This Pan-American Advanced Studies Institutes (PASI) award, jointly supported by the NSF and the Department of Energy (DOE), will take place January 2008 at the Universidad de Concepción in Concepción, Chile. Organized by Dr. Peter Goodwin of the University of Idaho, the PASI will address the challenges of applying sustainability criteria for the Patagonian region through comparison of example sites at the Columbia basin in the U.S., the Ombrone basin in Italy, and the BioBio river basin in Chile. The PASI will have three primary research objectives: Explore how sustainability principles can be implemented into traditional discipline-specific research and education, particularly the disciplines of hydrology, ecology, and environmental engineering for this PASI, through integrated interdisciplinary programs such as science plans for environmental observatories; evaluate how native American priorities, understanding, and cultural sustainability can be incorporated into science programs of environmental observatories; and integrate current research and educational programs within the context of the UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Framework or similar frameworks.
The activity will provide educational and research opportunities to the broader academic community to study watersheds in different political, cultural, geographic and physical settings. Expected outcomes in this PASI will include: experience in developing an interdisciplinary framework and quantitative methodology for the valuation of ecosystem functions and services that can guide economic development; understanding of Native American perspectives on development, both North and South American; and a focus on primary gaps in knowledge that may lead to future efforts and nascent collaborations between PASI participants.
