TOPIC: This workshop will feature existing campus and intercampus ACS efforts studying sustainable development on the local or regional level, and will explore possibilities for future collaboration. The ACS Sustainable Development in Costa Rica Program is organizing the workshop with funding from a major foundation.

DATES: September 12-13 (Saturday and Sunday), 1998

PLACE: Atlanta, GA (site TBA)

COST: Participants will be provided with travel expenses and room and board while at the workshop. Should a larger than expected number of participants attend we may ask participants to obtain some funding from their college if possible in order to make it possible for all to attend.

THE DETAILS:

 This workshop will present case studies of existing efforts on ACS campuses studying sustainable development on the local or regional level:

Pedro Bernal, Chemistry, Rollins College
Appropriate Water Purification Technology for Rural Communities in the Dominican Republic
It is well known that a great number of people around the world, particularly children, die because they do not have access to potable water (one every eight seconds according to one estimate). Here we present a water purification system that is inexpensive, and technologically simple. The system is currently being tried in a number of rural communities in the Dominican Republic. A detailed assessment of the system effectiveness in the field is currently underway and it would be a great project for ACS schools to get involved in. The importance of community involvement and mediating institutions is briefly discussed.

Charles Brockett, Political Science, University of the South
Possibilities for the Sustainable Development of the Talamanca Coast of Costa Rica
This semester study program examines sustainable development issues in the field in Costa Rica: The Talamanca coast of southeastern Costa Rica combines cultural diversity (Indigenous, Afro-Caribbean, Hispanic, and international tourists) with one of the most important conservation projects in Central America (a biological corridor from the sea to the mountain tops covering nine ecological life zones), within the context of an export agriculture zone that features both the traditional multinational enclave (bananas) and new small producer possibilities (organic cacao). Within this mix, we examine the probabilities of biological, cultural, and economic sustainability.

Bob Brownlee, Economics, Centre College
Economic and Cultural Change In a Rainforest Ecological System: the Napo River in Ecuador
The presentation will consider three couplets of change (economic-cultural, economic-ecological, cultural-ecological) compared to a more holistic change (economic-cultural-ecological) in a transition fourth world area of the Napo River Valley. Emphasis will be placed on Centre College student and faculty economic and anthropological analysis of the interplay of indigenous peoples, Ecuadorean colonists, and ecotourists in the Yachana Lodge and Mondana Village area. The influence of the sustainable development organization, FUNEDESIN, will be incorporated in the analysis. A tentative hypothesis will be offered that any of the three couplets of change are sustainable in the area, but that a more holistic change of all three is not sustainable.

Jon Evans, Biology, University of the South
Biodiversity Conservation and Economic Growth in Franklin County, Tennessee
This interdisciplinary faculty/student research effort focuses on the potential impacts of growth in the county where Sewanee is located - divided between the lowlands of the inner Highland rim and the mountainous region of the Cumberland Plateau, Franklin County harbors a unique set of ecosystems. Economic growth, though, is projected to further fragment forested and agricultural landscapes, threatening the rich biodiversity of the area. The effectiveness of Tennessee's Greenbelt property tax reduction program as an instrument to preserve large blocks of forest is examined and revisions suggested.

Lee Lines and Barry Allen, Environmental Studies, Rollins College
Nature-based Tourism and the Prospects for Sustainable Development in Dominica
Dominica is one of the least-developed islands in the Caribbean. Not surprisingly, it also has more intact primary forest cover than any other Caribbean nation. Dominica is currently experiencing a major transition from an economy based primarily on agricultural exports (mostly bananas) to a tourism-based economy. The number of visitors is expected to increase dramatically in the coming decade, which may have significant impacts on the island's unique ecological and geological features. This unique combination of factors makes Dominica an ideal setting for student involvement in the process of sustainable development.

 Each presenter will be asked to explain the pedagogical methods used in the program and the research methodologies used (if applicable), as well as present a case study module that can be used at other campuses within a variety of existing courses. These modules will illustrate some of the basic principles of sustainable development within the context of a concrete example.

 Professors from all ACS campuses are invited to discuss their sustainable development activities at this workshop. Multidisciplinary efforts involving more than one professor are of particular interest. Not all presenters must discuss programs such as the two mentioned above; rather, a professor could discuss, for instance, their use of geographic information systems or computer simulation in teaching sustainable development on the local/regional scale.

 The organizers also strongly encourage any colleagues considering starting new activities in sustainable development in local or regional areas to come and share their ideas. This is a key component of the workshop. The final session(s) of the workshop will explore the creation of a dynamic umbrella program to facilitate the participants' current efforts, promote collaboration in ongoing projects, and foster joint efforts to establish new ones. In addition participants will examine how to coordinate efforts, test methodologies and pedagogical approaches new to the group, and explore other areas of common interest.

If you would be interested in making a presentation at the workshop, or attending the workshop as a nonpresenter, please contact:

Lee Lines
Department of Environmental Studies
Rollins College
1000 Holt Avenue
Winter Park, FL 32789
(407) 628-6377
llines@rollins.edu

Prof. Barry Allen
Department of Environmental Studies
Rollins College
1000 Holt Avenue
Winter Park, FL 32789
(407) 646-2647
ballen@rollins.edu