Venezuela Planning Visit: Developing a Model for Assessing Social and Ecological Implications of Declining Freshwater Quality in the Maracaibo Basin, Maracaibo, July 2009

摘要提案：OISE-0944185 PI/机构：Bjorn Sletto，德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校委内瑞拉规划访问将允许美国PI博士Bjorn Sletto从得克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校（UT）和同事在委内瑞拉（丹尼尔卡斯特罗，约翰尼阿拉尔孔和梅赛德斯费雷尔从苏利亚大学）讨论和计划一个跨学科的合作研究计划，以评估森林管理，土著领土，和城市化之间的联系在马拉开波湖盆地，委内瑞拉。 与会者打算：1）制定关键的研究重点和问题; 2）确定机构和科学知识、数据和机构支持的关键来源; 3）开始建立一个公共知识库，通过互联网提供给政策制定者、学者和学生;（4）发展长期为来自德克萨斯大学和主办机构的多元化研究生和本科生群体提供学期教育和合作机会，苏利亚大学。 通过包括来自得克萨斯大学的少数民族学生，妇女和土著人民，以及来自美国和委内瑞拉的杰出国际学者，拟议的规划访问将促进与马拉开波流域水危机的社会和政治经济原因的更具创造性的参与，这将使参与者能够设想这一重要研究领域的创新研究方法。

Abstract Proposal: OISE-0944185 PI/Institution: Bjorn Sletto, University of Texas at Austin The proposed U.S.-Venezuela planning visit will allow U.S. PI Dr. Bjorn Sletto from the University of Texas at Austin (UT) and colleagues in Venezuela (Daniel Castro, Johnny Alarcon and Mercedes Ferrer from the Universidad de Zulia) to discuss and plan an interdisciplinary, collaborative research program to assess the links between forest management, indigenous territoriality, and urbanization in the Lake Maracaibo Basin, Venezuela. Participants intend to: 1) formulate key research priorities and questions; 2) identify key sources of institutional and scientific knowledge, data, and institutional support; 3) begin to build a common knowledge base that will be made available to policymakers, scholars, and students via the Internet; and 4) develop long-term educational and collaborative opportunities for a diverse group of graduate and undergraduate students from the University of Texas and the host institution, Universidad de Zulia. By including students from minority groups from the University of Texas, women and indigenous people, and outstanding international scholars from the U.S. and Venezuela, the proposed planning visit will foster a more creative engagement with the social and political-economic causes of the water crisis in the Lake Maracaibo Basin that will allow participants to envision innovative research approaches to this important research area.