Dr Gregory M. Thaler

Associate Professor of Environmental Geography and Latin American Studies

Gregory Thaler

I am an interdisciplinary environmental social scientist. My research examines the political ecology and political economy of development, global environmental governance, and agrarian politics. I also have a special interest in comparative, ethnographic, and action-research methodologies. 

Much of my research is focused on Brazil, and I co-direct the Brazil Natural Resource Governance Initiative with colleagues at the University of Georgia (USA) and the Federal University of Pará (Brazil). Past research has also taken me to Bolivia, Ecuador, Indonesia, and to organisational headquarters and international negotiations in the US and Europe. These experiences are discussed in part in my book, Saving a Rainforest and Losing the World: Conservation and Displacement in the Global Tropics, which examines agricultural development and forest conservation across Brazil, Bolivia, and Indonesia.

Through my work, I seek to contribute to a community of people who recognise that human well-being is inseparable from ecological relationships, and who strive to develop responses to a socially and ecologically unjust global system.

Research Disciplines:

  • Environmental Geography
  • Latin American Studies

Research Keywords:

  • Political Ecology
  • Political Economy
  • Environmental Governance
  • Agrarian Politics

Research Cluster: