Session Topics

WHY ARE WE FASCINATED BY TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS?

• Course Welcome and Introduction
• Historical Narratives
• Rain forest imagery in Art & Lit
• The Rain Forest in Pop Culture

THE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION OF TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS

• What is a Rain Forest?
• What else is a Rain Forest?
• Patterns of Biodiversity 1
• Patterns of Biodiversity 2
• Origins of tropical biodiversity
• Maintenance of tropical biodiversity - FLMNH Trip
• The Paradox of Luxuriance & Forest disturbance
• Humans are part of rain forests
• Narratives Revisited: Biology, History, Fiction, Reality
• JUNGLE FILM FESTIVAL

THE CONSEQUENCES OF FOREST LOSS

• How much Tropical Rain Forest is there?
• How much Tropical Rain Forest have we lost?
• Drivers of Deforestation: Timber, Mining, Infrastructure
• Drivers of Deforestation: Agriculture
• Climate change and Tropical Forests

THE FUTURE OF RAIN FORESTS

• Addressing Climate change
• Consumer choices
• DURIAN FEST
• International frameworks
• Local Initiatives, Empowered Communities, & Activism
• Protected areas
• Forest restoration & regeneration
• Tropical Rain Forests & Global Health
• Rain Forest Headlines
• What will you do?