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Professional Training and Graduate Education Needs in Warfare Ecology

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Warfare Ecology

Abstract

This essay reviews current best practices in graduate education emphasizing those that would be particularly useful to warfare ecology, a budding subdiscipline within the area of environmental sciences. A discussion is also provided on those teaching strategies and experiences that may be particularly appropriate developing effective graduate and professional training programs in warfare ecology. This newly emergent discipline is inherently interdisciplinary, and as such, the development of professional training and graduate education opportunities in this area would be best served if guided by current best practices for interdisciplinary graduate education. In this essay, I discuss (1) characteristics of warfare ecology that should guide research training and education in this science theme, (2) shared elements of interdisciplinary graduate training programs, (3) highlights of training skills and educational strategies that may be unique to warfare ecology or should be explored, and (4) policy implications for peace and security. Emphasis is given to proven strategies within the context of IGERT programs and similar interdisciplinary programs in the US but with the understanding that implementing interdisciplinary education in warfare ecology (particularly given the nature of its content) is bound to be governed by needs that differ widely from country to country.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Tropical Ecosystems Studies and Center for Applied Tropical Ecology and Conservation, University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras, San Juan, PR, USA

    Elvia J. Meléndez-Ackerman

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  1. Elvia J. Meléndez-Ackerman
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Correspondence to Elvia J. Meléndez-Ackerman .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow, 83844, Idaho, USA

    Gary E. Machlis

  2. False Bay Dr. 351, Friday Harbor, 98250, Washington, USA

    Thor Hanson

  3. , Institute for Applied Ecology, Oikon Ltd., Avenija Dubrovnik 6-8, Zagreb, 10 020, Croatia

    Zdravko Špirić

  4. Association of American Geographers, 1710 16th Street, NW, Washington, 20009-3198, District of Columbia, USA

    Jean E. McKendry

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Meléndez-Ackerman, E.J. (2011). Professional Training and Graduate Education Needs in Warfare Ecology. In: Machlis, G., Hanson, T., Špirić, Z., McKendry, J. (eds) Warfare Ecology. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1214-0_18

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