ICTE Webpage, Profile of Christopher Holmes

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N-543 SBS Bldg.
SUNY at Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY
11794-4364
631.632.9440
Fax: 631.632.7692
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Christopher M. Holmes

Education:

Ph.D. - Ecology (emphasis Human Ecology), University of California at Davis, California (2003)
M.S. - Zoology, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Illinois (1997)
B.S. - Wildlife Ecology, Colorado State University, Colorado (1991)

Current Position:

Techincal Advisor at Makira Conservation Site, Madagascar, Wildlife Conservation Society

Email:

cholmes(at)wcs.org

Website:

http://www.wcs.org/international/Africa/madagascar/makira

Research Sites:

Ranomafana National Park

Research Project:

Integrating Dynamics of Human Resource Use and Their Effects on Rainforests in Madagascar: Linking Landscape Ecology, Cultural Anthropology, Behavioral Ecology, and Applied Mathematics for a Science-Based Strategy against Deforestation in Madagascar.

Research Focus:

The Packard Project with which I am affiliated incorporates expertise from four scientific disciplines to address regional deforestation around Ranomafana National Park (RNP) through the use of socioeconomic and biodiversity surveys, mathematical and statistical modeling, and geographic information systems. Specific to the socioeconomic research, of which I am coordinator, there are three foci: (1) model individual economic choices that affect land use patterns in a sample of villages surrounding RNP; (2) identify and quantify the interaction between population density, growth and economic choices regarding crop cultivation and forest-resource use; (3) predict future land use patterns with a primary focus on tavy cultivation and forest-resource extraction. Information gathered during field data collection will then be used in combination with data from currently ongoing biodiversity surveys to develop a theoretical framework for understanding the interrelationships between socioeconomic systems and land use, predict future rates and extents of deforestation around RNP, and assess the impact of current and projected land use on the viability of endangered species within RNP.

Research
Assistants:

Jacky Ralaiarivony, Noery Rakotoarivelo, Andoniaina Narisoa, Chantal Soloniaina, Miary Razanamasy

Publications
(selected) :

Holmes, C.M. (2003). "The influence of protected area outreach on conservation attitudes and resource use patterns: a case study from western Tanzania." Oryx 37:305-315.

Holmes, C.M. (2003). "Assessing the perceived utility of wood resources in a protected area of Western Tanzania." Biological Conservation 111:179-189.
Holmes, C.M. (2001). "Navigating the socioecological landscape." Conservation Biology 15:1466-1467.

Holmes, C.M. (In Press). "Cultural variation, decision-making, and local institutions: an examination of fuelwood use in Western Tanzania." Society and Natural Resources.

Arjunan, M, C.M. Holmes, J.P. Puyravaud and P. Davidar. (In Review). "Local attitudes towards protected areas: a case study from the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, India." World Development.

Project Sponsors:

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Wenner Gren Foundation

N-543 SBS Bldg, SUNY at Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364
631.632.9440 Fax: 631.632.7692