CURRICULUM
VITAE
ROBERT J. BUSCHBACHER
Program Coordinator
Visiting Professor
Tropical Conservation and Development Program
School of Forest Resources and Conservation
Ph.D. University of Georgia. 1984. Ecology.
B.A. Cornell University. 1976. Biology
(concentration in Ecology).
Program
Coordinator, Amazon Conservation Leadership Initiative, a $1.9 Million grant
from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. 2005 to present. Capacity-building program for the
Amazon-Andes region that includes scholarships and non-degree fellowships for
study at UF, and post-docs, faculty exchanges and workshops to build the
capacity of Amazon-region universities. http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/acli/
Visiting
professor: Tropical Conservation and Development Program, Center for Latin
American Studies, University of Florida.
2001 to present. Teach Conservation
Entrepreneurship course.
Supervise
graduate research on sustainability of land reform settlements and agroindustry
in Brazil.
Previous Position at University of Florida
2002
to 2008. Program Coordinator, Working
Forests in the Tropics Program, a $2.8 Million NSF-IGERT grant. Coordinate
selection process and supervise progress for 25 PhD-plus fellowships, small
grants program, international field courses and other student activities. http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/wft/
September
1995 - September 2000. Conservation Program Director,
WWF-Brasil. Responsible for
overseeing all program activities of WWF-Brasil, including policy and
communications components. Major
achievements include: improving project design and evaluation; increasing
impact of field projects through multiplication, communications and policy;
development and implementation of 5-year strategic plan. Tripled technical staff (to 15) and budget
(to $7 million).
January
1994 - September 1995. Senior Program Officer, based in Belém,
Brazilian Amazon. Responsible for
developing and overseeing field projects to demonstrate sustainable commercial
use of natural resources, including community logging in extractive reserves of
Rondônia, a community palm-heart processing plant in Amapá, and agroecological
land reform settlements near Una Biological Reserve, Bahia.
April
- November 1993. Acting Vice-President for the Latin America and Caribbean Program. Substituting my supervisor upon her sudden
illness, assumed worldwide coordination of WWF's programs in Latin America,
responsible for budgeting, planning, fundraising, and program design and
implementation. Supervised 40 staff and
a total annual budget of $14 million.
1992
- 1993. Director of Brazil Program.
As Director of WWF-US's largest country program, directly supervised 7
professionals, and coordinated the work of the entire WWF Network (including a
field office with 7 professional staff and participation by WWF-International,
WWF-UK and WWF-Sweden). Major
responsibilities included strategic planning, program design, coordination and
fundraising. Major accomplishments were
a more cohesive and focused program strategy, decentralized administrative
structure, and transfer of program oversight from Washington to Brazil (through
selection of WWF's first Brazilian Country Representative).
1987
‑ 1992. Director of Tropical Forestry Program. Initiated, and directed for 5.5 years, only
the second WWF program to focus on the integration of conservation with
sustainable development.
Responsibilities included development and implementation of field and
policy projects to promote sustainable forest management; research and
publication on policy issues related to tropical forest management;
establishment of organizational policy on these issues; fund raising; and
outreach to the public, media, government and industry. The program started with no staff or
dedicated funds, and grew to a staff of five professionals and an annual budget
of $1.8 million.
Portuguese,
professional level fluency.
Spanish,
Advanced Low (ACTFL).
German,
Intermediate.
Impacting Conservation and Development Policy,
with Jon Dain. A professional skills
course of the Tropical Conservation and Development Program, University of
Florida. Fall 2008.
Brazil Culture and History, a
3-credit individualized graduate reading course. Spring 2007.
Maya Forest Policy, an
80-hour graduate-level field course, co-taught with 2 graduate students and UF
Professors Tom Ankersen and Grenville Barnes.
Summer 2006. 14 students from 6
countries, 4 universities, 2 NGOs and 1 government agency.
Forest Policy in the Brazilian Amazon, a 100-hour
graduate-level field course that was a collaborative effort of the University
of Florida, Federal University of Acre, and Federal University of Pará –
co-taught with UF Professors Daniel Zarin and Marianne Schmink. Summer 2004 with 13 students.
A different version, located in Mato Grosso and Brasilia, was taught in
Summer 2005.
Biodiversity Conservation – Global Perspectives, a
non-majors undergraduate course focusing on sustainability. Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department,
University of Florida, Fall 2001 through Fall 2003. 4 semesters, average 80 students.
