Research
Research Interests
I am a human geographer specializing in nature-society relations, especially the use of - and conflicts over - natural resources in East and Southeast Asia, in the context of environmental change, local-global articulations of power and land use policies, and social and economic transformations. In my research I endeavour to bring together principles and methods of both disciplines to discuss the effects that national and supranational policies have on local livelihoods.
My research interests have evolved over time. I am now mainly interested in:
Political ecology
- The political ecology of land use change and nature conservation in China, Thailand, Laos.
- The role of international capital in land use change and the transformation of rural land and rural livelihoods.
- The political ecology of land use change and nature conservation in China, Thailand, Laos.
- The role of international capital in land use change and the transformation of rural land and rural livelihoods.
Ecological economics
- The socio-economic consequences of deforestation and reforestation programs in Thailand, Laos, and China.
- The role of forest products in the livelihood of rural communities in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
- The economic value of forests and forest products in Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, and of environmental amenities in Hong Kong.
- The socio-economic consequences of deforestation and reforestation programs in Thailand, Laos, and China.
- The role of forest products in the livelihood of rural communities in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
- The economic value of forests and forest products in Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, and of environmental amenities in Hong Kong.
Conservation geography
- The conservation of natural resources and the protection of biological diversity, including (a) assessment of biodiversity at different stages of the forest cycle, (b) measurement of soil and tree carbon sequestration, and (c) the political and economic constraints towards conservation and the protection of natural resources.
- The conservation of natural resources and the protection of biological diversity, including (a) assessment of biodiversity at different stages of the forest cycle, (b) measurement of soil and tree carbon sequestration, and (c) the political and economic constraints towards conservation and the protection of natural resources.
Research Projects
|
Using carbon trading to finance reforestation
Can the value of carbon be used to finance reforestation, and compensate farmers for the loss of income from their farmland, until the trees provide them with a comparable income to their lost agricultural products?
|
|
China's environmental challenges
I am looking at the dire conditions of air, soil, and water pollution in China.
|
|
History of forest use in China
China has a long history of overuse and over-exploitation of forest resources, and I look at the institutional constraints which have permitted (or often encouraged) such exploitation. This ended in 1999 with the introduction, in particular, or the Grain for Green and Natural Forest Protection Program.
|
|
The Grain For Green reforestation program in China
The Grain for Green is the largest reforestation program in the world. It started in 1999, and has been expanding in 2015.
|
|
The Genuine Progress of Hong Kong and Singapore
The economies of Hong Kong and Singapore have grown considerably over the last decades, but that economic growth has been accompanied by growing environmental and social costs.
|
|
The political ecology of deforestation in Thailand
Thailand has experienced deforestation for decades, mostly blamed on the ethnic minorities living in the highlands. My research has focused among the Hmong and Karen ethnic groups.
|
|
Use of forest products by forest-dwelling communities
Forest-dwelling communities obtain a large number of products from the forest, partly for economic reasons: they don't have enough money to buy some in the market, and because it is more efficient to collect them.
|
Research Grants
Externally funded
GRF Project. ‘Use of carbon sequestration to finance reforestation of poor farmers’ marginal farmland: A case study of China’. Funded by the General Research Fund (GRF) or the Research Grants Council (RGC), Hong Kong. Principal investigator. Jan. 2017-Dec. 2019 (HK$540,000)
GRF Project. ‘The role of forest products in the productivity of shifting cultivation systems’. Funded by the General Research Fund (GRF) or the Research Grants Council (RGC), Hong Kong. Principal Investigator. January 2010-December 2012 (HK$655,000)
GRF Project. ‘The role of NTFPs in sustainable rural development in the Lao PDR’. Funded by the General Research Fund (GRF) or the Research Grants Council (RGC), Hong Kong. Principal Investigator. January 2008-December 2009 (HK$ 490,292)
Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. Post-doctoral research grant; Yen 11,000,000. August 2004 – August 2006
GRF Project. ‘The role of forest products in the productivity of shifting cultivation systems’. Funded by the General Research Fund (GRF) or the Research Grants Council (RGC), Hong Kong. Principal Investigator. January 2010-December 2012 (HK$655,000)
GRF Project. ‘The role of NTFPs in sustainable rural development in the Lao PDR’. Funded by the General Research Fund (GRF) or the Research Grants Council (RGC), Hong Kong. Principal Investigator. January 2008-December 2009 (HK$ 490,292)
Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. Post-doctoral research grant; Yen 11,000,000. August 2004 – August 2006
Internally funded
FRG Project. ‘The Socio-Economic Impact of the Grain for Green Project in China’. Funded by the Faculty Research Grant (FRG), Hong Kong Baptist University. Principal Investigator. May 2015-April 2017 (HK$150,000)
FRG Project. ‘Can REDD Pay for Forest Conservation and Poverty Alleviation?’ Funded by the Faculty Research Grant (FRG), Hong Kong Baptist University. Principal Investigator. June 2012-May 2014 (HK$71,896)
South China Programme Project. ‘Economic reforms and land use/land cover change in Yunnan: between centralised policy planning and local implementation’. Funded by the South China Programme, Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong. Principal Investigator. May 2009-August 2011 (HK$150,000)
SSP Project. ‘The hidden costs of curtailing shifting cultivation: reconsidering the significance of Non-Timber Forest Products’. Funded by the Social Science Panel, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Principal Investigator. April 2007-April 2008 (HK$ 34,200)
FRG Project. ‘Can REDD Pay for Forest Conservation and Poverty Alleviation?’ Funded by the Faculty Research Grant (FRG), Hong Kong Baptist University. Principal Investigator. June 2012-May 2014 (HK$71,896)
South China Programme Project. ‘Economic reforms and land use/land cover change in Yunnan: between centralised policy planning and local implementation’. Funded by the South China Programme, Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong. Principal Investigator. May 2009-August 2011 (HK$150,000)
SSP Project. ‘The hidden costs of curtailing shifting cultivation: reconsidering the significance of Non-Timber Forest Products’. Funded by the Social Science Panel, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Principal Investigator. April 2007-April 2008 (HK$ 34,200)
Award
In 2013 I obtained the Faculty Award for Early Career Academic (Research) – Faculty of Social Sciences, Hong Kong Baptist University
