The top ten things we need to know about asian tropical forests

Richard Corlett, PhD
Professor
Department of Ecology & Biodiversity
The University of Hong Kong
China

Wed 10 January 2007, 4.00 PM
DBS Conference Room
Block S3 Level 5

The forests of tropical Asia support 20-25% of global terrestrial biodiversity, but are now being rapidly cleared for commercial agriculture, while most forest areas that remain are degraded by uncontrolled logging. The protected area system is inadequate, even on paper, and legal protection has often done little to deter hunting and other forms of exploitation. This regional crisis is well documented, but the response so far has been insufficient and piecemeal. The problems are social and political in origin, but Science has an essential role to play in planning, prioritizing and implementing solutions. Ecological understanding is going to be particularly important in the long-term management of small protected areas and in the restoration of degraded habitats. Unfortunately, most ecological research in South East Asia has focused on a narrow range of largely academic problems, with the result that we understand neither how intact forest communities function nor how they are changed by human impacts. This seminar will give a brief introduction to ten gaps in our current knowledge and suggest how these gaps can be filled.

Presented by: Professor Peter Ng

I can't wait to meet, or at least see Corlett in the flesh! Wow wow wow! I've read so many of his papers and books. This is another one of my groupie moments.