Spring 2019 Costa Rica Maymester Course Syllabus. Land Use Issues in Rainforest Conservation. TC 358 (unique 42305, for Plan II majors) Maymester – Land Use Issues Rainforest Conservation BIO 337 (unique 48393, for non-Plan II majors) Maymester – Land Use Issues Rainforest Conservation Course Description: The Costa Rica Maymester course Land Use Issues in Rainforest Conservation is designed to expose students to many of the concerns that must be addressed in public policy regarding conservation and sustainable land use (both locally and at a national scale) in a country renown for its biodiversity and its extensive system of public and private reserves. Maymester students will gain real- world understanding of ecological research, sustainable agriculture, ecotourism development, and the complexity of conservation issues in a field setting. Students will learn about land management practices and will talk with Costa Ricans about their livelihood and community. We will travel together to several national parks, private reserves, small farms, and research institutes within Costa Rica. We’ll have a couple of brief “days off”, but the entire group will be on the same schedule for the entire month. We will stay together in field stations and small hotels, share charter bus rides and dine together for most meals (provided). Individual students will keep a journal, give oral presentations on natural history and tropical ecology, and prepare written briefs as we explore different points of view. Student teams will focus on specific issues and document, analyze and communicate their results in a final presentation. Global Cultures. This course meets requirements for the Global Cultures Flag: “Students will explore the practices, beliefs, and histories of at least one non-U.S. cultural group, past or present. Many of these courses also encourage you to reflect on your own experiences within a global context.” Why Costa Rica? Costa Rica is known worldwide for its conservation efforts. With more than 25% of its land under protection, Costa Rica safeguards more than 5% of the entire world's biodiversity in an area about the size of West Virginia. This phenomenon has attracted millions of tourists to Costa Rica's parks, reserves, beaches and towns. Eco-tourism, especially adventure tourism, can strain habitats and affect the neighboring human communities in both positive and negative ways. Agricultural practices are changing as Costa Ricans – on small farms as well as in national and multi-national corporations – work to achieve economic growth, meet renewable energy standards, and establish sustainable practices. The nation seeks carbon neutrality status and balances tradeoffs between hydroelectric, geothermal, and wind energy sources. Thus the nation is experiencing great economic, cultural, and sociological changes, (all of which we will investigate!). Costa Rica is a unique setting for biological field studies and has a long history of support for visiting research scholars and students and for development of local scientists and agricultural experts. In some respects, Costa Rica is a model for collaboration between governmental and private programs in conservation, but, as we will see, the road is not smooth and many issues are complex do not have easy solutions. Learning Outcomes: After this Maymester experience, students should be able to: • describe points of view and economic interests of different stakeholders in aspects of land use • identify perspectives and backgrounds of Costa Ricans with respect to culture, social issues and history • perform biological observations, ask specific questions, and design pertinent experiments • recognize and distinguish different forest habitats and types of agricultural land use in Costa Rica • know some natural history about tropical plants & animals; give examples of their ecological interactions • work in a team to document, prioritize and present current issues concerning a region, and be able to apply these approaches to different research problems elsewhere/later Basis of the letter grade will be 30% active participation in course activities and being a good citizen in the group, 20% field exercises including question and data activities, 20% individual write-ups including summary statements, conservation recommendations and a reflection due before departing Costa Rica, and 30% the group integrative research project and team presentation. Activities contributing one-third of the course grade will involve researching, interviewing, analyzing, and presenting on the culture of Costa Rica, including economics, history, family and social systems, education, and socio-political issues. Prerequisite: completion of either BIO 301E Plan II Biology, Problems in Modern Biology, or BIO 311D Introductory Biology II (honors alternative BIO 325H), with a grade of at least C, before departure. Faculty Instructors: Dr. Ruth Buskirk, [email protected] Dr. Debra Hansen [email protected] UT Austin Study Abroad Program Coordinator: Kate Osmond, [email protected] Program Leaders/Educators and Providers in Costa Rica: Andrés Vega, AMBICOR, Corcovado National Park CATIE, http://catie.ac.cr/en/ (guide/instructor Fernando Perez, tentative) Guillermo Vargas LIFE Monteverde http://lifemonteverde.com/ Tentative agenda in Costa Rica [flights in on Day 1, Thursday, May 30th] Day 1-2: students arrive in San Jose (SJO), airport/hotel transfer, city orientation; health & safety talks. Day 3: Travel day [by bus, over the continental divide (elevation 3000 m, about 10,000 ft)] Days 4-8: in the Osa Peninsula [guided hikes, discuss park management, group research projects] several days at the Rancho Quemado area and then by boat (the Pacific Ocean) to Corcovado National Park [Sirena field station, http://corcovadoguide.com/naturalhistory.htm] Days 9-10: boat out of Corcovado, bus to Jacó; Carara National Park; Herradura yacht [see investments] Days 11-15: bus to Turrialba, CATIE, [visit small farms, visit Guayabo Monument pre-Columbian historical site, lectures on protected areas, biological corridors, sustainable agriculture practices, bird monitoring project, individual online research and organize group projects] Days 16-17: bus to Cahuita, visit Cahuita National Park (tourist beach, learn about park co-management; visit agriculture plantations; learn about indigenous group sales projects) Days 18-20: bus to La Selva Biological Station near Puerto Viejo (http://www.ots.ac.cr/, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Selva_Biological_Station) guided walks, visit research plots. Days 21-23, bus to Guanacaste Province: visit Rincón de la Vieja National Park; Santa Rosa National Park & talk with Dr. Dan Janzen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanacaste_Conservation_Area Days 24-30 Monteverde Biology Station http://www.estacionbiologica.com/ visit Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (http://www.monteverdecostarica.info/), learn about sustainable agriculture and ecotourism with Guillermo Vargas, talk with community leaders; present group topic reports. Day 31 (June 29): bus to San Jose, final reports and discussion, closing events. June 30 – flights out. .