Biodiversity, Ecology, and Global Change. “Global Change, Biodiversity and Poverty: Insights from the Himalaya”

DATE	Thursday, February 16, 2012
TIME	5:00 pm – 6:00 pm EST
WHERE	Biolabs Lecture Hall, 16 Divinity Ave, Cambridge
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Harvard University Center for the Environment with generous support from Bank of America
SPEAKER(S)	Kamaljit S. Bawa, professor, Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Boston
CONTACT INFO	Lisa Matthews: matthew@fas.harvard.edu
NOTES	Followed by a reception. Global change in the form of climate, land use and biodiversity change is underway in the Himalayas at an unprecedented rapid rate. The Himalayas are the most spectacular of the 34 global hotspots of biodiversity. With about 15 000 glaciers—the highest concentration in the world— these mountains are also the source of Asia’s eight largest rivers. More than 2.0 billion people inhabit the basins of these rivers. Thus global change in the Himalayas is likely to have serious consequences for almost one third of the humanity. In the first part of his talk, Kamal will present recent data from his group on climate and land use change in the Himalayas. In the second part, he will outline the constraints in maintaining multi-functional landscapes that could conserve ecosystem services and foster human wellbeing. In the third and final part, he will comment on the knowledge and institutions required to promote landscape resilience.
MORE	http://environment.harvard.edu/kbawa

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