4.00 Credits
Conservation Biology and Policy is a multi-disciplinary and interactive course. We intentionally oscillate from presenting facts, analytical frameworks, and data analysis tools used in biodiversity assessment and planning, to how those ideas intersect human values, governance systems, and power dynamics. The course will: define and quantify biodiversity at and below the species level; discuss processes that lead to and consequences of small population size; cover different levels of environmental governance and specific US national and international biodiversity policies; discuss diversity in human values relating to natural resources; and identify stakeholders and power dynamics in decision making. The course is both reading and writing intensive. Readings and writing assignments will range across natural science, social science, and policy styles.