This U.S.-Chile award will support a workshop on integrating ecological science and environmental ethics in Puerto Montt, Chile in March of 2007. The organizers are Dr. Ricardo Rozzi of the University of North Texas, and Dr. Juan Armesto of the Universidad Catolica de Chile. The workshop will look at new approaches to understanding and conserving frontier ecosystems, with the goal the generation of a workable definition of "ecological frontier" and the clarification of the questions of how this definition can help inform conservation strategies, policy making and land use options in the frontier ecosystems of southwestern Chile and other regions.
The meeting will stimulate communication between a diverse group of senior researchers, leaders in the field, and young researchers with the fostering of collaborations in the integration of ethical values with science.