April 24 — NAU to present the session ‘Making the Hidden Visible: An Interdisciplinary Assessment of the Environmental, Social and Developmental Impacts of The War on Drugs in Central America’

FLAGSTAFF — Dr. Erik Nielsen (Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Policy and NAU’s Chief Sustainability Officer) will present Making the Hidden Visible: An Interdisciplinary Assessment of the Environmental, Social and Developmental Impacts of The War on Drugs in Central America at 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 24 in LA136, Northern Arizona University.

Prof Nielsen will talk about the 12-year trajectory of the interdisciplinary team he co-led with Dr. Kendrea McSweeney that focused on “understanding the socio-environmental dynamics of the war on drugs in Central America.” He will synthesize key findings and talk about policy alternatives for the US. I have attached a brief article he and his colleagues published in Science, “Drug Policy as Conservation Policy: Narco Deforestation,” that provides a concise overview of the phenomenon.