Oct 5 - Michael Colby, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Nature, Wealth and Power

Dr. Michael Colby will speak on the theme of applying a "Nature, Wealth, and Power" approach (in academic terms, Ecology, Economics, and Governance) to issues of rural poverty alleviation, development, and conservation, particularly in Africa.  He will touch on USAID's recent efforts with the World Resources Institute on "Eco-Poverty Mapping." Then he will focus on a new project being implemented in 15 countries by the Wildlife Conservation Society (with partners Columbia University, U-Wisconsin/Madison's Land Tenure Center, Forest Trends, and Enterprise Works) called TransLinks (short for "Promoting Transformation Through Linking Natural Resources, Economic Growth, and Good Governance").  On the economics side, this project has a strong emphasis on pro-poor payments for ecosystem services and enterprise-based approaches to conservation and development.  Land and resource tenure, human rights, and policy reform are aspects on the governance side.  Human-wildlife-livestock health linkages is also a theme.

Dr. Michael Colby currently serves as Natural Resources Economics, Enterprise, & Governance Advisor in USAID 's Office of Natural Resources Management.  He applies a systems approach to integrating environmental management, poverty reduction, governance, health, and socio-cultural concerns into planning for sustainable rural development.   In his current position at USAID, he manages several multinational assistance mechanisms, including: TransLinks; Best Practices for Pro-Poor Payments for Ecosystem Services; Tourism Competitiveness; Rights and Responsibilities; and the Greater Limpopo Wildlife-Livestock-Human Health Interface cooperative agreements.  He also serves as deputy manager for the Global Sustainable Tourism Alliance.

Mike has worked in 19 countries, including 2000-03 in Egypt as Deputy Chief of Party for USAID's largest environmental policy reform program, where he led efforts to develop environmental-economic instruments, and financing to sustain Red Sea's coral reefs in the context of heavy tourism pressure.  He previously served as Senior Environmental and Social Policy Advisor in the US Treasury's Office of Multilateral Development Banks, and as Senior Environmental Advisor in the strategic planning offices of the World Bank, US EPA, USAID's Bureau for Asia and the Near East, and the International Joint Commission of US and Canada.  He also helped start up two NGOs: The Willapa Alliance in Washington State, and the Institute for Public Service in Washington DC.  

Mike has a B.A. in Biology (Dartmouth) and a Ph.D. in Social Systems Sciences (Wharton).  U.Md.'s illustrious Herman Daly served as a Committee member for his dissertation, Ecology, Economics, and Social Systems (1990).  A summary of this work was published by the World Bank and the journals Ecological Economics and El Trimestre Economico, and it has been translated into several languages.  He is also an award winning photographer (nature and wildlife, sports, underwater).