I am a political ecologist working in forest conservation and politics of environment-development in Chinese investments in Pakistan under the China-Pakistan economic corridor.

My doctoral research aims to determine the link between Forest Landscape Restoration and Local Livelihoods in the context of the vigorous expansion of planted forests in Vietnam that is dominated by high-density monocultures of non-native species.

My research focuses on the power relations deployed throughout conflicts and collaborations over the management, use, and conservation of forest in Mexico

I am professor of Tropical Silviculture and Director of Viikki Natural Resources Institute (VITRI) at the University of Helsinki, Finland. I am an expert in tropical forestry, climate change, forest ecology, and forest management.

Projects

Building Biocarbon and Rural Development in West Africa (BIODEV) – Work Package 3 (WP3): National policies and capacity strengthening

A trained anthropologist at the Anthropology Research Group - Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, along with a background in Sociology. I do extensive research on co-management practices, regimes for forestry and wildlife conservation, protected area management, governance and development, as well as land use and sustainability policy.

My research focus is on Ips typographus (European spruce bark beetle) as it could cause severe damage under climate change on Picea abies, one of the two most important commercial forest species in Finland. I aim to assess the risk of forest damage by this insect pest, which is useful to improve the health management of P. abies. A better understanding of the risks of I. typographus damages on P. abies under climate change will support forest managers to improve forest resilience. With these, I aim to assess the risk of distribution shift of I. typographus outbreaks under alternative climate change projections in Finland.

The overarching aim of my research is to develop new, sustainable forest management practices and policies that can pave the way for energy transition, climate change mitigation and adaptation, without compromising ecosystem services or the implementation of biodiversity targets. I have expertise in dynamic forest carbon cycle modeling, systems analysis, climate impact assessment, ecosystem service and biodiversity modeling as well as in policies related to climate change mitigation and the sustainability of bioenergy.

I am a PhD Candidate at the Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology, UEF. I am have a Masters in economics and a BSc in Computer Science. My research interests: Serious Games in the educational context, economics of innovation and public (health) policy. I have substantial experience in the private sector (systems analyst, financial economics, data analysis and policy analysis).

Research focus on renewable energy production through the use of waste materials such as forest and agricultural biomass, MSW, pulp and paper mill sidestreams and the application of waste to energy production. Publication: Lake bottom biomass as a potential source for the biorefining industry (Bioresource Technology Reports, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biteb.2019.100282). Acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation from different pulp and paper manufacturing process side-streams (BioResources, 2020, DOI: 10.15376/biores.15.4.9265-9290).

Working with ecology and biogeography of Amazonian rain forests.

Projects

Mapping Amazonian biodiversity at multiple scales by integrating geology and ecology

Providing tools for the use of indicator species in forest inventories in Amazonia