Location
Age
Area of FocusAbout Daniel's Work
Daniel Janzen is a pioneer in restoration ecology of tropical forests.
Janzen spent the first twenty-three years of his career in tropical biology, and has since devoted himself to the conservation of damaged and disappearing ecosystems. In his struggle against deforestation, he has worked with Costa Rican administrators and professionals to restore forests through the conversion of low-grade ranches and farms. This undertaking involves both government and citizen participation by restructuring Costa Rica’s economy around biodiversity. Janzen works with the National Biodiversity Institute of Costa Rica to catalogue the country’s diverse species, foster scientific literacy at all levels of Costa Rican society, and provide information about how to manage wild areas as a multiple-use, sustainable resource.
Biography
Janzen has been a professor of biology at the University of Pennsylvania since 1976. He also serves as a technical advisor to the Guanacaste Conservation area in Costa Rica, and to the Costa Rican National Biodiversity Institute. He has published numerous articles in such journals as Science, Biodiversity, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.
Janzen received a B.S. (1961) from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. (1965) from the University of California, Berkeley.
Last updated January 1, 2005.
Published on August 1, 1989
