The course begins with an overview of ecological and economic transformations associated with European settlement and the beginnings of the environmental conservation movements during the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the context of contemporary public lands issues, the changing nature of environmental debate from 1960-present is reviewed with the political, economic, ethical and scientific problems that have arisen in conservation and preservation discussed. The societies in these countries are undergoing rapid socioeconomic change and in the process they are transforming their environment. Extensive tropical forests are felled for timber or converted to agriculture and ranching. Countless species are disappearing.
Some observers blame human population growth.
Others blame capitalism or governmental mismanagement. We will study the driving forces of environmental change in the tropics, as well as new and often controversial efforts to conserve forests and wildlife in this region.