Hey there, I am a tenure-track researcher (Chaire de Professeur Junior) at the Centre for Environmental Economics in Montpellier (CEE-M), INRAE in France). I study the links between economic development and nature conservation. After obtaining my PhD (2016), I worked for five years outside academia. I consulted for the World Bank as a full-time STC (2016-19) ; then I lived in & worked for Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, (2019-21): a UNESCO World Heritage Site (in-danger),  the oldest and most biodiverse park in Sub-Saharan Africa.

You can find my google scholar page here and my CV here.

ON-GOING RESEARCH PROJECTS

Charcoal, Electricity and Mountain Gorillas: the environmental economics of accelerating the adoption of clean cooking with Natsuno Shinagawa, Jean de la Croix Kembere, Christine Musharhamina (Virunga Foundation), Marijke Verpoorten, Nik Stoop, Lara Collart (Antwerp University), Raphael Soubeyran (CEE-M) and Matthieu Couttenier (ENS Lyon). [Pre-Analysis Plan] [AEA Registry]

Woodfuel remains the primary cooking fuel for about one-third of the world's population, and this number is not decreasing quickly enough to meet global policy objectives by 2030. Because cleaner fuels and more efficient cooking appliances offer private benefits to households, economists have primarily focused on why households are not adopting them and how to increase their willingness to pay for clean cooking. This paper reverses the question: as the significant environmental benefits of clean cooking become increasingly evident, we consider whether society should simply pay households who currently cook with charcoal to accelerate the adoption of clean cooking technologies. These environmental gains encompass key global objectives, including climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. In our context, eastern Democratic of Congo, one of the externality associated with charcoal consumption is directly linked to armed conflicts.

Promoting jobs creation to save wildlife? An experiment in DR Congo. Co-PI with with Stefan Dercon and Ashley Pople (Oxford University), Gracieux Mutaka (Parc National des Virunga) and Richard Gilbert Nikiema (CEEM) [Project Page] [AEA Registry]

Collaborative management of protected areas significantly improves forest conservation outcomes. With Mujon Baghai, Philippe Delacotte, Ibrahim Kabore, Antoine Leblois, Peter Lindsey, Ashley Robson and Giulia Vaglietti.

The decoupled long term effects of marine protected for people and wildlife. With Julia Girard, Antoine Leblois, Alicia Dalongeville, Rodolphe Devillers, David Mouillot, Narriman Jiddawi, Loic Sanchez, Laure Velez and Laetitia Mathon (submitted) [Project Description]