Tropical Conservation and Development Program
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ABOUT TCD
Tropical and subtropical countries house the planet’s most diverse ecosystems and possess some of the world’s lowest standards of living. Expanding human populations, widespread poverty, the complexity of tropical ecosystems, and economies strongly dependent on natural resources make these regions and their inhabitants particularly sensitive to the inextricable linkages between conservation and development. Since the mid-1980s, the University of Florida Tropical Conservation and Development (TCD) Program has drawn on multiple disciplines, methods and skills to understand and address the challenges of tropical social-ecological systems.
MISSION
TCD’s mission is to bridge theory and practice to advance biodiversity conservation, sustainable resource use, and human well-being in the tropics. TCD’s goals are:
- To train graduate-level professionals, particularly those from developing countries, to bridge theory and practice and learn across disciplines;
- To promote cross-national, integrative, comparative problem-centered research;
- To strengthen and expand learning and action networks.
TCD is not a degree-granting program, but instead offers an interdisciplinary certificate and concentration to students enrolled in Master’s or Ph.D. programs, spanning 21 academic units at UF. TCD complements the knowledge and skills sets that students develop in their home units, emphasizing student learning outside their immediate discipline and the ability to think in terms of linked social-ecological systems. They also learn to work in teams, communicate in nonacademic formats, and reflect critically on their own perspectives and actions. At the heart of TCD is an innovative learning and action platform where students, faculty and collaborators interact to address multi-scalar and multi-disciplinary challenges. TCD’s approach builds on traditional disciplinary foundations, integrates past and present student experiences, and embraces collaborative learning and action with partners involved in the day-to-day realities of conservation and development. TCD encourages research and training activities developed in close collaboration with host-country partners.
For a more in-depth view of TCD’s educational approach, please see: Kainer, K., M. Schmink, H. Covert, J.R. Stepp, E. Bruna, J. Dain, S. Espinosa, & S. Humphries. 2006. A Graduate Education Framework for Tropical Conservation and Development. Conservation Biology 20 (1): 3-13.
Program funds support regular competitions for graduate fellowships, assistantships, research grants, and student practitioner experiences, as well as orientations and retreats, and a weekly student-led seminar series. These on- and off-campus activities support collective learning about the cutting-edge thinking and practical issues of conservation and development. An interdisciplinary student organization and an alumni network provide valuable opportunities for critical discussion, collaboration and sharing of practical experience.
The TCD Program is located in the Center for Latin American Studies and is linked to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the College of Health and Human Performance, and the College of Design Construction and Planning through its affiliate departments and centers. TCD draws on the participation of core faculty and approximately 100 faculty affiliates housed in over 20 academic units across campus.
Since its beginnings in the 1980s, the TCD program has trained approximately 350 alumni from 34 countries plus the U.S. Over 90% of the non-U.S. alumni came from developing countries in Latin America and Africa, and the same proportion of students carried out their graduate research in those countries. Since the 1980s, TCD has awarded over 250 graduate fellowships and assistantships, 78% to students from developing countries. Among the program’s current 107 students (as of 2008), about 40% are from developing countries. TCD graduates primarily pursue practical careers in conservation and development: less than half are employed in universities, research centers, and museums, while 20% work for non-governmental organizations, 15% each in government and in the private sector, and the rest in other non-academic pursuits.
TCD garners significant extramural funding to support its initiatives. In 2000, the program secured an endowment from the Ford Foundation and the state of Florida. The endowment supports the annual fellowship and research grant competitions, as well as other TCD activities. Currently, TCD also receives major funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Contact Information
Tropical Conservation and Development Program
Center for Latin American Studies
University of Florida 319 Grinter Hall
PO Box 115531
Gainesville, FL 32611-5531
E-mail: tcd@latam.ufl.edu
Tel: (352) 392-0375 ext. 806
Fax: (352) 392-0085