Speaker: Daniela Miteva, The Nature Conservancy
In response to unsustainable timber production in tropical forest concessions, voluntary forest management certification programs such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) have been introduced to improve environmental, social, and economic performance over existing management practices. However, despite the proliferation of forest certification over the past two decades, few studies have evaluated its effectiveness. By conducting a rigorous statistical evaluation of the social and environmental impacts of FSC certification in a biodiversity hotspot such as Indonesia, we provide a reference point and offer methodological and data lessons that could aid the design of ongoing and future evaluations of a potentially critical conservation policy.
Daniela Miteva is a postdoctoral researcher at The Nature Conservancy. She is currently based in Arlington, VA. Daniela completed my doctoral degree in Environmental Economics at the Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University. Her primary research interests focus on the spatial-temporal interactions between economic activities and the natural environment in the context of biodiversity conservation in developing countries.