Lucas Alencar

Lucas Alencar is a Researcher at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester. His work focuses on the intersection of environmental sustainability and socioeconomic development, particularly addressing poverty and ecological decline through data-driven methodologies like geospatial analysis. He investigates deforestation impacts on human development in Brazil’s Caatinga and Amazon regions, emphasizing production models over tenure types as drivers of forest cover changes.

Education:

• BSc from Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), 2015 (thesis on Caatinga tree species evolution)
• MSc from Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), 2018 (Amazon deforestation patterns)
• PhD from UFPE, 2023 (forests and human development in Caatinga)

Research Interests: Combining geospatial analysis, causal inference, and multi-scalar approaches to study land use, deforestation, and territorial dynamics. Current projects include collective land use in Mexico and land tenure impacts on forest conservation.

Advising & Grants: Accepting PhD students in environmental policy and development. Collaborates on interdisciplinary projects funded by global development initiatives.

Labs/Teams: Part of the Global Development Institute, contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to poverty reduction and environmental sustainability.