US-Mauritius Workshop: Integrated Analysis and Management of Natural Resources: The Mauritius Context

该奖项支持参加2001年6月25日至29日在毛里求斯里杜伊特举行的美国-毛里求斯自然资源综合分析和管理研讨会的10名美国与会者。还将有大约17名来自毛里求斯的与会者，包括毛里求斯大学的研究人员、资源管理人员和政策制定者，以及来自肯尼亚的一名海洋保护者。筹资组织的代表和南部非洲发展共同体的观察员也将出席。与会者代表了广泛的科学学科，包括：生物学、工业生态学、农学、水文学、地理学和海洋学。共同组织者有马里兰大学公共事务学院马蒂亚斯·鲁斯教授、毛里求斯研究理事会执行主任Arjoon Suddhu博士和毛里求斯大学副校长Induall Fagoonee博士。研讨会的目的是启动对该国自然资源及其用途的综合分析，确定资源保护措施，并制定长期研究和教育方案。毛里求斯面积小、位置偏远、人口多、资源基础有限，是世界其他地方遇到的社会和环境问题的一个缩影。持续的经济发展和人口增长对其陆地和海洋资源产生了不利影响，预计这些压力在未来十年将大幅增加。此外，其广阔的海岸线使其容易受到气候变化导致的海平面上升的影响，这也将对其自然资源产生不利影响。此外，曾经不断扩张的毛里求斯经济现在正受到其他国家的威胁，这些国家可以更便宜的价格提供同样的产品。毛里求斯目前正在考虑提供纺织品和旅游等高价值物品和服务，其政策制定者希望任何此类扩张都应建立在其人力和自然资源可持续发展的基础上。研讨会将集中讨论四个关键问题及其相互关系：1)有形基础设施发展；2)水资源；3)土地利用和农业；4)海洋系统。此外，还将详细探讨两个交叉研究主题--岛屿溪流和工业生态。讲习班参加者将综合和组织有关毛里求斯自然资源的现有数据，并制定对这些数据进行综合分析的框架。将使用图形化计算机建模工具来组织和显示信息，并开发和执行处理这些问题的模型。研讨会将包括对国家环境保护区的实地考察。毛里求斯大学的教职员工和学生也将在研讨会上进行海报展示。很少有美国研究人员与毛里求斯的任何同事合作，联合组织者希望这次研讨会能够促进联系的发展，这将导致未来的合作研究活动。讲习班的成果还将使世界各地的研究人员能够获得关于毛里求斯自然资源及其利用的新知识，以及关于土地利用变化的生态和社会影响的信息。该项目支持一名美国研究生和两名初级研究人员参加。这次研讨会由国际项目部、环境生物学部以及行为和认知科学部联合支持。

0096812RuthThis award supports ten US participants in the US-Mauritius Workshop on Integrated Analysis and Management of Natural Resources: The Mauritius Context, in Reduit, Mauritius, from June 25-29, 2001. There will be approximately seventeen additional participants from Mauritius, including researchers from the University of Mauritius, resource managers, and policy makers, as well as a marine conservationist from Kenya. Representatives of funding organizations and observers from SADC (Southern African Development Community) will also attend. The participants represent a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines, including: biology, industrial ecology, agronomy, hydrology, geography, and oceanography. The co-organizers are Professor Matthias Ruth, of the School of Public Affairs at the University of Maryland; Dr. Arjoon Suddhoo, Executive Director of the Mauritius Research Council; and Dr. Indurall Fagoonee, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Mauritius. The purpose of the workshop is to initiate an integrated analysis of the country's natural resources and their uses, identify resource conservation measures, and prepare a long-term research and education program.Mauritius, with its small size, remote location, large population, and limited resource base, is a microcosm of the social and environmental issues that are being encountered elsewhere in the world. Continued economic development and population growth have adversely affected its land and marine resources, and these pressures are expected to significantly increase over the next decade. Furthermore, its extensive coastline makes it susceptible to climate change-induced sea level rise, which will also adversely affect its natural resources. Additionally, the once expanding Mauritian economy is now being threatened by other countries who can provide the same products at a cheaper price. Mauritius is now considering the provision of high-value items and services, such as textiles and tourism, and its policy makers want any such expansion to be based on the sustainable development of its human and natural resources. This workshop will concentrate on four key issues and the interrelationships among them: 1) Physical Infrastructure Development; 2) Water Resources; 3) Land Use and Agriculture, and 4) Marine Systems. In addition two cross-cutting research themes, Island Streams and Industrial Ecology, will be explored in detail. Workshop participants will synthesize and organize existing data on the natural resources in Mauritius, and develop a framework for the integrated analysis of that data. Graphical computer modeling tools will be used to organize and display information and to develop and execute the models that deal with these issues. The workshop will include field visits to a national environmental reserve. University of Mauritius faculty and students will also give poster sessions at the workshop. Few US researchers have collaborated with any Mauritian colleagues, and the co-organizers expect this workshop to promote the development of linkages which will lead to future cooperative research activities. Workshop results will also enable researchers worldwide to gain new knowledge about natural resources and their use in Mauritius, as well as information on the ecological and societal impacts of land use changes. The project supports the participation of one US graduate and two junior investigators.This workshop is jointly supported by the Division of International Programs, the Division of Environmental Biology, and the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences.