Incorporating eco-evolutionary dynamics into the construction of sustainable communities.

Location:

Situated throughout the Carribean. 

Current Disconnects:

Due to intense climate and global economic shifts, many communities around the Caribbean are experiencing pressure to expand their local economies into new areas of development such as value added production and eco-based tourism. These transformations threaten to shift current cultural practices and to impact local ecological reserves - some of the most biologically diverse and valuable places on the planet. These development issues are compounded by the rate at which tropical ecologies are being transformed by changes to local and global climates. Community infrastructure, that is able to adapt to rapidly changing environmental conditions, is needed. This infrastructure must also support vibrant communities able to protect, conserve, and even enhance global biodiversity banks as they respond to climate change.

Landbase + Resources:

The Caribbean Islands are a globally important biodiversity hotspot with some of the richest stores of endemic species on the planet, and their importance does not stop at their shores. These island communities are directly tied to the ocean environments that surround them. This dense web of ecological richness extends all the way to the mountains of Central America and the northern coasts of South America. Held within these vital landscapes are fundamental environmental principles, yet to be discovered. 

Like all places, these landscapes also host a rich assortment of human communities with various cultural identities, ecological relationships, and social interactions. The knowledge and insights these communities contain are vital to informing the global quest for sustainable livelihoods and adaptive climate strategies. 

Potential Future:

This project looks to incorporate the knowledge of eco-evolutionary dynamics in the construction of sustainable communities focused on biodiversity conservation. These research-based community networks work to form, translate, and disseminate knowledge of the value of ecosystem services to the global community.

More precise directions are pending initial community workshopping.