University of Wisconsin ranks fifth nationally among faculty participating in the Fulbright Scholarship Program. One recipient, UW professor Adrian Treves, seeks to bring the harmony he found between nature and society in Sweden back home. 

Treves, who furthered his research and teaching in the environmental sciences in Sweden through the Fulbright program, is one of six faculty recipients at University of Wisconsin for 2014-15. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers American scholars opportunities to do research and consultation with other scholars and institutions abroad.

Scholars usually make multiple visits to their chosen destinations for a duration of two to three years, according to the Fulbright website. Treves visited Sweden once from September to October 2014 and plans to return in May.

Treves first became interested in research in Sweden on a 2007 trip there, when he saw the way they manage the balance between large carnivores and society, he said. While in Sweden, Treves learned how to implement various conservation models that balance preservation of nature and human welfare, he said.

Treves said even though his research is conducted in Sweden, it will benefit the United States as well. He said his research in Sweden provides an opportunity to expand how American researchers examine coexistence between carnivores and people.

“Whether we are talking about options in the United States or internationally, there are a limited number of solutions to coexistence and my experience in Sweden has taught me models that aren’t being tested or tried in the United States,” Treves said.

Treves said a good example of such a model is in the case of Sami reindeer herders, who the Swedish government pays to not kill wolverines. By doing so, female wolverines’ safety is increased and the herders get compensation for any losses in their herd, Treves said.

Through this process, he said the Swedish government balances their obligation to conserve large carnivores with the culture and economic needs of the reindeer herders.

This model resulted positively, as it reduced the poaching of female wolverines, Treves said. U.S. federal or state agencies do not implement a system like Sweden’s, but his research may provide alternatives to the current model, he said.

Treves’ time and research in another country has the potential to open new opportunities for conservation and would improve the current issue of coexistence, although these ideas for alternative methods come with opposition, he said.

“A scientist can take a lot of flak from interest groups or even from the government for proposing alternatives to management,” he said. “Proposing alternatives to management of a controversial species means we are going to make some enemies simply by reporting our scientific results.”

The international experience provided through the Fulbright program also enhances the classroom, where Treves can integrate his new international perspective, he said.

“I improved and enhanced the international content of my classes,” he said. “[My classes] will benefit from what I’ve learned, and maybe they will get the urge to visit somewhere like Sweden too.”