The symposium will feature introductory comments by UW-Madison Provost Peter Spear and Nelson Institute Director Erhard Joeres. Topics will include: water security and the Middle East; vulnerability of human-environment interactions in complex landscapes; estimating the "ecological footprint" of humanity; notions of land and water security across ethic and gender lines; responses of society to emerging diseases; climate change and extinction of species; economic analysisof deforestation, carbon trading and species loss.