Working at the community level provides an opportunity to achieve a balance between scientific knowledge and indigenous knowledge. Compton first evaluated the impact of human influences on the forests in the Yunnan province five years ago. Along with Tom Yuill, professor of veterinary medicine and director of the Institute for Environmental Studies, and Tim Moermond, professor of zoology and chair of the Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development program in IES, Compton then started working to enhance the environment and economy of Yunnan's upland ecosystems. Now Compton and his UW-Madison colleagues are designing, testing and promoting models and strategies to enable people to use the resources in the area while also sustaining them. One problem, Compton said, is the current practice of grazing farm animals in the forest, which can destroy biodiversity.
Farm animals are an important source of nutrition and income to the rural poor.
We need to work with people in the community to develop alternative means of livestock management, such as finding different sources for fodder. This is a great opportunity for the university to play a role in environmental rehabilitation of a large part of the world and to improve the lives of nearly a billion people. One key to the project's future success is ensuring that the programs developed are owned and operated by the local communities. When we work strictly in a university environment, we sometimes forget that scientists don't have all the answers. Compton began working with the rural poor in Asia as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1962.