Interests

• Natural resource economics, community-based natural resources management, institutional aspects of natural resources management, land and tree tenure, customary tenure systems, protected areas management and park-people conflicts, poverty, livelihoods and resource degradation.

Research experience

• (2010 - Present) - Research Associate, Environment Department, University of York
  Study of Shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) in Sudano-Sahelian zone (INNOVKAR - EU Sixth Framework Project)
  As the Leader of Work Package 1 – “Shea tree dynamics and fruit production in the parklands”, the role is to collaborate with INNOVKAR partners, utilizing the field data in order to: assess the impact of climate change and farmer practises of the natural regeneration of shea tree; assess the impact of climate change and farmer practises on fruit production; predict shea tree parkland dynamics on long term using a predictive model of Shea regeneration and production under different management scenarios.

• (2007 - 2010) - Post-graduate Researcher, Environment Department, University of York
  Study of Shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) in Sudano-Sahelian zone (EU Sixth Framework Project)
  Leading the work-package – “Shea tree dynamics and fruit production in the parklands”.
  Responsibilities include:
• Preparing protocol for gathering field data on ecological, biophysical, and socio-economic aspects of Vitellaria paradoxa
• Coordinating data collection and management in countries involved in the project (i.e., Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Senegal and Uganda)

• (2003 - 2005) - Research Assistant, Simon Fraser University
  Study of Rhino Poaching in Chitwan and Nawalparasi Districts, Nepal
• Involved in conceptualization of the research, and proposal preparation for funding, preparation and administration of household survey, data analysis and report write-up, and presentation of research results at various workshops, seminars and conferences.

• (2001 - 2002) - Principal Investigator (Independent Study for Dissertation)
  Study of Impacts of Leasehold Forestry, Kavre District, Nepal
• Involved in conceptualisation of the research, preparation and administration of household survey, and data entry, analysis and report write-up.

Teaching experience

• (2007/2008) - Teaching Assistant, Environment Department, University of York
• Occasional teaching duties in the courses "Environment, Law and Policy", and "Forest Management"

• (2004) - Teaching Assistant, School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Canada
• Running tutorials on the course "REM 100 - Global Change"

Education

• PhD in Environment and Politics, (2010) University of York, York, UK
• Thesis: "Tree Tenure in Agroforestry Parklands: Implications for the Management, Utilisation and Ecology of Shea and Locust Bean Trees in Northern Ghana"

• Master of Resource Management (MRM), (2005) Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada
• Cumulative GPA: 3.885
• Major courses: Social Science in Natural Resources Management, Discrete Choice Modelling, Applied Econometrics, Economic Valuation and Project Evaluation, Public Policy Analysis, Research Methods
• Thesis: "Economic Study of the Poaching of One-horned Rhinoceros in Chitwan, Nepal"

• Bachelor of Science in Environment, Economics, Ecology (BSc EEE), (2002) University of York, York, UK
• 1st Class Honours
• Major modules: Economics, Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, Environmental Management, Economic Valuation of the Environment and Cost-Benefit Analysis, Econometrics, Forest Management
• Thesis: "Impacts of Leasehold Forestry on the Livelihoods of the Users in Kavre District, Nepal"

• Proficiency Certificate Level in Science, (1998) Birendra Military Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
• 1st Class with Distinction, and Ranked 2nd Nationwide
• Major subjects: Physics, Chemistry, Maths, English, Nepali

Publications

• 2010
• Poudyal, M., and J.C. Lovett. 2010. "Biodiesel as the potential alternative vehicle fuel: European policy and global environmental concern", in J.C Lovett and D.G. Ockwell (eds) A Handbook of Environmental Management, 408-430. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

• 2009
• Poudyal, M., K. Rothley, and D. Knowler. 2009. "Ecological and economic analysis of poaching of the greater one horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) in Nepal". Ecological Applications 19(7): 1693-1707.

• 2006
• Lovett, J.C., and M. Poudyal. 2006. “Terraforming Africa”. African Journal of Ecology 44: 302-304.

• 2005
• Poudyal, M., and D. Knowler. 2005. “Economic Incentives and Poaching of the One-Horned Indian Rhinoceros in Nepal: Poaching of the One-Horned Indian Rhinoceros in the Chitwan Valley, Nepal - A Retrospective Econometric Analysis”. PREM Working Paper No. 05–07. Poverty Reduction and Environmental Management (PREM) Program, Institute of Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. [PDF]


• Knowler, D., and M. Poudyal. 2005. “Economic Incentives and Poaching of the One-Horned Indian Rhinoceros in Nepal: Simulation Modelling of Policies to Combat the Poaching of Rhino in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal”. PREM Working Paper No. 05–11. Poverty Reduction and Environmental Management (PREM) Program, Institute of Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. [PDF]


• Adhikari, B.P., W. Haider, O. Gurung, M. Poudyal, B. Beardmore, D. Knowler, and P. van Beukering. 2005. “Economic Incentives and Poaching of the One-Horned Indian Rhinoceros in Nepal: Stakeholder Perspectives in Biodiversity Conservation - Analysis of Local, National and Global Stakes in Rhino Conservation in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal”. PREM Working Paper 05–12. Poverty Reduction and Environmental Management (PREM) Program, Institute of Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. [PDF]

• 2004
• Rothley, K.D., D.J. Knowler, and M. Poudyal. 2004. “Population model for the greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal”. Pachyderm 37: 19-27. [PDF]

Conference papers/abstracts

• 2006
• Poudyal, M., and D. Knowler. 2006. “The Economics of Rhinoceros Poaching in Nepal: An Empirical Analysis and Theoretical Extension”. Paper presented at the International Conference on Economics of Poverty, Environment and Natural Resource Use, 17 – 19 May 2006, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

• 2004
• Adhikari, B., and M. Poudyal. 2004. “Economic Incentives and Poaching of the One-Horned Indian Rhinoceros in Nepal”. International Society for Ecological Economics, 8th Biennial Scientific Conference, ISEE 2004, 11 – 14 July 2004, Montréal, Canada.

Computing

• Operating systems: Microsoft Windows 95/98/2000/XP/Vista/7, Apple Mac OS X, Ubuntu Linux
• Document processing and spreadsheets: Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), OpenOffice Suite, Apple iWork
• Maths, Stats and Econometrics: SPSS, LIMDEP, STATA and R (basic working knowledge)
• Others: STELLA 5.1.1 (for Simulation Modelling), ArcView GIS (Basic working knowledge)
• Graphics and Web design: Gimp (Image Manipulation), Adobe Lightroom, Macromedia Dreamweaver, HTML & CSS
• Programming and Databases: PHP and MySQL (Basic working knowledge of both)

Languages

• Nepali - native language
• English - speak fluently and read/write with high proficiency
• Hindi - speak, read, and write with basic competence
• French - beginner (completed level 1 course)

Awards

• 2005-2008 ORSAS Award (UK)
• For the PhD degree at the University of York, UK

• 2005-2008 University Research Studentship (York)
• For the PhD degree at the University of York

• 2002-2003 University's Graduate Fellowships (SFU)
• For the degree of Master of Resource Management (MRM) at Simon Fraser University, Canada

• 1999-2002 Overseas Students's Trust Fund (of York) Scholarship
• To study for Bachelor of Science in Environment, Economics and Ecology (BSc EEE) at the University of York, UK

Memberships

• International Society of Ecological Economics (ISEE)
• European Society of Ecological Economics (ESEE)

View/download my CV in PDF