Program in Tropical Forestry

Core Activities

Research projects are taking place in Latin America and Southeast Asia. Some examples of ongoing projects in Latin America are:

Conservation of Native Tree Species
Research is ongoing on the rescue, propagation, conservation and use of highly endangered species and populations of forest trees in Central America in collaboration with colleagues from CATIE (Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Center, Costa Rica).

Plantation Silviculture
We are studying the silviculture and environmental services of mixed and pure plantations of native species for sustainable development in rural areas of the humid tropics (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras).

Biodiversity
Strategies are being developed for the recovery of biodiversity in degraded ecosystems through natural regeneration in mixed and pure plantations of native species in a humid tropical lowland (Costa Rica).

Other activities that the program supports are through education. Courses in tropical forestry, agroforestry, tropical ecology and silviculture are taught by faculty at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Forum and roundtable discussions in this arena will also be part of the program’s information outreach.