Kpanoga Kolombia | Forestry Economics | Best Researcher Award

Published on by Plant Scientist

Assist. Prof. Dr. Kpanoga Kolombia | Forestry Economics | Best Researcher Award

University of Alberta | Canada

Kpanoga Kolombia is a Development Economist specializing in renewable energy, environmental and natural resource economics, with over five years of academic and policy research experience across Canada, France, Germany, and West Africa. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Sherbrooke, with a focus on non-market valuation and climate economics, and advanced degrees from Aix-Marseille University and the University of Lome. His work includes extensive empirical research on willingness to pay for carbon emission reduction, forest restoration, and ecosystem services in Quebec and Togo. Currently, he is an Assistant Teaching Professor at the University of Alberta, a lecturer at ENAP, and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Quebec in Outaouais. His research interests span development economics, climate change, forest economics, and public policy. Kolombia has published in peer-reviewed journals like the African Journal of Ecology, and has several articles under review in journals including Ecological Economics and Plos One. He has received multiple scholarships including the Mitacs, FRQ, and Affaires Mondiales Canada Fellowships. Kolombia continues to advance inclusive and evidence-based environmental policy through interdisciplinary and applied economic research.

Profile:  Orcid

Featured Publications

Kolombia, K., & Yovo, K. (2025). Willingness to pay for forest restoration in Togo: Comparison of estimates from choice experiment, contingent valuation and travel cost methods. African Journal of Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.70102

Kolombia, K. (2024). Economic evaluation of Mont-Bellevue Park in Sherbrooke using the individual travel cost method. Manuscript submitted for publication, Discover Cities.

Kolombia, K. (2024). Effect of policy consequentiality on willingness to pay for renewable energy in transport in Quebec. Manuscript submitted for publication, Journal of Cultural Economics.

Dupras, J., & Kolombia, K. (2024). Willingness to pay for the forestation of agricultural coulees: A choice experiment and contingent valuation study in Quebec. Manuscript submitted for publication, PLOS ONE.

Kolombia, K. (2024). Willingness to pay for renewable energy: A choice experiment and contingent valuation study in Quebec. Manuscript submitted for publication, Ecological Economics.

Chala Hussen | Agri-Food System | Best Researcher Award

Published on by Plant Scientist

Mr. Chala Hussen | Agri-Food System | Best Researcher Award

Ambo University | Ethiopia

Chala Hailu Hussen is an Ethiopian academic and researcher specializing in Agricultural Economics, currently serving as Assistant Professor and Research & Community Service Coordinator at the College of Agriculture & Veterinary Science, Ambo University, Ethiopia. He holds a BSc and MSc in Agricultural Economics from Haramaya University and is pursuing a PhD in Agri-food Systems at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy, focusing on agricultural transformation. His professional journey includes teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, agricultural production economics, and climate change economics, along with supervising more than twenty MSc theses and serving as examiner and chairperson in defense boards. He has actively contributed to research on rural credit, market information, farm input commercialization, cluster farming, and climate adaptation strategies, publishing several scientific papers with an h-index of 2, 7 documents, and over 35 citations. In addition, he has participated in national and international training programs on climate information services, decision support systems, and rural development planning, enhancing his expertise in agricultural resilience and sustainability. Recipient of various certificates and recognitions, Chala continues to advance research and education in agricultural economics, with a strong commitment to capacity building, policy engagement, and promoting sustainable agricultural systems.

Profile: Orcid

Featured Publications

Hailu, C., Canali, G., & Tabaglio, V. (2025). High-value farm product transformation in contract marketing: Evidence from smallholder farmers in central Ethiopia. Environment, Development and Sustainability.

Besha, T. B., Fikadu, M., & Chala, H. (2022). Marketable supply of honey: Evidence from farmers households in Ethiopia. Journal of Agribusiness and Rural Development.

Alemayehu, G., Rikitu, A., & Hailu, C. (2022). Producers’ participation decision in tomato and onion marketing with level of participation in Ejersa Lafo District of West Shewa Zone, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. Malaysian Business Management Journal.

Hussen, C. H., & Geleta, F. T. (2021). Factors affecting smallholder farmers’ participation in cluster crop production: Evidence from selected districts of West Shewa Zone, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. Sarhad Journal of Agriculture.

Wakjira, M., Temesgen, F., Hailu, C., & Wegari, D. (2021). The economic impacts of COVID-19 on micro and small enterprises: Empirical evidences from Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. Sarhad Journal of Agriculture.

Hussen, C. (2018). Factors affecting credit use for rural farming at household level: Evidence from smallholder farmers of Toke-Kutaye district.

Hussen, C. (2017). Effect of access to market information services on supply of major vegetables: Evidence from farm households of Ambo and Toke-Kutaye Districts, West Shewa, Ethiopia. Information and Knowledge Management.

Jean-Baptiste Thomas | Climate Change | Best Researcher Award

Published on by Plant Scientist

Dr. Jean-Baptiste Thomas | Climate Change | Best Researcher Award

KTH Royal Institute of Technology | Sweden

Dr. Jean-Baptiste E. Thomas is a bilingual and multinational researcher with expertise spanning France, the UK, the USA, and Sweden, specializing in industrial ecology, marine sustainability, and the blue bioeconomy. He earned a PhD in Industrial Ecology from KTH Stockholm in 2018, following an MSc in Sustainable Technology and a BSc in Geography from King’s College London. With a strong academic and professional trajectory, he has worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Kristineberg Marine Research Station and currently serves as a Researcher at KTH Stockholm, while also engaging in consultancy for life cycle and sustainability assessments. His research primarily addresses seaweed aquaculture, circular economy applications, nutrient loop closure, and environmental life cycle analysis. Dr. Thomas has published extensively in high-impact journals, achieving an h-index of 15 with over 24 peer-reviewed documents and more than 562 citations (Scopus). He has been invited as keynote and plenary speaker at major international conferences, including the International Seaweed Symposium (2025), and has led and co-led several Formas and EU-funded projects. Passionately involved in teaching and supervising students, he actively integrates sustainability and biodiversity into education. His contributions continue to shape sustainable marine biomass utilization, with global recognition as a leading voice in blue bioeconomy research.

Profiles: Scopus | Google Scholar | Orcid

Featured Publications

“Exploring the contribution of multi-use approach in fostering local blue economy: Insights from the Global South”

“Integrating biodiversity impacts into seafood life cycle assessments: pathways for improvement”

“Governance hurdles for expansion of low trophic mariculture production in Sweden”

“Life cycle environmental impacts of kelp aquaculture through harmonized recalculation of inventory data”

“Two decades of research on ocean multi-use: achievements, challenges and the need for transdisciplinarity”

“Life Cycle Assessment of a large commercial kelp farm in Shandong, China”

“Comparative life cycle assessment of conventional and novel microalgae production systems and environmental impact mitigation in urban-industrial symbiosis”