Conservation Biology, a
graduate course. Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department, University of
Florida, Fall 2001. 16 students.
Conservation and Development in Brazil a
graduate seminar course in the University of Florida Tropical Conservation and
Development Program, Spring 2001.
Applied Ecology for Economists, a
one-month intensive module, with lecture and field components, of the Ecology
and Economics M.S. program, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. 1997.
Lecturer on Applied Ecology at WWF courses:
Políticas Públicas e Meio Ambiente; Economia e Meio Ambiente. 1999.
Laboratory instructor for Introductory Biology (190 students over 3 quarters) and Ecological Energetics (15 students).
University of Georgia. 1978-1980.
1985‑1986.
Fulbright Fellowship at the Center for Research on the Humid Tropics,
Brazilian Agricultural Research Agency (EMBRAPA‑CPATU), Belém, Pará,
Brasil. Investigated soil ecology and
nutrient dynamics of different Amazonian land uses.
1984‑1985. Co‑principal investigator for Man and
the Biosphere project to study ecosystem recovery following abandonment of
pastures formed from Amazon rainforest in Pará, Brazil.
1980-1984.
Dissertation research entitled "Changes in
Productivity and Nutrient Cycling following Conversion of Amazon Rainforest to
Pasture," conducted in San Carlos de Rio Negro, Venezuela.
Doctoral
and post-doctoral research on Amazon pastures:
Buschbacher,
R.J., C. Uhl, and E.A.S. Serrão.
1988. Abandoned pastures in
eastern Amazonia. II. Nutrient stocks in the soil and vegetation. Journal of Ecology 76:682-699.
Uhl,
C., R.J. Buschbacher, and E.A.S. Serrão.
1988. Abandoned pastures in
eastern Amazonia. I. Patterns of plant succession. Journal of Ecology 76:663-681.
Buschbacher,
R.J. 1987. Cattle productivity and nutrient cycling on
an Amazon pasture. Biotropica 19(3): 200‑208.
Buschbacher,
R.J. 1986. Tropical deforestation and pasture
development. Bioscience 36:22‑28.
Uhl,
C. and R.J. Buschbacher. 1985. A disturbing synergism between cattle ranch
burning practices and selective tree harvesting in the eastern Amazon. Biotropica 17(4): 265‑268.
Montagnini,
F. and R.J. Buschbacher. 1989.
Nitrification rates in two undisturbed tropical rain forests and three
slash‑and‑burn sites of the Venezuelan Amazon. Biotropica 21:9-14.
Buschbacher,
R.J., C. Uhl and E.A.S. Serrão.
1990. Reforestation of degraded
Amazon pasture lands. In Mohan K. Wali,
ed. Environmental Rehabilitation. SBP
Academic Publishers, The Hague, Holland.
Buschbacher,
R.J. 1987. Deforestation for sovereignty over remote
frontiers. Pages 46‑57 in C.F.
Jordan, ed. Amazonian Rain Forests:
Disturbance and Recovery.
Springer Verlag, N.Y.
Buschbacher,
R.J., C. Uhl, and E.A.S. Serrão.
1987. Large‑scale
development in eastern Amazonia. Pages
90‑99 in C.F. Jordan, ed. Amazonian Rain Forests: Disturbance and Recovery. Springer Verlag, N.Y.
Uhl,
C., D. Nepstad, R. Buschbacher, K. Clark, B. Kauffman, and S. Subler. 1990.
Studies of ecosystem response to natural and anthropogenic disturbances
provide guidelines for designing sustainable land use systems in Amazonia. In A. Anderson, ed. Alternatives to Deforestation: Steps toward
Sustainable Use of the Amazon Rain Forest.
Columbia University Press, New York.
Uhl,
C. and R. Buschbacher. 1989. Ainda a ecologia: a questao das queimadas. In:
Estudos e Problemas Amazonicos. Instituto
do Desenvolvimento Economico-Social do Pará.
Belém, Pará, Brazil.
Uhl,
C., D. Nepstad, R. Buschbacher, K. Clark, B. Kauffman, and S. Subler. 1989.
Disturbance and regeneration in Amazonia: lessons for sustainable land-use. The Ecologist 19(6): 235-240.
