Jesse Abrams, research associate in the University of Oregon Institute for a Sustainable Environment, will lead a new GEO program in summer 2017 titled Sustainable Development in Latin America.
Ecuador provides an ideal setting for exploring issues related to sustainable development and this program will examine the tensions, challenges, and possibilities for reconciling development and conservation in the dry tropical forest zone, a critically important and globally imperiled ecosystem.
Course activities are held in Quito and in Bahía de Caráquez. During the first week of the program, students will stay in Quito to take an intensive Spanish course and visit organizations dealing with sustainable development practices. The following three weeks of activities will be developed in Bahia de Caráquez.
In Bahia, students will work closely with staff from Planet Drum Foundation, a San Francisco-based NGO with a long-term presence in the region. At Planet Drum students will engage in service learning through field excursions, discussions with locals, and participation in native forest revegetation projects. Students will witness first-hand how the efforts led by Planet Drum and other organizations have made the city more resilient.
For more information on the program, visit:
http://geo.uoregon.edu/LAmerica/development