Symposium: The Influence of Human Demography and Agriculture on Natural Systems in the Neotropics

许多人为因素影响着农田和自然区域(森林)的分布和范围，但最重要的是全球人口、移民和人均卡路里消耗量的增加。在整个拉丁美洲和加勒比地区，经济增长和更好的就业、教育和医疗服务机会的增加正在促进城市化；但在地方范围内(例如市政当局)，其他因素改变了土地利用的总体趋势。为了加深我们对人类与自然动态之间复杂相互作用的理解，我们请求为一个名为“人类人口和农业对新热带地区自然系统的影响”的研讨会提供资金。这次研讨会将汇集拉丁美洲和加勒比地区的专家，讨论人口和农业动态之间复杂的相互作用，建立必要的合作来研究它们，并制定研究议程，以了解在日益全球化的情况下，社会经济和环境进程如何相互作用。这次研讨会提出的问题既具有基本的社会意义，也具有重要的社会意义。全球化正在加速许多人类和自然进程(如移民、农业集约化、土地荒废)，这些进程的相互作用是复杂的，而且往往是相互矛盾的。研讨会的许多参与者都是年轻的研究人员，他们来自代表性不足的群体，他们对这些问题和发起跨学科研究的研究技能具有既得利益。研讨会的成果将作为一份领先的科学期刊的特刊发表。

Many human factors influence the distribution and extent of agricultural lands and natural areas (forests), but the most important are the increase of the global population, migration, and per capita calorie consumption. Across Latin America and the Caribbean, economic growth and increasing opportunities for better jobs, education, and health services are increasing urbanization; but at a local scale (e.g. municipality), other factors modify general trends in land-use. To improve our understanding of the complex interactions between human and natural dynamics, funds are requested for a symposium entitled 'The influence of human demography and agriculture on natural systems in the Neotropics.' This symposium will gather experts throughout Latin America and the Caribbean to discuss complex interactions between demographic and agricultural dynamics, forge the necessary collaborations to study them, and set a research agenda for understanding how socioeconomic and environmental processes interact in the face of increased globalization. The questions addressed by this symposium are of both basic and critical societal relevance. Globalization is accelerating many human and natural processes (e.g. migration, agricultural intensification, land abandonment), and the interactions of these processes are complex and often contradictory. Many of the symposium participants are young researchers from under-represented groups who have a vested interest in these questions and the research skills to initiate interdisciplinary research. Results of the symposium will be published as a special issue of a leading scientific journal.