Uhl,
C. and R.J. Buschbacher. 1988. Queimada: o corte que atrai. Ciência Hoje 7:24-28.
Buschbacher,
R.J., C. Uhl, and E.A.S. Serrão.
1984. Forest development
following pasture use in the north of Pará, Brazil. In:
Proceedings of the First Symposium on the Humid Tropics, Volume 6. Empresa Brasiliera de Pesquisa Agropecuaria,
Belem, Pará, Brazil.
Uhl,
C. and R.J. Buschbacher. 1987. Potential productive capacity of abandoned
pasture lands in the Brazilian Amazon.
Pages 35-36 in People and the Tropical Forest, U.S. Man and the
Biosphere Program.
Strategy Design for Packard Foundation’s Amazon Carbon Initiative, a
3-pronged approach to reduce carbon emissions from Amazonian deforestation.
With UF Professor Daniel Zarin. 2005.
External
evaluation of WWF Guianas Program Sustainable Forest Resources Management
Project. Team leader. 2005.
Program
Strategy Document for WWF-Brazil Freshwater Conservation Program. Sole
author. 2004.
External
evaluation of WWF-Brazil Freshwater Conservation Program. Sole author. 2004.
Environmental
Impact Assessment, for USAID, of low-impact forestry project, Awa Indigenous
Territory, Ecuador. Team leader. 2002.
External
evaluation of WWF-UK International Program. Included assessment of sub-program
in Colombia, as well as desk review of 35 projects from Africa, Asia and Latin
America. Team leader. 2001-2002.
External
evaluation of Oaxaca Forest Conservation Program, WWF Mexico. Team leader.
2000.
External
evaluation of Brazilian Agricultural Agency's strategic plan, at the national
level (rapporteur) and for Humid Tropics Research Center (EMBRAPA -
CPATU). 1992.
Environmental
Assessment, for the World Bank, of Sharavathi Tailrace Hydroelectric Dam
expansion and compensatory reforestation plans. Karnataka, India. Sole author.
1987.
Technical
publications on sustainable resource management supervised at WWF-Brazil:
Mitraud,
S. 2003.
Manual de Ecoturismo de Base Comunitária: ferramentas para um
planejamento responsável.
WWF-Brasil. Brasilia.
[Sustainable Ecotourism Manual]
Mitraud,
S. 2001.
Uso Recreativo do Parque Nacional Marinho de Fernando de Noronha: um
exemplo de planejamento e implementação. WWF-Brasil. Technical Series Number 8. [Sustainable Use Plan for a Marine National
Park]
Fialho,
D. 2000.
Monitoring and Evaluation of Conservation and Sustainable Development
Projects: an experience from Brazil. WWF-Brazil. Technical Series Number 6.
Buschbacher,
R. 2000.
500 Anos de Destruição Ambiental no Brasil. WWF-Brasil. Technical Series Number 5. [Historical Analysis of Brazilian Natural
Resource Use]
Lemos
de Sá, R. 2000. Manejo de Fauna na Reserva Xavante Rio das
Mortes, MT: cultura indígena e método científico integrados para a conservação.
WWF-Brasil. Technical Series Number
4. [Sustainable Hunting Manual in an
Indigenous Reserve]
Tamaio,
I. and D. Carreira. 2000. Caminhos e Aprendizagens: educaçao ambiental, conservaçao e
desenvolvimento. WWF-Brasil, Brasilia.
[Environmental Education Case Studies]
Dietz,
L. and I. Tamaio. 2000. Aprenda Fazendo: apoio aos processos de
educaçao ambiental. WWF-Brasil, Brasilia.
[Environmental Education Tools]
Pufal,
D., R. Buschbacher and M.A. Garcia.
2000. Brazilian Cerrado Case Study, pp. 95-125 in Wood, A., P.
Stedman-Edwards and J. Mang, eds. The
Root Causes of Biodiversity Loss.
Earthscan, London.
Buschbacher,
R. 1999.
Expansão Agrícola e Perda da Biodiversidade no Cerrado: origens
históricas e o papel do comércio internacional. WWF-Brasil. Technical Series Number 7. [Role of Agroindustry in Biodiversity Loss of
the Cerrado]
Freitas,
A. 1999.
ICMS Ecológico: um instrumento econômico para a conservação. WWF-Brasil, Brasilia. [Analysis of a Fiscal Incentive for
Conservation]
Lemos
de Sá, R. and L. Ferreira. 1999. Áreas Protegidas ou Espaços Ameaçados? o grau de implementação e a vulnerabilidade
das unidades de conservaçao federais Brasileiras de uso indireto.
