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Greetings
Up to Greetings to all!
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From John Tyndall:
Hi everybody, I have received e-mails from a number of you and I will
respond to you shortly. I just wanted to first welcome all of you to
the PES theme - so, welcome! Later today you will all be receiving an
email with a week schedule attached. Our first major task will be to
coordinate our meeting time(s). Other logistical issues involve tech
possibilities that will make this a more interactive experience for all
of us. I am looking into telecom and online video/audio options that
will spruce up the chat format. I will post a couple of readings as
well for next week. At this point the direction that the PES theme goes
is wide open. PES is a very broad concept - in theory and in action; in
space and in time. Regional and national perspectives are at play as
well. With the theoretical aspects we have lots of information to work
with. On the applied side of things we have lots of information and
data at aggregate levels (e.g. total number of CRP acres in a state,
county; total number of forested acres involved with a PES agreement;
total expenditures...) but probably not a lot of detailed info - for
example we will likely not be able to get individual CRP participant
info or spatial application of various PES programming in the US. There
may be some spatial data and more detailed info for some international
PES programs – we will need to investigate this. For this theme, the
meta-analysis component will likely take on a different perspective
than the other themes and might involve methodologies such as concept
mapping, economic benefit transfer, classic lit review, etc. This theme
is, in my opinion, a little less straight forward - from a data stand
point - then the other themes. This is both an advantage and a
disadvantage – an advantage because we get to be really creative in
it’s coming together – a disadvantage because we have to be really
creative in it’s coming together.
I look forward to chatting with all of you next week - at a date to be
determined ASAP. If any of you have questions email me
(jtyndall@iastate.edu) or feel free to call (515-294-4912) – I will be
around all day today and around most of Sunday.
The comment above was posted by John--I just moved it around. I want to start some more "formal" introductions here. Please share your interests in the PES group, your home institution and program, and anything else you might want us to know about you.
Here's my intro: I'm a first-year student at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at UCSB. UCSB is located on the beach, so I'm pretty happy to be in school! My interests in the PES group stem from my experiences in attempting to engage people in their "backyards". I discovered a disconnect between people and the environment, the origin of their clothes, food, books etc. and recognized the need to draw those connections more clearly using fiscal/economic metrics. I think many of the current farm subsidies further attenuate those connections. I'd like to understand/develop agricultural PES that have more direct connections to conservation efforts and farm production. I'm interested in the ability of agricultural areas to mitigate the presence of invasive species and in the PES associated with generating and using alternative energy products.
I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you through these classes. Talk to you soon!
Ashley
By way of an intro for me, my name is Liz Nichols, I'm a 1st yr PhD student at Columbia. I've been working at the American Museum of Natural History for a few years now, mostly interested in dung beetle ecosystem services and the ways they fluctuate in their ecological and economic importance along different disturbance scenarios.
I think the challenges of trying to valuate animal-mediated services (and trying to elevate those values into a payment scheme) are really neat and obviously complex. I see myself making a segue later in life into ecological economics, and that's why I'm here!
Cheers!
Liz
Hola....
Escribiré en español....si alguien tiene problemas para entenderme, prometo que haré mi mejor esfuerzo para escribir en ingles, ok?Mi nombre es Cliserio González, estudio el 1er. año de Ph.D. en Agroforesteria Tropical en CATIE, localizado en Turrialba, Costa Rica. Siempre he trabajado con sistemas agroforestales de café y un probable tema de tesis sera la evalución biofísica y económica de los servicios ambientales provenientes de sistemas agroforestales en Centroamerica. Considero que los servicios ecosistémicos son un tema muy, muy complicado, creo que hay 4 puntos de análisis (biofísico, económico, social y político) el reto es como conjugar estos factores.....
www.catie.ac.cr
Saludos.....
Cliserio
Hi everyone--
I'm finishing by Master's at Columbia this May, and will likely go back into working in the nonprofit sector in some aspect of animal welfare, food policy, or agricultural reform.
I am fascinated by U.S. farm policy and its incentives for practices that degrade ecosystem services while providing benefits for relatively few. I would find fulfillment in looking deeply into the US Farm Bill and its far-reaching implications for ecosystems, farmers, and consumers, and seeing if there is realistic potential to shift policy in more rational directions.
Nice to meet you all--
Kirsten