Simon Fraser University
REM


Duncan Knowler

Associate Professor
Environment and Development
B.A. (Economics, University of Alberta)
M.A. (Economics, University of Alberta)
Ph.D. (Environmental Economics and Environmental Management, University of York, U.K.)

Duncan Knowler is an ecological/environmental economist with extensive experience in the environment and development field. His research interests include the economics of natural resource management in developing countries, valuation of environmental resources and applied bioeconomic modeling. His research has included studies of nutrient enrichment and commercial fisheries in the Black Sea, the economics of invading species, the prospects for community wildlife management in Nepal and Mexico, the sustainability of shrimp-mangrove systems in India and valuing the preservation of fish spawning and spotted owl habitat in Western Canada.

He has been involved in a number of overseas research and project preparation studies, including biodiversity-related work for the World Bank in Nepal, tribal development in India, and integrated pest management in Indonesia. He has prepared studies for the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD), the Ramsar Convention, and several studies on sustainable agriculture for FAO, including a background paper for FAO’s World Food Summit Five Year Review, held in 2002.

Prior to returning to the academic world, he was employed with FAO in Rome, where he was involved in natural resource management-related project work in developing countries in cooperation with host governments and financing institutions.

Duncan’s recent reports, presentations and publications include:

  • Poudyal, M., Rothley, K. and Knowler, D. (In Press). “Ecological and Economic Analysis of Poaching of the Greater One Horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) in Nepal”. Ecological Applications.
  • Knowler,D., Nathan, S., Philcox, N., Delamare, W., Haider, W. and Gupta, K. 2009. “Assessing Prospects for Shrimp Culture in the Indian Sundarbans: A Combined Simulation Modeling and Choice Experiment Approach” Marine Policy. 33: 613-623.
  • Wood, J., Knowler, D. and Gurung, O. 2008. “Assessing the Prospects for Community-Based Wildlife Management: The Himalayan Musk Deer (Moschos chrysogaster) in Nepal”. Human Dimensions of Wildlife. 13(1): 16 30.
  • Knowler, D. 2007. “Estimation of a stock-recruitment relationship for Black Sea anchovy under the influence of the invasive comb-jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi and nutrient enrichment”. Fisheries Research 84(3): 275-281.
  • Knowler, D. and Bradshaw, B., 2007. “Farmer¹s adoption of conservation agriculture: A review and synthesis of recent research”. Food Policy 32: 25-48.
  • Knowler, D. and Barbier, E. 2005. “Managing the Black Sea Anchovy Fishery with Nutrient Enrichment and a Biological Invader”. Marine Resource Economics 20(3): 263-285.
  • Knowler, D. 2005. “’Short Cut’ Techniques to Incorporate Environmental Considerations into Project Appraisal: An Exploration using Case Studies”. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 48(5): 747-770.
  • Knowler, D. 2005. “Re-assessing the Costs of Biological Invasion: Mnemiopsis leidyi in the Black Sea”. Ecological Economics 52: 187-199.
  • Knowler, D. and Barbier, E. 2005. “Importing Exotic Plants and the Risk of Invasion: Are Market-Based Instruments Adequate?”. Ecological Economics 52: 341-354.
  • Knowler, D. 2004. “The Economics of Soil Productivity: Local, National and Global Perspectives”. Land Degradation and Development 15: 543-561.
  • Knowler, D., MacGregor, B., Bradford, M. and Peterman, R. 2003. “Valuing Freshwater Salmon Habitat on the West Coast of Canada”. Journal of Environmental Management 69: 261-273. [Note: this paper also was selected for inclusion in the electronic “Virtual Journal of Environmental Sustainability”, see http://www1.elsevier.com/vj/sustainability]
  • Knowler, D. 2002. “A Review of Selected Bioeconomic Models with Environmental Influences in Fisheries”. Journal of Bioeconomics, 4:163-181.
  • Knowler, D. and Barbier, E. 2002. An Open-Access Model of Fisheries and Nutrient Enrichment in the Black Sea. Marine Resource Economics, 16(3):195-217.
  • Knowler, D. and Bradshaw, B. 2001. The Economics of Conservation Agriculture. Land and Water Division, FAO, Rome. Available online at ftp://ftp.fao.org/agl/agll/docs/ecconsagr.pdf
  • Knowler, D. 2001. The Economics of Soil Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. FAO Soils Bulletin, Land and Water Division, FAO, Rome. Available online at ftp://ftp.fao.org/agl/agll/docs/ecsoilpr.pdf
  • Knowler, D. and Barbier, E. 2000. The Economics of an Invading Species: A Theoretical Model and Case Study Application. In The Economics of Biological Invasions, C.Perrings, M.Williamson, and S. Dalmazzone (eds). Edward Elgar: Cheltenham, UK.
  • Barbier, E., Acreman, M. and Knowler, D. 1997. Economic Valuation of Wetlands - A Guide for Policy Makers. Ramsar Convention Bureau/IUCN. Available online at http://www.biodiversityeconomics.org/valuation/topics-02-00.htm

Dr. Knowler teaches Ecological Economics (REM 621), Project Evaluation and Non-market Valuation Methods (REM 651), and Environment and Development (REM 656).