WWF-Brasil. Technical Series Number
3. [Sustainability Analysis of Brazil’s
Protected Areas]
Buschbacher,
R. 1998.
Manejo Florestal Comunitário na
Amazônia. WWF-Brasil. Technical Series Number 2. [Documents Community-level Sustainable
Forestry in the Amazon]
Rodrigues, V. 1996. Muda O Mundo, Raimundo: educaçao ambiental no ensino basico do Brasil. WWF-Brasil, Brasilia. [Teacher’s Guide for Environmental Education.
Technical
publications of WWF Tropical Forestry Program:
Perl, M., G. Batmanian, R.J. Buschbacher and M. Kiernan. 1992. Views from the Forest: Natural Forest Management in Latin America. WWF, Washington, D.C.
Buschbacher, R.J. 1990. Natural forest management in the humid tropics: ecological, social and economic considerations. Ambio 19(5): 253-258.
Buschbacher, R.J.
1990. Ecological analysis of
natural forest management in the humid tropics.
Pages 59-79 in R. Goodland, ed.
Race to Save the Tropics: Ecology and Economics for a Sustainable
Future. Island Press, Washington, D.C.
Buschbacher,
R.J. and C. Elliott. 1989. Forest industries: challenges and
opportunities for the utilization and conservation of tropical forests. Pages 136-141 in Mesa Redonda Internacional:
Oportunidades e limitações para o desenvolvimento da industria baseada em
madeiras tropicais na America Latina.
Instituto Brasileiro de Desenvolvimento Florestal and International
Tropical Timber Organization.
Buschbacher,
R.J. 1987. Why don't ecologists get more respect? The Conservation Foundation Newsletter 1987,
Number 2:2. (Reprinted in The
Environmental Professional 9(2): 120 and the University of Georgia Institute of
Ecology Intercom.)
Presentations:
Conservation
and Development Forum on Packard Foundation Amazon Carbon Initiative (with
Daniel Zarin), University of Florida, 2006.
Institute
of Ecology Seminar on the Applicability of Ecology Graduate Training to
Professional Work in Conservation.
University of Georgia. 2005.
Forestry
Seminar on Innovative Graduate Education, University of Florida. 2005.
Working
Forests in the Tropics Seminar on Evaluation of the WWF Guianas Forestry
Program. University of Florida. 2005.
Tropilunch
Seminar on Southern Bahia Agroecology Movement, University of Florida. 2004.
Botany
Seminar on Brazil Protected Areas Conservation Initiative, University of
Florida. 2003.
Working
Forests in the Tropics seminar on Evaluation of the Awa Forestry Project. 2003.
Tropilunch
Seminar on Integrated Conservation and Development Projects, University of
Florida. 2002.
Invited
speaker to give "An NGO view on conservation and development" to
semi-annual meeting of Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Invited
speaker on forestry issues at Forest '92:
Second International Symposium on Environmental Studies of Tropical
Rainforests, Rio de Janeiro. 1992.
Presented
papers at annual meetings of the Ecological Society of America 1982 through
1987, at International Society of Tropical Ecology meetings in 1987, and at
American Association for Advancement of Science annual meeting in 1990.
Presented
four research seminars in Portuguese at EMBRAPA‑CPATU in Belém,
Brazil. 1984‑1986.
Presented
seminars on ecology, conservation and management of tropical forests at North
Carolina State University, Rutgers University, Smithsonian Tropical Research
Institute, Yale University, John Hopkins University, Universidade de Mato
Grosso and Chulalongkorn University.
Assisted
Packard Foundation in developing a $5 million portfolio of projects aimed at
reducing carbon emissions from deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Summer 2005 through present.
External
evaluation of WWF Guianas Program Sustainable Forest Resources Management
Project. Team leader. 2005.
Conducted
external evaluation of WWF-Brazil Freshwater Conservation Program. 2004.
Consulted on development of original program strategy in 2001 and wrote
the revised program strategy in 2004.
Team
leader for external evaluation of USAID-funded Awa Forestry Project, Ecuador.
2003.
Team
leader for external evaluation of WWF-UK International Program. 2002.
