Scherch's earlier work focused on studies of bioregionalism and related social, economic and environmental contexts. More recently, his work leads around the world -- into Tibetan refugee settlements in India, into bamboo forests in China and into slum communities in Bangladesh. In 2006/07, he completed a 7-month sabbatical in China, teaching and conducting collaborative inquiries on bamboo resource systems for sustainable development at Zhejiang Forestry University. He presently directs the development of Pacific Bamboo Resources, an institute involving international collaborators and AUS students focusing on innovations within emerging bamboo economies that advance carbon ethics and climate recovery, ecological restoration and improved quality of livelihood. Website: www.pacificbamboo.com

Three recent publications: Scherch, J. (2008). Poverty Alleviation and Urban/Rural Reciprocities: Designing, Learning, Collaborating for Eco-City Dhaka, Bangladesh. Paper accepted for EcoCity World Summit 2008, San Francisco, CA, April. * Scherch, J. (2006). From Rhizome to Renaissance: Engaging Integral Bamboo Systems for Sustainable Development. International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability, 2(4). Paper presented at Annual Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, January, 2006. * Scherch, J., Fraser, T., Lee Bradley, A. & Nolt, J. (2005). "Models of Sustainability." In John Nolt's (Ed.) A Land Imperiled: The Declining Ecological Health of Southern Appalachia. Knoxville University of Tennessee Press. ISBN: 1-572-33326-X.