Research Bio
Ecosystems are disappearing, in part, because they are undervalued. Natural areas and urban green spaces provide a myriad of social and environmental benefits. Some of these benefits can be captured using environmental economics techniques (though the intrinsic worth of ecosystems still cannot be fully accounted for using economic techniques). My graduate research coupled ecological knowledge with economics to provide alternatives to deforestation via community-based forest management. While the societal and environmental value of intact forests far exceeds the value of the marketable products derived from it, this value does not provide revenue for forest communities, thus creating a financial incentive for deforestation. In addition to reducing biodiversity and contributing to climate change, revenue from deforestation is rarely sufficient to lift these communities out of poverty, creating a short-term benefit while reducing long-term income sources for these struggling populations. By quantifying sustainable timber-harvest levels, improving the quality of extracted products (like latex, fruits, oils and timber), and working with communities to maximize their financial benefit from forest resources, forest management can make forested landscapes economically more attractive than pasture and other land uses while concurrently improving the quality of life for forest residents. Carapa guianensis is one species that provides an opportunity for forest conservation via management; this tropical tree is valued for the high quality oil extracted from its seeds and its mahogany-like timber. For my PhD, I used coupled economic and ecological models to assess sustainable harvest levels of C. guianensis timber and seeds under variable environmental conditions. Results indicate sustainable harvest scenarios of seeds, timber and combined harvests. As revenue from these harvests was comparable with other community activities, C. guianensis seed and timber harvests could be an economically viable addition to current forest management strategies in the region.
Opportunities for Research
- Quantify the benefits of green spaces in Chicago’s south side neighborhoods using geographic information systems, hedonic property value models (a multiple-regression approach to decompose the various attributes of value in property into their component parts), and time cost analysis to determine willingness to pay for proximity to green spaces.
-Economic survey techniques, like contingent valuation, provide another opportunity for undergraduate student research on the value of urban green spaces. Contingent valuation has the advantage of quantifying non-market values of green spaces, often by asking how much people would be willing to pay to maintain the existence of such environmental amenities.
- DePaul’s strong community partnerships provide a potential application for results from undergraduate research projects. By partnering with community organizations and returning research results upon project completion, communities could leverage results to expand neighborhood green networks.
Ecosystems are disappearing, in part, because they are undervalued. Natural areas and urban green spaces provide a myriad of social and environmental benefits. Some of these benefits can be captured using environmental economics techniques (though the intrinsic worth of ecosystems still cannot be fully accounted for using economic techniques). My graduate research coupled ecological knowledge with economics to provide alternatives to deforestation via community-based forest management. While the societal and environmental value of intact forests far exceeds the value of the marketable products derived from it, this value does not provide revenue for forest communities, thus creating a financial incentive for deforestation. In addition to reducing biodiversity and contributing to climate change, revenue from deforestation is rarely sufficient to lift these communities out of poverty, creating a short-term benefit while reducing long-term income sources for these struggling populations. By quantifying sustainable timber-harvest levels, improving the quality of extracted products (like latex, fruits, oils and timber), and working with communities to maximize their financial benefit from forest resources, forest management can make forested landscapes economically more attractive than pasture and other land uses while concurrently improving the quality of life for forest residents. Carapa guianensis is one species that provides an opportunity for forest conservation via management; this tropical tree is valued for the high quality oil extracted from its seeds and its mahogany-like timber. For my PhD, I used coupled economic and ecological models to assess sustainable harvest levels of C. guianensis timber and seeds under variable environmental conditions. Results indicate sustainable harvest scenarios of seeds, timber and combined harvests. As revenue from these harvests was comparable with other community activities, C. guianensis seed and timber harvests could be an economically viable addition to current forest management strategies in the region.
Opportunities for Research
- Quantify the benefits of green spaces in Chicago’s south side neighborhoods using geographic information systems, hedonic property value models (a multiple-regression approach to decompose the various attributes of value in property into their component parts), and time cost analysis to determine willingness to pay for proximity to green spaces.
-Economic survey techniques, like contingent valuation, provide another opportunity for undergraduate student research on the value of urban green spaces. Contingent valuation has the advantage of quantifying non-market values of green spaces, often by asking how much people would be willing to pay to maintain the existence of such environmental amenities.
- DePaul’s strong community partnerships provide a potential application for results from undergraduate research projects. By partnering with community organizations and returning research results upon project completion, communities could leverage results to expand neighborhood green networks.