Consultant
to WWF for preparation of Mexico Forest Conservation Program. 2001-2002.
Consultant
to WWF International on developing a Program Audit function for internal
monitoring of program effectiveness.
2001.
Advisor
to the Carter Center on the design of a tropical forestry program. 1990.
Advisor
to the University of Maryland and the University of Georgia on the development
of new graduate degree programs in Conservation and Sustainable
Development. 1988-89.
Participation
in Sustainability-Oriented NGOs:
Advisory
Board Member, Conservation Trust for Florida, 2003 – present.
Founding
member and member of the Board of Directors, Instituto Internacional de
Educação no Brasil (IIEB). 2000-2002.
Founding
member and member of the Board of Directors, Instituto Brasil de Educação
Ambiental (IBEA). 1997-2001.
Advisory Board
Member for two Brazilian NGOs: IMAZON (Instituto do Homem e Natureza na Amazônia)
and JUPARÁ (Assessoria Agro-ecológico Comunitário)
Founding
Board Member of the Environmentor's Project, an environmentally oriented
mentoring program for disadvantaged inner-city youth, Washington, D.C.
International
Policy Fora on Forest Sustainability:
Representative
of conservation organizations on the U.S. delegation to the International
Tropical Timber Organization. 1988 to
1991 (six international meetings).
Steering
Committee member for the ITTO-funded Antimari sustainable forestry research and
development project. State of Acre, Brazil.
1988-1990.
Participant
in Inter-American Development Bank environmental NGO consultation, Tropical
Forestry Action Plan NGO consultation, World Bank forestry policy NGO
consultation, PP-G7 Annual Meeting, UN Conference on Environment and
Development, etc.
Invited
expert at Brazilian Environment Ministry's workshop to design a Monitoring and
Evaluation system for PD/A Demonstration Projects component of the Pilot
Project to Conserve the Brazilian Rainforest.
1998.
Participant
in Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change technical consultation, SP,
Brazil.
Presented
testimony to U.S. Congress committee hearings on tropical timber imports,
boycotts, and certification.
Media:
Print,
television and radio spokesperson for WWF on forestry and conservation issues,
including television and radio appearances in Brazil, US and Europe, and print
interviews and citations in Brazil, Japan, Newsweek, New York Times, etc.
Featured
guest on a one-hour Worldnet Videoconference on Tropical Rainforest Management,
conducted in Portuguese and transmitted live among Washington, Brasilia, Sao
Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Technical
advisor on the documentary portion of a two-hour live television special called
"Amazonia ao vivo," produced in Brazil in 1990.
Technical
advisor on the preparation of Vanishing Rain Forests environmental education
package produced by WWF to accompany the Smithsonian Institution exhibit,
"The Tropical Rainforest: A Disappearing Treasure." 1988.
Other:
Traveled
extensively throughout tropical regions, including research sites and community
conservation projects in Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru,
Costa Rica, Panama, Dominica, Puerto Rico, India, Thailand, South Africa,
Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Tanzania and Kenya.
1979‑present.
Participated
in professional meetings and events in England, Holland, Switzerland, Germany,
Italy, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Italy, Japan, Indonesia, India, and Cote
d’Ivoire.
Reviewer
of proposals and publications for National Science Foundation, U.S. Agency for
International Development, U.S. Man and the Biosphere program, Columbia
University Press, University of Florida Press, McGraw Hill, Forest Ecology and
Management, Biotropica, Remote Sensing Reviews, etc.
Consultant
to the Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, on a proposal to assess
environmental impacts of diking coastal marshes. 1985.
Attended
Organization for Tropical Studies tropical ecology course in Costa Rica,
1979. Received RIAS grant for extension
of course project.
Field
technician, Okefenokee Swamp ecosystem study.
1978.
Environmental
projects manager for EFS, a private consulting firm in Los Angeles, CA. Wrote environmental impact reports assessing
energy, harbor, and commercial development. 1976‑1978.
Fulbright
Fellowship – the first Fulbright award ever to the UGA Institute of Ecology
University
of Georgia University-wide Non‑teaching Assistantship (merit-based, three
years)
Cornell
University ‑ three academic scholarships
St.
John's University full academic scholarship (declined)
New
York State Regents' Scholarship (two)
National
Merit Finalist
St.
John's Preparatory School full academic scholarship
Eagle
Scout – the first in Troop 139 Queens