Aims

To introduce the scientific bases of biodiversity conservation and the juridical aspects and its daily practice like the survey of natural grouns and endangered populations. The course desires to present the scientific bases of conservation biology, privileging a multi-disciplinary approach integrating ecology, biogeography, genetics, to get to a modelisation approach. Then the course will come upon the applied aspect of this discipline, integrating a political and socio-economical reflexion.

Magistral course with constant use of projections (transparents, slides and computer screens). Presentation of cartographic documents.

Constant interaction with the students in the form of question-answers.

Main themes

Part 1 (15h) : Scientific bases of biodiversity conservation. The course will start by defining the three levels of biodiversity (genetic, specific and ecosystematic). Then the particularity of the actual extinction crisis is compared to the previous ones. The consequences of human activity on environment (fragmentation of living grounds and isolation of populations) are detailled and the solutions of land engineering (conservation halls, ecological grid, network) are proposed presenting the tools and methods of looking after endangered populations (metapopulation functionning models, population transfert). Part 2 (15h) - The consertion of biodiversity in the real world. This part begins on the historical of conserving nature, integrating evolution of human-nature relations. Then the course presents the methods used to evalued the biolgic value of a site or specie, then the tricks of looking after a site or natural parc, presenting the history of the use of soil in occidental europe, comparing it to the use in the oriental part of the american continent. The juridical aspect of biodiversity conversation is looked upon on the Wallon level, then Belgian and European through the study of cases. Finally the importance of associative movements to conversation nature is treated in Belgium and Europe. The practical work consists of an initiation of computer modeling of the way endangered populations function and to demonstrate the problematics of conserving particular sites.

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