A Basin-Scale Econometric Model for Projecting Future Amazonian Landscapes
A Basin-Scale Econometric Model for Projecting Future Amazonian Landscapes
by Alexander Pfaff (International and Public Affairs)
Debate continues about why and where Brazilian Amazon forests are being cleared and about whether policy can affect clearing. There remains a need for analysis of the effects of transport infrastructure and other drivers. Alexander Pfaff will be the Principal Investigator for Columbia's involvement in this multi-national, multi-disciplinary project that will address these issues using theoretically guided, empirical work.
The objectives of the project include: 1) The study of relationships between deforestation and ecological drivers such as precipitation, at the least to control for these important factors; 2) Novel modeling of differences across types of producers in forest clearing behavior; 3) Novel exploration of the processes that led to the extension of transport infrastructure across the basin; 4) Based upon all of the above, a contribution to the study of effects of roads on land-use choice and rates of forest clearing.
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