I am a mix between an academic scholar and a conservation practitioner.  My training and background are in environmental and ecological economics but I am lucky to work with brilliant colleagues from different disciplines across the social and natural sciences, including biologists, ecologists, and anthropologists.

Developing a PES ‘observatory’ in Selva Lacandona

Since 2010, I have been privileged to collaborate with Natura y Ecosistemas Mexicanos (Natura Mexicana), an NGO focused on the conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems of Selva Lacandona in Chiapas, and in the promotion of sustainable productive activities and livelihoods in the region. Check out Natura Mexicana's website and consider financial support: https://www.naturamexicana.org.mx/

Selva Lacandona is Mexico's largest evergreen tropical rainforest remnant in Mexico, but it faces high pressure for land conversion, mostly for cattle ranching. Natura Mexicana implements a series of activities and projects, including: management and implementation of protected areas and Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) programmes; monitoring and recovery of keystone species (e.g. jaguar, tapir, scarlet macaw); development of community-based ecotourism projects. Natura Mexicana works and partners with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities interested in forest conservation and management through participation in PES programmes. 

In collaboration with Natura Mexicana, local communities in the Marqués de Comillas municipality, and a growing network of researchers and students from Mexico and abroad, I have led several inter and multidisciplinary research projects focused on understanding the 'social lives' of PES programmes. You can find publications and projects from this 'PES observatory' in the Academic Publications and Projects tabs of this website.

Drawing on insights from this 'PES observatory', I have recently expanded my geographic and programmatic scope to studying and implementing other forest conservation PES in Colombia and other contexts in Latin America, as well as community-based carbon credit mechanisms in Mexico, Canada, and the United States. 

The long-term viability of public PES programmes

Globally, public PES programmes have followed varied trajectories: some stable like the case of Costa Rica's national Pagos por Servicios Ambientales; others unstable like Mexico's national Pago por Servicios Ambientales and Ecuador's Sociobosque that have faced severe implementation and funding challenges; and lastly, smaller and more recent but growing interest in PES among late adopters like Colombia and Perú. 

Based on Mexico's long-term experience with public PES, I am currently exploring two key issues related to the long-term viability of public PES programmes facing instability: 1) permanence, meaning what are the enduring and post-PES effects? 2) policy innovation, meaning how to improve PES through enhanced design and implementation?

Economics of sustainability

Through my appointment as co-holder of an UNESCO Chair on the Economics of Sustainability (2024–2029) with Jérôme Dupras, I am developing innovative economic tools and fostering applied research, advocacy, and training to support environmental governance. Particularly, I am exploring innovative approaches for financial and stakeholder engagement among new and traditional organisations, like water management utilities, sports organisations, and financial institutions. 

Do check out the Sports for Nature initiative for an exciting example of this growing movement.