Advanced Fieldcourse in Ecology and Conservation – XTBG (AFEC-X)
October 20 – December 1, 2012
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Yunnan, China

AFEC-X is an intensive course in field research methods designed for early career graduate students and researchers in Ecology and Conservation. It runs for six weeks to provide participants with excellent opportunities to conduct research and participate in group projects. Over the past three years, the AFEC-X courses have trained over 70 young researchers from ~20 countries, and attracted a growing pool of devoted resource staff.

Format: Course activities will be split between lectures and field exercises. During 2.5 weeks spent in a Nature Reserve, participants will design and carry out research projects in groups. The statistical program R will be introduced and used for the data analysis throughout the course. The course concludes with a symposium, where students present results of group projects and compete for the AFEC-X best research award.

Where: Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan province, China. The research projects will be conducted in Bulong Nature Reserve near the Myanmar border, which contains old-growth forest, surrounded by different secondary forest types and famous Pu-er tea plantations.

Topics: Tropical Ecology, Eco-Physiology, Taxonomy, Evolutionary Ecology, Plant and Animal Interactions, Biodiversity,  Conservation Biology, Invasive Species and more!

Course Fee: US$1500 (high-income countries), US$500 (lower-income countries). Fee covers accommodation, food and local transportation during the course. Limited course fellowships are available for participants from lower-income countries.