Episode description

On this episode, Katie is joined by Ian E. Munanura, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society at Oregon State University. He earned a Doctorate in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at Clemson University in South Carolina. He also earned a Master of Science degree in Tourism and Wildlife Conservation from the University of Kent in the United Kingdom. He teaches courses on ecotourism and sustainable communities, sustainable tourism planning, and a study abroad course on international perspectives of ecotourism and political ecology. His scholarship seeks to identify the human resilience and wellbeing constraints, which could create livelihood vulnerability, human dependence on forest resources for livelihoods, and loss of biodiversity. He also seeks to identify the potential of community-based tourism to mitigate human resilience and wellbeing constraints, which could influence biodiversity loss. His geographical area of scholarship interest is the Pacific Northwest, Southeast Asia, and East Africa. Previously, Dr. Munanura has worked in Rwanda as a field project director and country director for the Wildlife Conservation Society. He also led a $5 million project funded by the US Agency for International Development in Rwanda, designed to integrate and promote sustainable tourism, biodiversity conservation, human health, and economic development.

Segment 1: Ecotourism [00:00-12:37]

In this first segment, Ian shares about his research on ecotourism.

Segment 2: Researching Rural Communities [12:38-24:59]

In segment two, Ian discusses what led him to research rural communities.

Segment 3: International Perspectives [25:00-33:37]

In segment three, Ian shares about his international education has impacted his research.

In this segment, the following resources are mentioned:

• Travel Oregon

Bonus Clip #1 [00:00-7:03]: Tourism as a Way to Strengthen Emotional Well Being and Resilience

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The views expressed by guests on the Research in Action podcast do not necessarily represent the views of Oregon State University Ecampus or Oregon State University.