Sustainable Development Planning
Informing the siting of offshore renewable energy (Block Island, Rhode Island, USA)
Exploring offshore wind energy tradeoffs.
Project summary
We explored how siting the first-in-the-nation offshore wind energy farm might impact views from along the coastline. We developed an approach for deriving visibility maps based on the location and duration of viewing by residents and visitors. We illuminated tradeoffs by comparing these visibility maps to wind energy value maps.
Dams and disease: accounting for schistosomiasis risk in infrastructure planning and management
We are working with the De Leo lab at Stanford University to develop an easy-to-use tool for quantifying and mapping schistosomiasis risk associated with dam construction and reservoir management. While our research is centered in Senegal, it has impact potential wherever schistosomiasis is found. Funding: NSF EEID
Land use change and landscapes of vector-borne disease (Madre de Dios, Peru)
We are working to better understand the impacts of land use and climate on the risk of vector-borne diseases, and especially mosquito-borne disease, in Latin America. In partnership with researchers in the United States and Peru, we are advancing scientific understanding of the relationship between land use, human behavior and vector-borne disease, with a focus on the Madre de Dios region of Peru. We are also developing new models to map and quantify the impacts of land use decisions on disease risk in Madre de Dios and elsewhere in Latin America.
Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) (Beijing, China)
Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) is an index, modeled after Gross Domestic Product (GDP), that provides a clear signal of the value of nature's contribution to human wellbeing. It has been developed and piloted from city to national scales in China, and has been officially adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission as part of the UN-SEEA system of ecosystem accounting. Project partners: NatCap Stanford, NatCap University of Minnesota, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Funding: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Stanford gift funds.
Co-benefits of Shade-Grown Coffee (Costa Rica)
Evaluated various scenarios of shade-grown coffee implementation throughout Costa Rica’s agricultural sector to quantify potential improvement in carbon storage, pollinator abundance, crop yield, sedimentation, and water quality, and to improve traceability and sustainability of shade-grown coffee in the sector. Collaborators: Coffee Institute of Costa Rica (ICAFE).
Biosphere Futures, Global
The Biosphere Futures project - www.biospherefutures.net - offers an online database of scenario planning case studies from all over the world. The overarching aim is to support sustainable development of the Biosphere. We focus on scenarios that explore the interactions and interdependencies between humans and ecosystems. Partners: Stockholm Resilience Centre, NatCap Stanford. Collaborators:Azote, Colectivo Fractal.
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