-faceted meaning of diversity.
This project invites students to participate in a research, education and conservation program that also incorporates a novel integration of ecological sciences and environmental ethics through theoretical and field work conducted in the temperate subantarctic region of southwestern South America.
Coordinated by US and Chilean partners, including the University of the North Texas (UNT), the Chilean Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB) and the University of Magallanes (UMAG), this IRES introduces three key innovations:
- A focus on a unique high latitude area, comparatively less studied than tropical and
other lower latitude regions of the Americas - The integration of science and philosophy through field work; and
- Multicultural scientific perspectives by working in small US-Chilean research teams.
The specific foci of field experiences will be at the watershed/ecosystem level, allowing diverse studies of
- Hydrological and biogeochemical cycles
- Biodiversity assessments
- Indigenous ecological knowledge and socio-cultural perspectives on biodiversity
- Conservation linked to education and ecotourism programs of biocultural diversity in southern Chile.
This research-conservation experience will take place mainly at the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve (CHBR), one of the world’s most pristine eco-regions, and will expose students to new interdisciplinary methods and approaches that advance understanding of the links between social and ecological systems, and conservation at local, regional, and global scales.
Such a singular opportunity to engage US students in ongoing, innovative research, education, and conservation projects at the southernmost forest ecosystems of the world is the result of a five year process, led by scientists associated to this proposal, in collaboration with the Chilean government, private sector, and other regional actors to create the CHBR. As such, students will participate in the implementation of biocultural education and ecotourism in the biosphere reserve and other Chilean long-term research sites.
Finally, by developing international experiences with the Ecological Society of America’s Strategies for Ecology Education, Development and Sustainability (SEEDS) program at the southern end of the Americas, this project helps diversify the cadre of students who will be prepared to undertake international collaboration and integration global and local scales to effectively address eco-social problems and conservation challenges.