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Pandas, People and Policy Featured at Upcoming Weaver Lecture
AUBURN — Pandas, people and policy will be the topic of discussion on Jan. 23, 2003, at 3 p.m. when Jianguo (Jack) Liu, associate professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University (MSU), presents the first Weaver Lecture for 2003 at the AU Dixon Conference Center at 3 p.m.
Liu’s lecture, entitled "Pandas, People, and Policies," will outline the interactions between China’s giant pandas, one of the world’s most recognized endangered species, and the human race.
According to Lui, giant pandas require bamboo forests to survive, but much of the panda habitat in China has been lost due to a rapidly growing human population and various human activities. To protect the pandas, the Chinese government has established 34 nature reserves. In many of these reserves, however, there are also local residents who depend on forests to meet their basic needs, such as fuel wood. People from areas outside the reserves also have direct or indirect impacts on the animals. As a result, panda habitat continues to degrade.
Several government policies were recently developed and implemented to reduce human impacts on panda habitat, but the effectiveness of these policies has varied. Using an integrated study of panda ecology with socioeconomics in Wolong Nature Reserve (a "flagship" reserve) as an example, this lecture will address the complex interactions among panda habitat, people and policies.
Liu is an award-winning researcher and educator who has been honored with the National Science Foundation's (NSF) CAREER Award, MSU's Teacher Scholar Award, the Lilly Teaching Fellowship and an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowship of the Ecological Society of America.
Liu's research interests include human environment interactions, systems modeling and simulation, landscape ecology and impacts of human population and activity on spatio temporal dynamics of endangered species, such as the giant panda. Liu has published extensively on these topics in such journals as Science and Nature. His work has been featured in numerous national news media outlets, such as the New York Times, Newsweek, National Public Radio and CNN.
In addition, Liu has served on various committees and panels, including those of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), NASA, National Institutes of Health, NSF and the World Wildlife Fund. He is currently serving on editorial boards of five journals, including Ecosystems, Ecological Modeling and Landscape and Urban Planning.
The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the AU School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences and is made possible by an endowment from Earl H. and Sandra H. Weaver of Brewton, long-time supporters of Auburn and forestry. For more information on the lecture, contact the School of Forestry at (334) 844-1006.
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News from:
Office of Ag Communications & Marketing
Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)
Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
Contact Pat Chiroux, 334-844-1006
12/20/02
For immediate release
