January 2016

Wildlife win when cash takes edge off “park vs. people” conservation conflict

January 28, 2016

Conserving wildlife habitat sounds noble, but when it comes down to work or sacrifice, cold hard cash – a decent amount of it – goes a long way.

Researchers at Michigan State University and their colleagues took on the task of definitively determining if conservation programs that compensate citizens for changing habitat-damaging behavior really works. They examined a sweeping program in China that aims to restore forests and habitat for the endangered giant panda, but their unique analysis holds promise to evaluate such programs across the globe.

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Pandas and People - The Book

Two decades of studying pandas in a remote corner of China have provided lessons in sustainability that have resonated across the globe. The work is synthesized in the book "Pandas and People - Coupling Human and Natural Systems for Sustainability." 

Turns out, there’s a lot we’ve learned from pandas.

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Research, times three, informs fisheries management

Jan. 18, 2016

Three diverse publications this month by one researcher explore changing stream temperatures in Michigan, trophy northern pike management in Minnesota, and ecological effects of massive flooding of the Missouri River.

Andrew Carlson, a new PhD student at Michigan State University’s Center for Systems Integration and
Sustainability, publishes work he did as a master’s student at South Dakota State University and his early doctoral work.

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MSU teaming with world's best minds for global food security, sustainability

Jan. 13, 2016

A year and a half after entering into a declared partnership with a powerful Brazilian research organization, Michigan State University (MSU) is launching into an ambitious global initiative on food security and land use.

Top-tier scientists at MSU are joining some of the best minds in agricultural and sustainability research in Brazil, the United Kingdom and China to better understand the finer realities of global food security and its effect on land use as the world struggles to feed its increasing population and protect the environment.

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