Mr Alexander Van Der Meer Simo
Biography
A socio-environmental conscious dad an outcomes-driven professional with more than 20 years of work experience in the environment sector. The 1993 L'Orxa (Spain) bushfire motivated me to study forest engineering to contribute to the sustainable development of the rural environment around my hometown. But my multicultural background was stronger, and led me to live and work in a wide range of countries until I moved to Canberra; home since 2013.
In 2014, I joined the ACT Rural Fire Service to volunteer with the Hall Volunteer Brigade. Volunteering as a bushfire-fighter and becoming a dad of two children have strengthened my desire to work in ecological restoration.
In 2015, I undertook a PhD at the Australian National University, under the supervision of Professor Peter Kanowski. My interest was to find out how different forest plantation models performed in relation to the livelihoods of local people.
At the moment, I combine a role as postdoctoral fellow at the Fenner School (mainly supporting the school's curriculum) with a position as social scientist at the at the Biosecurity and Social Science Program of the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES).
Researcher's projects
Postdoctoral research fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute. Main responsibilities: review literature and lead a team of researchers to design and implement a monitoring and evaluation framework to assess the socio-economic impacts of a range of agroecology projects across Southeast Asia.
Publications
- Van Der Meer Simo, A, Kanowski, P & Barney, K 2020, 'Economic Returns to Households Participating in Different Models of Commercial Tree Plantations in Lao PDR', International Forestry Review, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 132-152.
- Van Der Meer Simo, A 2020, 'Livelihood Impacts of Plantation Forests on Farmers in the Greater Mekong Subregion: A Systematic Review of Plantation Forest Models', Forests, vol. 11, no. 11, pp. 1-20.
- Van Der Meer Simo, A, Kanowski, P & Barney, K 2020, 'The role of agroforestry in swidden transitions: a case study in the context of customary land tenure in Central Lao PDR', Agroforestry Systems 94: 1929–1944.
- Van Der Meer Simo, A, Kanowski, P & Barney, K 2019, 'Revealing environmental income in rural livelihoods: evidence from four villages in Lao PDR', Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 16-33.
