Biodiversity

Gomercindo Rodrigues, a lawyer and activist, began his work as a labor organizer in the state of Acre in the 1980s with the slain rubber tapper and pioneer of the Brazilian environmental movement, Chico Mendes. In his book, Walking the Forest with Chico Mendes, Rodrigues provides a rare and personal account of the events that defined Mendes' life as he struggled to promote environmental protection and social justice in the Amazon.

Drawing on the feature article they wrote for the China Environment Series 8, Allison Moore, American Bar Association and Adria Warren, Foley and Lardner, LLP, discussed the political and legal dynamics of the development of public participation in the environmental sphere in China.

Initiated in 1994 with funding and expertise provided by the World Bank and the International Development Association (IDA) , the Loess Plateau Watershed Rehabilitation Project successfully broke the cycle of environmental degradation and poverty in an area that had become known as the most eroded place on earth.

This meditation on life in a rapidly developing new China focuses on the daily transformation of Beijing's urban landscape as one of the world's largest cities prepares for the 2008 Olympics. Workers recruited from villages into Beijing's construction industry tell their stories of a culture in flux. Baring their souls to the female director, these men candidly reveal their feelings about separation from loved ones, financial desperation and hopes for the future as well as their vision of China in the 21st century.

One major aspect of globalization has been the mobility of people, products, diseases, and information, as well as (often unwelcome) plant and animal species. At this China Environment Forum meeting, speakers examined the issue of invasive species from the global perspective and how the U.S. and China are working together to address this problem.

Global Invasion

Nearly 20 percent of China's animals and plants are considered endangered from development pressures and pollution. While many conservation projects focus on panda preservation and nature reserve issues in western China, there are also Chinese and international NGOs working throughout China on protection of turtles, salamanders, sharks, and even marine habitats. This Wilson Center meeting will highlight some of the lesser-known initiatives to protect animals and their habitats.

Over the past two decades, Southeast Asia has been on fire, both figuratively and literally. Economies throughout the region have exploded, taking advantage of small production costs and a low-paid, highly motivated workforce. At the same time, to fuel rapid growth, forests have been stripped for lumber and the land torched for new agricultural opportunities. Indeed, economic success has often come at the expense of the environment and with sixty percent of the world's population, environmental degradation in Southeast Asia has potential worldwide effect.

"The impact of human activities on the planet and on its biology has risen to a scale that deserves a commensurate response," said Tom Lovejoy, professor at George Mason University, introducing a discussion on "Managing the Planet's Freshwater," the second of a monthly series led jointly by George Mason University and the Woodrow Wilson Center. Karin M.