Biodiversity, Humanity and Sustainability

by Professor Ke Chung Kim, Ph.D.

Time：10 : 00 am, 6 July. 2010 (Tue.) 

Place：Lecture Hall B517, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Contact：Prof. ZHANG Run-Zhi, 64807270 / Ms. LIU Ying-Jing , 64807088

Prof. Kim is an entomologist and also biodiversity and sustainability scientist. After 40 years of academic service he retired from the Pennsylvania State University as Professor Emeritus in the Department of Entomology, Curator of Frost Entomological Museum, and Director of Center for BioDiversity Research, Institutes of Energy and the Environment. Started with taxonomy and systematics of dipteran families (Sphaeroceridae, Simuliidae, and Tephritidae) and Anoplura, and the study of infraspecific populations involving ectoparasites of rodents and other taxa, he devoted the first two decades of his scientific career on coevolution of parasitic arthropods and mammals and birds and evolution of infraspecific variations of insect pests. For the last two decades he has focused his interest on biodiversity loss and human sustainability, which brought his concerns over the sustainability of vial biodiversity and destiny of humanity.

Abstract: With global warming and continued biodiversity loss we are at the crossroad to determine the future of humanity. Biodiversity is the fountain of life and the primary natural resource for sustaining our life-support system. For the first time we are challenged with how to manage global warming and its related climate changes caused by human activities, particularly for the “Century of Technology.” Suggesting the emergence of biodiversity science, specifically involving insects, the conceptualization and approaches to rectify humanistic dogma and redirect the negative human trends to protect and preserve our life-support system by biodiversity-based science and development.