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Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 | Paper 4 | Paper 5 | Final Cumulative Paper

Paper 1: Forests and deforestation.

Draft 1. Due: Tuesday, Sept 9th

Paper one will represent a background section to your research paper. It will set the stage by providing detail on the forests and changes in the forests over time in your country. It will NOT address the causes of deforestation, the consequences of deforestation, or anything about people. Rather, it will simply address the following questions:
1. What is extent of forest cover in the country?
2. What kinds of forest are present (what is the nature of the forest types)?
3. What is the distribution of forest and forest types?
4. How have the forests changed over time?
5. What is the current level and rate of deforestation?
6. What differences are there in rate of deforestation by forest type and region?

Also, it would be useful to find a map that you can use.

The paper should be no more than two pages. Please use 12 point font and one inch margins.

Draft 2. Due, Thursday Sept 25
DO NOT DISCARD the draft with comments. Turn in your revised copy WITH the draft with comments.

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Paper 2: The Consequences of Deforestation

Due: Monday, Sept 22

Paper two will address the consequences of deforestation in your country – why should anyone care? This is an important part of the argument for your research paper. You have addressed the level of deforestation in paper one. Now you need to clearly establish that this is a problem and explain why. You will NOT be addressing the causes of deforestation, though this paper could certainly discuss some of the groups related to the forests. Also, you do not have to establish that deforestation is taking place or how much there is, as this should have been addressed in paper 1. Your paper should include the following:
• You probably want to focus in on one of the major forest types or regions. This should be a tropical forest. This might be evergreen, deciduous, pine, broadleaf, mangrove, or whatever. Many highland forests are not considered tropical because of the temperature fluctuations.
• Briefly review the broader (i.e. global) concerns of deforestation. Provide more detail if deforestation in your country is particularly significant to some of these global concerns (e.g. if your forest has particularly high biodiversity or endemism).
• Then focus on the problems that are experienced within the country due to deforestation. What is the problem? How do we know it is a problem? To whom is it a problem? Why should we care about this outcome of deforestation?

Format: 2-3 pages, double-spaced, 12 point font.
Due: For Monday, 9/22

Important: You should use NO MORE than one web source for this paper. Your other sources should be journal articles and books.

You do NOT need to turn in your bibliography again this week.

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Paper 3. The Causes of Deforestation

Due Mon, Oct 13 by noon.

Paper three represents a central part of your paper. In order to argue for effective solutions, you need to lay out the causes of deforestation in your country. While you may include some historical information on the causes of deforestation, the focus on the paper should be on contemporary causes. You should think about direct and indirect causes. What are the current causes leading to deforestation or forest degradation? What is the process by which deforestation or degradation occurs? Why are these activities taking place (what underlies the current pressures)? What proof do you have that these are the causes?

For example, it is not sufficient to say that colonization is causing deforestation. You must provide examples or proof of this. You will also want to expain how colonization is causing deforestation - what is actually happening on the ground? In addition, you should address why colonization is taking place to begin with.

Format: 3-5 pages, typed, double space, 12 point font.

Recall that you should also turn in an updated version of your bibliography, including 10 new citations and 5 new annotations.

Draft 2 Due Monday, Oct 27th by noon.

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Paper 4: The social environment

The goal of this paper is to fill in the social context concerning tropical forest use and abuse by addressing the following questions.
1. Who are the actors that live in the tropical forests or have some major influence over what goes on there?
2. What are goals, responsibilities, perspectives, and/or actions of the actors concerning the forest? (E.g. why are they there, why do they care, what are they doing, how do they conceive of the forest, etc.)
3. How do these actors relate to and interact with one another? (E.g. legal ties, alliances, support, conflicts or competing claims, market relations, etc.)

Paper guidelines: 3-5 pages double spaced. 12 point font. 1 inch margins.

Draft 1 Due: Monday, November 10 by noon.

Annotated bibliography revision: Thursday, November 13 by noon. Annotated bibliography with 10 new citations and 5 additional annotations.

Draft 2 of Paper Due: Monday, November 17 by 5 pm

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Paper 5 – Solutions to Deforestation

Due: Tuesday, December 2 in class (or by 8:00 am).

The goal of this paper is to review efforts to address deforestation and make an argument for one actionable solution. The central question of your paper should be: what is the best solution to confronting tropical deforestation in my focus country/region?

1. In addressing this question, your paper should do the following:
   1. Provide a broad overview of the various kinds of strategies that are often proposed to confront or address deforestation.
2. Review efforts to control or respond to deforestation in the tropical forests of your country. (What have these efforts consisted of? Who has been involved in these: funding, implementation, etc.? What have been the outcomes of these efforts?)
3. Provide an argument for a single solution that you feel would be the most effective for addressing deforestation in your focus area. It may involve expanding an existing program, or could require a new intervention. Your solution should be an actionable suggestion – it should involve a specific intervention or tactic that could be introduced with funding (e.g. a reforestation program, alternative fuels program) or political will (e.g. a new forestry law, titling of lands, more forest guards). It should not be a vague goal (e.g. stop companies from cutting down forests, decrease poverty).
   • What would the solution consist of?
   • Who would carry it out and how?
   • Why would this solution be particularly effective in your country?
     

Paper guidelines: 4-6 pages double spaced. 12 point font. 1 inch margins.

Important: Draft 1 will be the graded draft of this paper.

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Final Paper Instructions

Due date: Friday, Dec 19th by 12:00 noon.

Absolutely no extensions will be granted. You should e-mail me your final paper AND provide a hard copy in my mailbox in the administrative assistant’s office on the 1st floor of Goodnow hall (or hand to me directly).

Style: Double spaced. 12 point font. 1 inch margins.

DON'T FORGET TO ALSO TURN IN THE DRAFTS WITH COMMENTS OF THE FIRST 5 PAPER SECTIONS.

Content
The goal for your final paper is to write a 15-25 page thesis-based research paper addressing deforestation in your focus country. More specifically, your paper should address the following question: what should be done to confront/combat deforestation in your focus country? Luckily, you have already written most of this paper, though you will need to do some work to make the parts fit together and provide a coherent argument. In particular, you will need to work on the following:

1. An introduction that explains what you will do in the paper and lays out the thesis.
2. Introductions to paper sections that tie these to the overall thesis and to one another (i.e. serve as transitions between sections). In other words, you should address why each of these sections is necessary to thinking about a solution to deforestation (which is your primary goal)?
3. Adjustments in the text to provide consistency in your arguments.
4. A summary/conclusion that wraps it all together.

Sections of the paper include (everyone should include the following sections, though the title of the section may differ, and the order can be rearranged slightly with respect to II, III, and IV.):

I. Introduction
II. State of the forests and deforestation
III. The main actors and their relations
IV. The consequences of deforestation
V. The causes of deforestation
VI. Confronting deforestation – a solution
VII. Conclusion

The content of the paper sections should reflect the questions raised for each of the previous paper papers with adjustments made as necessary to support the thesis and provide consistency in the various sections of the paper.

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