Student Research Competition Projects Available

Need an overall description of what the project is doing

Corruption An investigation into Peru's culture of corruption, and how this has manifested itself into accelerated deforestation of the Amazonian zone. The research will tackle a number of Peruspecific governmental and regulatory issues, which provide a foundation of knowledge concerning the corruption issue.

Critical Questions:

How does Peru's move towards decentralization of governance factor into corruption? What local Amazonian agencies have demonstrated that they are too institutionally weak to mitigate timberrelated corruption? Where are there gaps or feuds between the Federal government in Lima, and the Amazonian regional governments?

What are common corrupt forestry practices in the Amazonian region? (bribes, kidnapping, threats, etc) Which specific organizations have been found to be perpetrators of forestry regulation infractions? Which organizations have been heralded by the global community and local NGOs (Non-Government-Organizations) as being free of corruption?

Award-Winning research will be used to lead the project collaborators towards organizations which could serve as partners; both governmental and NGO. Excellent research will include details such as: specific events, achievements, or disasters of organizations, contact-persons within the organization, and identification of specific corrupt individuals involved in: politics, military, or other

forest regulation groups.

The researcher should also devote a section of the research paper to the following question: What are 3 related organizations which should be avoided due to poor corruption records and practices? What are 3 related organizations which seem trustworthy and corruption-free, and how should they be approached?

Getting Started: http://www.peruviantimes.com/02/peru-government-announces-creation-of-anti-corruptioncommission/4745/

Timber Trade Routes Illegally logged timber from the Peruvian rainforest is generally laundered into the legitimate flow of legally harvested timber. Thus, the locations and details of crucial timber-processing facilities and trade routes must be examined as potential insertion points for illicit timber materials. In this research project students will identify the key facilities and actors of the Peruvian timber trade.

Critical Questions: How much timber flows through each processing plant or trade route? Which company owns these facilities? Is it a Peruvian company or an international company? What kind of regulatory policies are in effect to detect the presence of illegal wood among incoming materials? What kind of wood is the facility processing?

Who imports the majority of Peru's timber exports? Which of these companies have run into legal issues regarding illegal wood importation practices? Which Peruvian facilities and trade routes were found to be connected with these illegal timber scandals?

Excellent research will go into deep detail concerning things like: a company/facility's legal track record. Have they been the center of any legal penalties, corruption, or bribery scandals? What do watchdog/whistleblower groups say about the company in question? Which whistleblower NGOs have intimate knowledge of this company's activities and regulatory practices?

The best research will guide the project's collaborators to pursue a course of action. Valuable information for doing so includes: links to external documents which provide detailed analysis of specific facilities, contact information of people in NGOs, companies, gov't agencies, or legal specialists with intimate knowledge of the issue. The researcher should also devote a section of the research paper to the following question: Which trade route seems most vulnerable to illegal timber laundering, and why? Which part of this supply chain seems to be a likely insertion point for illegal wood, and why?

Getting Started: http://www.eia-international.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Laundering-Machine.pdf

Illegal-Logging Whistleblower Organization Whistleblower refers to an organization or individual who calls media attention towards an illegal or unethical practice, which they have discovered. This research project will paint a general picture of whistleblowers in Peru regarding the specific issue of: Illegal-logging camps within the federally protected indigenous reserves of Peru. The research should address the prevalence of whistle blowing, how effective it has been, and what setbacks it has suffered. To get a coherent idea of what this whistleblower landscape looks like, students should answer the following questions:

Which whistleblower organizations have experienced success? Are the whistleblowers generally indigenous residents, gov't representatives, western observers, legal timber companies or someone else? What have been the major deterrents to whistle blowing? (i.e. fear of reprisal/lack of

anonymity, lack of gov't response, tip-offs/rapid relocation of illegal camps, etc). How can these failures and shortcomings be addressed in the future? How could a new whistleblower project succeed where others have failed?

If you are having issues with turning up a list of specific organizations within Peru, you can widen the scope to include whistleblowers for other environmental infractions in South America.

Excellent research will go beyond the identification of shortcomings, and will make concrete suggestions about a future course of action. These could include: policy suggestions, potential partners, organizational structuring, communication channels, and specific obstacles/adversaries to avoid or address.

Places to get started: https://blueprintforfreespeech.net/document/peru

Ecosystem and Sustainability

Big-leaf mahogany (swietenia macrophylla) forms a crucial part of the Peruvian Amazons ecosystem. This research project will explore the ecological, social, and cultural implications of illegal logging of mahogany in Peru. This research will investigate two distinct, but interrelated, topics: (1) the scope and complexity of the ecosystem inhabited by big-leaf mahogany trees and (2) aspects of sustainability related to mahogany ecosystem. The goal of this project is to provide concrete and accurate information that can be used as defense against illegal logging.

Critical questions:

(1) What ecological zone does mahogany grow in (temperature, forest density, average rainfall, etc.)? What tree, plant, and animal species also inhabit these zones? Which, if any, are dependent on mahogany for survival? Of these species, do any hold traditional value by local indigenous

groups?

(2) How does mahogany contribute to the sustainability of its ecosystem? What are the potential consequences of removing mahogany from this ecosystem? Include both ecological, and social/cultural considerations.

Excellent papers will be detail-oriented and thorough when considering the questions above. While advanced environmental science knowledge is not required, the ability to convey ecological concepts in a clear and succinct way is essential. Papers that go above and beyond will identify possible future solutions for sustainability management of mahogany ecosystems in already-depleted areas.