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Biodiversity Offsetting
US+Europe
Objectives: Develop case studies of particular offset schemes to compare the institutional logics structuring biodiversity offset markets in the US and Europe.
Methods: Comparative Case Studies, Spatial Analysis
Analytical themes: Sociology of markets, political economy, rural studies
Collaborators: INRAE-France, Cornell University
Funding: Jefferson Foundation
Photo: My hand holding the American Burying Beetle in a Conservation Bank in Oklahoma, USA
Compensatory Afforestation
India
Objectives: Examine the recent momentum to institutionalize India’s Compensatory Afforestation program by studying the role of metrics and bureaucrats.
Methods: Historical analysis, case studies, semi-structured interviews.
Analytical Themes: Street-level bureaucrats, nature-based solutions, economic valuation
Funding: Sloan Foundation
Photo: A road in Dandeli National Park, Karnataka, India
Agri-environmental Policies
US
Objectives: Explore the role of models and metrics in rationalizing the distribution of conservation payments, specifically focused on US Farm Bill programs.
Methods: Spatial analysis, case studies in North Dakota, historic analysis
Analytical Themes: Sociology of quantification, ethnomethodology, street-level bureaucracy
Funding: US National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Photo: A livestock ranch in North Dakota, US
Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES)
Using Auction Theory to Design PES Schemes in Indonesia
Objective: To study how PES programs enroll participants and why it matters. Specifically, analyze the use of reverse auctions in the Cidanau PES program in Indonesia.
Methods: Ethnography, spatial analysis
Analytical Themes: Performativity, ethnomethodology, economics of auctions
Funding: Cornell University Internal Grants, ICRAF
Photo: A reverse auction being carried out in a village in the Cidanau Watershed, Indonesia
Ritwick Ghosh 