Successful efforts to reforest barren land and other international natural resource management projects have benefited from a 30-year “institution building” program between the University of Minnesota and Morocco. U of M faculty helped Morocco establish a university focused on agriculture and natural resources: the Institut Agronomique et Veterinaire Hassan II (IAV). Today it is a respected education and research institution of 2,500 students.

More than 130 of IAV’s faculty received their Ph.D.’s through the U of M. Over 200 students completed their master’s degrees at Minnesota and more than 100 faculty from the U.S. made multiple trips to Morocco to direct their students’ research.

Following World War II, University of Minnesota and Scandinavian foresters developed an exchange of ideas and faculty. Comparative research in programs and policy led to progressive laws and programs here in Minnesota. Americans are accustomed to setting aside lands for a single use such as wilderness or a park, but in more densely populated Europe, most forests are multipurpose. Within the city limits of Oslo, Norway, this park shows evidence of logging near ski and hiking trails and lakes. Researchers found the Scandinavian public both more knowledgeable about and accepting of forest practices because they experience them first hand.

In developing countries, researchers examine how human domination and management has changed our understanding of diversity, fragmentation, and sustainability of forest resources. This pit saw in Rwanda is an example of indigenous knowledge and local technology that sustains the forest resource. Contrast this with a more mechanized, more economically efficient approach that causes greater environmental impact. We’re developing management approaches that balance the competing social, ecological, and economic aspects of sustainability.

Forests play an important role in the global carbon cycle. Since 1992, carbon sequestration laws permit industries in developed countries to pay land managers in undeveloped countries to protect and plant trees. University researchers evaluated new carbon mitigation projects in Chiapas, Mexico, from 1995 to 2001: goals shifted from improving the community to a sole focus on carbon sales by individual farmers. In a current study in a national park in Chiapas, graduate students are examining four-year-old plantings of native pines, comparing survival rates of trees planted by park service workers and community groups.

In developing countries of Asia, basic food production often competes with wise forest management. For example, if fuel for cooking is needed, forests are decimated and replanting stymied. University researchers work toward long-term, practical solutions to problems of deforestation, erosion, water quality, and hunger.

University of Minnesota scientists are actively investigating the many human factors that affect water quality. The research addresses aquatic ecosystems from a regional perspective, as opposed to traditional geopolitical boundaries that may ignore the interaction of water, geology, plant and animal life, soil, and other environmental realities. Some of the relationships investigated include forest harvesting, agricultural practices, urban development, climate, river basin classification, and ecological relationships between large and small rivers.

Locally, the St. Croix River process is a showpiece to the world of how to view and manage environmental issues collaboratively. Information for a Water Resources Master Plan involved many state and federal agencies. Up close, researchers investigated river sediment, snag habitat, and the invasion of exotic species. That was then expanded—using Geographic Information System technology—to a watershed view: adding housing, farmland, forests, roads, marinas, and industrial sites.

As society confronts choices about natural resources, U of M scientists provide essential information and a process for making informed decisions. The goal is to empower citizens and agencies to weigh alternatives intelligently and make defensible decisions, whether it’s the St. Croix separating Minnesota and Wisconsin, Voyageurs National Park separating the U.S. and Canada, or the Nile River basin.