Background:
Fourth-year PhD student. I earned my Bachelor’s Degree from Swarthmore
College in 2004 in Earth and Environmental Science. In college, I
participated in research programs, with NASA, OTS, and LLNL (DOE), and
University of Miami (DOE). I am currently a Ph.D. student in the
Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC
Berkeley. I am under the Department of Energy, Global Change Environmental
Research Fellowship and the Graduate Opportunity Fellowship at UC
Berkeley.
Research Overview
Being from Nicaraguan origin, I have a strong interest in international
tropical land use and land cover change research, specifically in Latin
America. In addition, I also have strong interests in the linkages between
land use and land cover change and climate change. My research explores
the question of land-use and land-cover in Nicaragua using remote sensing
and GIS tools with social science field work.
Currently, it is theorized that deforestation is occurring along an
agricultural frontier in Nicaragua that is pushing eastward through the
country. Part I of my project is looking at the rate and patterns of
land-use and land-cover change across this gradient, specifically in the
Northern region of Nicaragua (region VI) in the state of Jinotega using
remote sensing techniques. Part II of my project is examining the driving
forces of land-use andland-cover change in Jinotega; specifically
social-economic, political, or ecological driving forces through
interviews and ancillary data. Part III of my project examines both the
data from Part I with the data in Part II which will innovatively piece
together science and social-science data to predict future changes, which
management leaders can use in the future.
Contact Information:
Esther Zeledon
University of California, Berkeley
Environmental Science, Policy, and Management
145 Mulford Hall, #3114
Berkeley, CA 94720-3114
ezeledon@nature.berkeley.edu
