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Introducing Dr. Vasco Chavez-Molina

Dr. Vasco Chavez-Molina in his dissertation defense.

The University of Colorado Boulder’s Department of Environmental Studies is thrilled to congratulate Dr. Vasco Chavez-Molina after successfully defending his dissertation this week! 

Dr. Chavez-Molina’s upbringing in Perú deeply influenced his academic and professional path. Born and raised in one of the world’s most vibrant ecosystems, Dr. Chavez-Molina understood the importance of conservation and sought to have experiences in higher education that would allow him to be a leader in that space. Dr. Chavez-Molina earned a bachelor's degree in environmental science at the College of Holy Cross before making his way to Boulder. Dr. Chavez-Molina first joined us here at the University of Colorado as a student in our Masters of the Environment (MENV) Graduate Program. During his time in MENV, Dr. Chavez-Molina worked with the Governor’s Climate and Forest Task Force where he developed investment strategies aimed at fostering sustainable agricultural supply chains in the Amazon rainforest. As a student in MENV, he also met Dr. Cassandra Brooks. After completing his master’s degree, he joined the Brooks Lab as a full-time researcher, focusing on policy analysis and fisheries management in the Southern Ocean. This role eventually opened the door to his PhD studies, where Dr. Chavez-Molina studied the intricate governance challenges involved in managing marine resources across local, regional, and international levels.

On Wednesday, Dr. Chavez-Molina defended his dissertation in a presentation titled “In search of solutions for international conservation: Analyzing the governance complexities of managing marine resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction”. The guiding questions: “How can we legally protect marine ecosystems in the areas beyond national jurisdiction? How can we manage natural resources across the fragmented frameworks that make up the high seas? And how can we better govern marine resources within this critical region?” were addressed in Dr. Chavez-Molina's work. Throughout the four-part presentation, Dr. Chavez-Molina shared information about the nuances of agency oversight at the international, regional, and national level; the actors and institutions at play in this area of natural resources conservation and management; and the ways in which global politics and policy play a crucial role in accomplishing this important work and recommendations for the future.

If you are interested in reading more from Dr. Chavez-Molina's portfolio of published works, click the links below: 

  1. Chavez-Molina, V., Wagner, D., Nocito, E. S., Benedum, M., Gaymer, C. F., Currie, D., Beam, E. G., & Brooks, C. M. (2023b). Protecting the Salas y Gomez and Nazca Ridges: A review of policy pathways for creating conservation measures in the international waters of the Southeast Pacific. Marine Policy, 152(March), 105594. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105594

  1. Chavez-Molina, V., Becker, S. L., Carr, E., Cavanagh, R. D., Dorman, D., Nocito, E., Sylvester, Z., Wallace, B., White, C., & Brooks, C. M. (2023a). Managing for Climate Resilient Fisheries: Applications to the Southern Ocean. Ocean and Coastal Management, 239 (March), 106580. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4149306

  1. Brooks, C.M., D.G. Ainley, J. Jacquet, S.L. Chown, L.R. Pertierra, E. Francis, A. Rogers, Chavez-Molina, V., L. Teh, U.R. Sumaila. (2022). Protect global values of the Southern Ocean ecosystem. Science, 378: 477-479.

  1. Kiffner, C., Baylis, J., Beckwith, C., Brunner, C., Burns, C., Chavez-Molina, V., Cotton, S., Glazik L., Loftis, E., Morgan, M., O’Neill, C., Theisinger, O., Kioko, J. & Kissui B. (2020) Long-term persistence of wildlife populations in a pastoral area. Ecology and Evolution 10: 10000-10016, https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6658

We are thrilled to congratulate Dr. Chavez-Molina on his great work and successful defense! Way to go!