Oxford Researcher Wins Prestigious Award for Work on Nature-Based Climate Solutions

Dr Kim

We are delighted to announce that Dr Youngho (Young) Kim, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Environmental Economics, has been awarded the Wallace E. Oates Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award for 2024 by the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE). This prestigious award recognises Dr Kim’s outstanding contribution to the field through his doctoral research at the University of Maryland, which offers innovative insights into leveraging nature-based solutions to tackle climate change and restore ecosystems.

Commenting on the achievement, Professor Alex Teytelboym and Associate Professor Elizabeth Baldwin commented: “We are absolutely delighted that Young won this prestigious award. His world-leading research on incentives for nature conservation and restoration is critical as the world grapples with a biodiversity crisis. It is a pleasure and a privilege for us to host Young at Oxford and to support his research agenda this academic year.”

Dr Kim’s dissertation, Essays on the Design and Evaluation of Payments for Ecosystem Services Programs, explores how well-designed economic incentives can promote sustainable land management practices. These payments for ecosystem services (PES) programmes reward farmers and landowners for activities such as wetland restoration and wildlife habitat conservation, which provide vital environmental benefits like improved water quality and carbon sequestration. His work combines advanced economic modelling, biophysical analyses, and real-world data to address three key questions:

Reducing Weather-Related Losses: Dr Kim’s research demonstrates how PES programmes, such as the U.S. Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, significantly mitigate the economic impacts of extreme weather, such as flooding, by restoring natural landscapes like wetlands.

Optimising Payments and Penalties: By proposing an innovative penalty structure for participants who exit PES programmes prematurely, Dr Kim offers solutions to improve the longevity and effectiveness of these initiatives.
Balancing Conservation and Market Incentives: His work highlights how competition between traditional conservation subsidies and emerging carbon and water trading markets can undermine overall environmental effectiveness, emphasising the need for harmonised policy approaches.

This remarkable research has critical implications for designing policies that maximise environmental and economic outcomes, making a strong case for the role of nature-based solutions in climate adaptation and mitigation strategies.

The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery warmly congratulates Dr Kim on this exceptional achievement. His work exemplifies the innovative and impactful research conducted at Oxford, addressing some of the most pressing global challenges, and we are very much looking forward to working with him in 2025.

Further information about Dr Kim’s research can be found on his personal website.

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