NATF320 Ecology and Management of Natural Resources in the Tropics

This course aims at guiding students to a post-graduate level in tropical ecology and natural resource management. The course focuses on

1) the main biomes found in tropical regions,

2) tropical biodiversity and how to measure it,

3) the main threats to biodiversity in tropical ecosystems, and

4) how tropical ecosystems can be protected and managed while including local and indigenous perspectives.

It is a combination of general tropical ecology and more applied dimensions, focusing on management and conservation issues. The course benefits from a wide range of expert contributions and examples from a wide variety of tropical biomes. Active student participation forms an integral part of the course through mandatory seminar sessions featuring structured debates on relevant topics within tropical ecology and conservation, alongside the development of an independent term paper on a topic relevant to the course content.

Knowledge:
The students will have advanced knowledge about tropical ecosystems, their biodiversity, and management approaches. Students will have in-depth knowledge about biodiversity patterns, monitoring methods, and ecological processes in tropical biomes. Furthermore, major threats to tropical biodiversity and conservation strategies will be covered.

Skills:
The students should be able to apply their acquired ecological knowledge to address conservation and management challenges in tropical ecosystems. The students will be able to critically evaluate biodiversity monitoring methods and their limitations, interpret ecological patterns and biodiversity trends as well as their underlying drivers, and assess different conservation approaches. Students will have the ability to work independently, critically engage with scientific literature, and be able to synthesize this knowledge into a scientific report.

General competence:
The students will be able to utilize their knowledge in a broad set of situations, also outside the tropical realm. Students will be able to engage critically with conservation debates, evaluate trade-offs in conservation decision-making, and communicate effectively with natural resource scientists and conservation practitioners.