JERONIMO RODRIGUEZ ESCOBAR

Department of Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University
 1115 Polett Walk, Gladfelter Hall, Philadelphia PA, 19122;
Email: jeronimo.rodriguez@temple.edu Tel: +1 856-780-7457

Biographical Sketch

1. Professional Preparation

Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Geography and Urban Studies Department, College of Liberal Arts. Third year PhD Student.

Research Topics: Sustainability science, Biodiversity managemen/t remote sensing, land use change, political ecology, agricultural economics and conflict.

 Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogota, Colombia)              Economics,            B.Sc                            2006

Thesis - Economic Impact of the Investment in Science and Technology through CENIPALMA.

Europa-Universität Viadrina (Frankfurt-Oder, Germany)              Economics              B.Sc. Study Year Abroad                                                                                                                                                            2004

Humboldt Universität zu Berlin (Germany)                       Agricultural Economics (M.Sc)      2012

            Thesis - “Groundwater Management in the Doñana Region,Andalusia-Spain

Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador),                           Geographic Information Systems (M.Sc)

Universität Salzburg (Austria)                                                  60 ECTS Credits Awarded

b.         Appointments
 

2016-               Phd Student-Teaching Assistant. Department of Geography and Urban Studies. Temple University, Philadelphia-Pennsylvania

2012-2016       Associate Researcher, Scientific Deputy Direction. The Alexander von Humboldt Research Institute on Biological Resources. Bogota, Colombia

2011                Research Internship. WWF-Adena (Spain)

2007-2008       Advisor. Technical Direction. Colombian Coffee Growers Federation

2006                Assistant Researcher, Economic Analysis and Statistics Direction, CENIPALMA-Colombian Palm Oil research Center.

c. Relevant publications

Andrade, G.I, Angel, A.M., Camacho, A., Caro, C., Huidobro, G., Ocampo. O, Rodriguez, J., Romero-Ruiz, M., Trujillo9, L.A. Victorino, I. (2018),. El rio protegido. Una oportunidad de gestión integral de la biodiversidad del Rio Bita (Vicahda). In Moreno, L. A., Rueda, C. y Andrade, G. I. (Eds.). 2018. Biodiversidad 2017. Estado y tendencias de la biodiversidad continental de Colombia. Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt. Bogotá, D. C., Colombia. 

Wiese, D., Rodríguez J.,  Hsu, Y., Hayes_Conroy, A., Kulathinal, R. J. (2017) The fluidity of biosocial identity and the effects of place, space, and time. Social Sciences and Medicine. 198, 46-52

Pulido, D.E., Rodríguez, J., Andrade, G.I. Rodríguez, J. (2016) Revisión bibliográfica a la gestión integral de los recursos hídricos y las iniciativas de protección de ríos. Biodiversidad en la Práctica . 1 (1) 177-197.

Rodríguez, J. (2015). Agricultura, Gobernanza y Biodiversidad. Hacia una transformación productiva de la Agricultura. In Bello J.C. , Báez, M., Gómez, M.F., Orrego, O, Nägele, L. (ed) Biodiversidad 2014, Estado y tendencias de la biodiversidad continental de Colombia. Instituto Alexander von Humboldt. Bogota.

Rodríguez, J., De Stefano, L. (2013) Intensively irrigated agriculture in the north-west of Doñana. In: De Stefano, L., Ramón Llamas, M. Water, agriculture and the environment in Spain: can we Square the circle? CRC Press, London. 269-280

d.         Synergistic Activities

Participant in the SESYNC (Graduate Student Workshop on Socio-Environmental Synthesis (January 23-26, 2018 in Annapolis, MD). Funded by NSF, it aims to build synthesis skills and capacities of graduate students and catalyze graduate-led synthesis research and collaborative research design. Part of the Water, People & Ecosystems working group, the research focuses on biodiversity and territorial management strategies at the landscape level. Main topics include science communication, team science, data integration, and actionable outcomes.

During his PhD, the work of Jerónimo Rodríguez has been focused on applying remote sensing techniques, specifically multispectral and radar imagery to classify land covers and assess changes over time, focusing on tropical regions (Peru and Colombia), as well as analyzing the socioeconomic and political drivers of such changes. Associated with the above, research topics include farmland acquisition and control and  agricultural expansion.   

Between 2014 and 2016 Jeronimo Rodriguez worked as co-investigator in the Bita, Protected River project carried out by the Alexander von Humboldt Research Institute in association with the departmental government of Vichada and funded by COLCIENCIAS, Colombian Science and Technology Administration. The project aims to establish a regional biodiversity management and conservation strategy for the Bita River basin, based on improved biological, physical, institutional and socio-economic knowledge of the territory, development of conservation agreements at the local level, together with a communication and empowering strategy for local communities and the strengthening of local development strategies trough sustainable use of biodiversity and environmental conflict management at the local level, including access to local resources and extractive activities , fencing and conflicts around traditional activities .

In 2014 Jeronimo Rodriguez led the preparation of the grant proposal and the administrative and legal setup that resulted the funding of the Protected River project through COLCIENCIAS.

As Assistant Researcher at the Scientific Deputy Direction of the Humboldt Institute, Jeronimo Rodriguez was member of the team at the Laboratory of Socio-Ecological Systems (LabSES), responsible for setting up the Observatory of Early Warnings and Emerging Processes, as a tool for scanning the political, social and economic environments and detect potential threats and challenges to biodiversity at the local and regional level and propose institutional response strategies.

Jeronimo Rodriguez holds a position as Returning Expert awarded by the Center for International Development–CIM of the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ) and the German Federal Ministry for International Cooperation (BMZ), grant awarded to Alumni of German Universities active on sustainable development and conflict resolution topics in developing countries. As Returning Expert  he belongs to an interdisciplinary network of scholars and researchers in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia that has built diverse cooperation networks across the Andean countries related with sustainable development and scientific research management.

Since February 2016 Jeronimo Rodriguez is member of the Scientists in Action Network. Coordinated by the Seminar for Rural Development (SLE) at the Humboldt University in Berlin, is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Its members belong to Latin American, European, African and Asian institutions and aims to develop interdisciplinary and interregional cooperation strategies to improve response to specific biodiversity threatening processes identified by members through the exchange of information and expertise and the development of awareness raising campaigns.