SFS3000: Tropical Island Ecosystems: The Human Impact

This course introduces the concepts and principles of sustainable tourism alongside the evaluation of ecosystem health and diversity. This unique field-based program allows students to determine how natural habitats and human livelihoods coexist in the dynamic socio-economic context of Bocas del Toro, Panama—which is one of the fastest growing tourism destinations in Latin America. With tourism growth comes many conservation and development challenges. In this course, we will explore natural resource governance closely to contextualize the driving forces behind ecological change and the potential responses change available to different stakeholders involved in the socio-ecological system (including government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, and local citizens). This course will explore the challenges and potential of these governance efforts, which will include visiting and evaluating critical tourism sites, such as the Isla Bastimentos National Marine Park, Indigenous tourism cooperatives, wildlife tourism sites, agro-ecological tourism sites and others. Panama hosted the 2022 Our Ocean’s conference and it declared that it placed more than 50% of its exclusive economic zone under protected area status, beating 30X30 targets set globally. The course will adopt a problem-based, place-based learning format, which promotes critical thinking, analytic skills, and problem-solving skills along with teamwork to explore the efficacy of protected areas in the Bocas del Toro Province, at a time when its expansion is being considered. We will debate whether the expansion can be done in a way that enhances ecosystems and supports local livelihoods.

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