photos: brian e robinson

I look at how people meet their needs through use of ecosystems and natural resources, and the role this plays in development in poorer regions of the world. Some questions that drive my research include: 

  • Why do communities create management institutions? How do these impact resource use and livelihoods?
  • How do people use ecosystems to support their livelihoods? What parts of the landscape are most critical for that support?
  • How does household behavior interact with policy intentions, for instance in payment for ecosystem services programs?

Recent work has evaluated the livelihood impacts of a payment for ecosystem services program (PES) near Beijing, how rural villages choose to manage mushroom harvests in south China, and how land tenure influences deforestation rates globally. My research uses an institutional and economic lens, and my methods draw from  environmental and development economics, ecology, development geography, and geographic information sciences.  

Department of Geography

McGill affiliations
Sustainability, Science & Society
Development Geography
Geographies of Asia

Collaborators
Natural Capital Project
Chinese Academy of Science