I am an interdisciplinary environmental scholar and practitioner interested in how environmental protection actions interact with rural development pathways, particularly in tropical frontiers.
My research is anchored in three main themes: i) the theory and practice of market or incentive-based environmental policies, such as Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) programmes; ii) the economics and political economy of climate and biodiversity frameworks; and iii) the collective dimensions of natural resource management, particularly in Latin America.
My education includes DPhil (PhD) and MPhil degrees in International Development from the University of Oxford, and a B.A. in Economics from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). I have postdoctoral experience at ITAM's Energy and Natural Resources Centre and at Université du Quebec en Outaouais.
I am currently Associate Researcher (akin to Associate Professor) at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México's (UNAM) Institute for Economics Research.
Since January 2024, I have been appointed as a UNESCO Chairholder in the Socio-Economic Evaluation of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (co-chaired with Prof Jerome Dupras). Through this UNESCO Chair, we aim to significantly advance how to conceptualise, evaluate, and monitor the contributions and interactions between biological diversity, ecosystems, and human well-being.
E-mail: santiago.izquierdo (at) comunidad.unam.mx
