ES 330 - Environmental Issues: Conservation and Public Policy in Ecuador

This course reviews the environmental issues facing contemporary Ecuador in the context of a transforming global reality. We analyze the theoretical perspectives that constitute the fields of Political Ecology, Environmental Anthropology and Environmental Sociology. Then we look at specific environmental issues that are of concern for Ecuador and the Region including, the oil industry and indigenous communities in the Amazon Basin, aquaculture and shrimp farming, introduce species, large scale ranching and deforestation, fisheries and the management of fragile marine ecosystems such as the Galapagos. We will analyze the possible solutions that will include taking into account political and ecological pressures, perspectives of indigenous populations, environmentalists, the governments, NGOs and international investors and multinational companies.