Ernesto Caste�ada, a professor at the Technical Institute of the Oaxaca Valley in Mexico, will discuss his work with indigenous communities in Mexico at the GEM Critical Issues International Seminar on Tuesday, May 1, at 7 p.m. at the Country Springs Hotel, 1501 North Point Drive, Stevens Point.

The GEM Critical Issues series is free and open to the public. It is hosted by the Global Environmental Management Education Center (GEM) with funding through grants from the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Caste�ada�s presentation is the last of four lectures in the 2006-2007 series, "Sustainable Communities."

Caste�ada�s field of expertise is sustainable agriculture, environmental management and rural development. He works with indigenous communities in the state of Oaxaca in southeastern Mexico. Currently his focus is on sustainable production and food security for deeply impoverished communities. Many people in these communities are subsistence farmers. Caste�ada, whose work is funded by the United Nations, is helping farmers improve agronomic practices in a sustainable way.

Caste�ada is also a partner in GEM initiatives in Oaxaca. GEM, a center within the College of Natural Resources at UWSP, promotes sustainability, international programming and leadership development. In Mexico, GEM projects include sustainable agriculture, forestry and community development. GEM staff and Mexican partners are helping create farm-to-market connections, value-added agricultural products and niche markets, for example. Also in conjunction with these programs, two Mexican nationals are currently enrolled as graduate students at UWSP.

More information about GEM and the Critical Issues International Seminar Series is on the Web at www.uwsp.edu/cnr/GEM.

cnr/vc/Ernesto Canstenada