An award-winning African forestry management researcher will offer his insights at the University of Colorado at Â鶹¹ÙÍø Nov. 3-11 thanks to the efforts of the university's Developing Areas Research and Teaching, or DART, program.
Richard Nyirenda, of the Centre for International Forestry Research in Zimbabwe, will exchange ideas with CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø faculty and students during lectures as well as a Nov. 5 public colloquium and informal meetings with interested scholars.
Nyirenda is a Ford Foundation funded mid-career African scholar. His Nov. 5 colloquium, "Community Forestry Management in Zimbabwe," will be free and open to the public from noon to 1:15 p.m. in room 384 of the University Memorial Center.
He also is scheduled to lecture in several CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø undergraduate and graduate classes, including "Regional Cultures of Africa," "Geography of International Development" and "Sustainable Development." DART director and geography Professor Gary Gaile, an expert in African resource management, is among the senior faculty with whom Nyirenda will meet.
"While Zimbabwe is not without problems, it is a world leader in community-based resource management initiatives," Gaile said. "In these initiatives, local communities are given responsibility for managing their local resources.
"We at CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø are very fortunate to have Richard Nyirenda here to inform us of these pathbreaking approaches. There is much to be learned from him about involving the community in managing its own resources in order to achieve sustainable development."
The DART program, along with the Â鶹¹ÙÍø-based nonprofit Africa Centre, was selected to host Nyirenda after a national competition held by the African Studies Association and the Africa America Institute.
"Though there is not a large community of Africanist scholars on the CU campus, there is a large community of people interested in development studies issues especially as they relate to the environment and community conservation," said DART organizer Laura DeLuca.
DART is an interdisciplinary program designed to foster research and teaching activities within the broad field of development studies. Established in 2001, DART helps doctoral candidates focusing on Third World development win fellowships that support fieldwork and create a competitive advantage in the pursuit of national funding.
Nyirenda will have time in his schedule to meet with faculty and students who share his interests in community conservation, forestry or Zimbabwe. For additional details or to arrange a meeting with Nyirenda, contact DeLuca at laura_m_deluca@yahoo.com or call Karen Cockburn (303) 941-3059.