Short Bio​​​​​​​​

I am associate professor and programme director at the Institute of Development Policy (IOB), University of Antwerp, Belgium, and associate researcher at Nitlapan-UCA (Universidad Centroamericana), Nicaragua. I hold a PhD in Development Studies (University of Antwerp), and have an academic background in Environmental Sciences and in Economics.

During the past fifteen years I have spent most of my time in Nicaragua, working as a doctoral and postdoctoral researcher on social-environmental change in rural contexts funded by the FWO (Flemish Scientific Research Foundation), and previously as the country representative for the Belgian NGO Broederlijk Delen. During these years I have worked closely with several social organizations, such as the research and development institute Nitlapan-UCA, various grassroots farmer and environmental movements, as well as with several governmental organizations, and academic institutions (e.g. Universidad Centroamericana (UCA)). Currently, I am also Board Member of Oxfam Belgium.

 

Research interests

My research focuses on the politics of knowledge in conservation and development, on critiques of green colonialism, neoliberal natures and ‘green economy’ proposals, on alternative (transformational) paradigms, social movements and processes related to post-development and degrowth, as well as on other processes of (re)imagining and (re)enacting alternative social-ecological futures. More specifically, I focus on the social and environmental justice aspects of climate change and ecosystem service policies in ‘development’ contexts, such as carbon and biodiversity markets, payments for ecosystem services (PES), and green finance. Most of my research has focused on Central- and South America, using different strategies mostly inspired by processes of participatory action research (see for example a video on our experiences in Nicaragua). My theoretical approach is interdisciplinary and draws largely from the fields of political ecology, ecological economics, and critical geography.

I am currently also project coordinator for a long-term institutional collaboration between our institute and Nitlapan-UCA (Nicaragua), the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar (Ecuador) and the Pontifica Universidad Javeriana (Colombia).

Here you can find an overview of the research projects I am currently involved in.

 

Teaching

At the IOB I teach the following courses:

At the UAntwerp level I coordinate the yearly Debating Development series.

I am also involved as a lecturer in some of the teaching programs organized at our partner institutes in Central America.

 

Key publications

I have published several book chapters, opinion pieces, policy briefs, and research articles in a diversity of outlets (for a full overview see my publication profile on University of Antwerp or GoogleScholar).​

Some contributions to opinion pieces / public debate include:

    In English or international media:

    In Dutch:


Some academic publications include:​

  • Muradian, R., M. Arsel, L. Pellegrini, F. Adaman, B. Aguilar, B. Agarwal, E. Corbera, D. Ezzine de Blas, J. Farley, G. Froger, E. Garcia-Frapolli, E. Gómez-Baggethun; J. Gowdy, N. Kosoy, J.F. Le Coq, P. Leroy, P. May, P. Méral, P. Mibielli, R. Norgaard, B. Ozkaynak, U. Pascual, W. Pengue, M. Perez, D. Pesche, R. Pirard, J. Ramos-Martin, L. Rival, F. Saenz, G. Van Hecken, A. Vatn, B. Vira and K. Urama (2013) Payments for Ecosystem Services and the fatal attraction of win-win solutions, Conservation Letters 6(4): 274-279.

A copy of my doctoral dissertation on critical institutional approaches to analyze the on-the-ground social and political effects of market-based conservation mechanisms can be downloaded here.