Conservation biology often involves finding difficult compromises among competing interests. Such compromises are especially difficult to navigate when they involve changing personal values or lifestyles. But what happens when the lifestyles and values involved are themselves endangered?

In an effort to understand what makes these most difficult conservation initiatives succeed - or fail - Dr. Emily DuVal travelled to indigenous communities around the world to live with people whose lives were affected by conflicts between cultural traditions that involved hunting endangered species and the need to conserve dwindling populations. She lived with former sea turtle hunters in Guyana; in an Australian community where hunting both sea turtles and the manatee-like dugong remains an important tradition; and in New Zealand communities where Maori leaders were taking action to preserve the declining native New Zealand Pigeon.

In this presentation, Emily will present three case studies of conservation dilemmas in which cultural rights were pitted against conservation needs. Sixteen years have elapsed since her odyssey, and she will revisit the current state of affairs in each community to find out how the conservation initiatives have worked. She'll explain the nature of each conflict, the varied approaches to reaching a resolution, and the common threads that she found among them.