Profile

Mario holds a PhD in Applied Economics (University of Vigo, 2006) and is an Associate Research Professor at the CSIC Institute of Marine Research, where he has served as Head of the Department of Marine Ecology & Resources from 2023 to 2025. Previously he was associate lecturer and researcher at the University of Vigo, tenured scientist at the Spanish National Institute for Technology and Agricultural Research, and associate professor at the Complutense University of Madrid (currently on leave). His research areas fall within the field of environmental economics: environmental valuation and sustainable management of natural resources. His research has been applied to multiple environmental issues, such as energy, water, pollution, forestry, rural development, biodiversity conservation, protected areas, etc. He is (co)author of more than 80 papers in JCR journals such as Land Economics, Ecological Economics, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, World Development, Regional Studies, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Agricultural Economics, Forest Policy and Economics, Journal of Forest Economics, Science of the Total Environment, Journal of Environmental Management, Biological Conservation, Conservation Biology, Landscape and Urban Planning, among others. His research counts more than 1400 citations (h-index=21 based on Scopus). He regularly acts as reviewer for international scientific journals and since 2022 is Academic Editor of ‘Plos One’. Currently, his research interests focus on the economic valuation of ecosystem services in coastal and marine ecosystems, and how the psychological, institutional, socioeconomic and home-site factors influence the behavior of people. Ongoing research projects focus on effects of climate change in coastal environments, marine renewable energy, vulnerable marine ecosystems, by-catch in Atlantic fisheries, and conservation programs in natural protected areas.