J. Christopher Brown

J. Christopher Brown is a Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Kansas. He specializes in human-environment interactions, focusing on sustainable development in the Amazon Basin. His research integrates ecological, political, and socio-economic dimensions to address deforestation, agricultural expansion, and NGO-mediated rural development.

• Affiliations: Department of Geography, University of Kansas; Collaborator with Brazil's Embrapa Agricultural Research Agency
• Key Projects:
  • Amazonian NGO dynamics and political impacts
  • Soybean and sugarcane expansion impacts
  • Spatial analysis of deforestation and land use

Research interests include political ecology, biogeography, and the interplay between global and local scales. He employs remote sensing and interdisciplinary methods to study environmental governance and policy outcomes.

His work on NGOs reveals how funding shapes political behavior in Brazil, with findings published in Comparative Political Studies and Political Geography. Recent studies highlight the edge effects of land-use changes and biodiversity impacts on pollinators like orchid bees.

• Awards: 2016 George and Eleanor Woodyard International Educator Award (University of Kansas)

Brown's research bridges academic inquiry and policy, examining how development policies interact with ecological systems in Latin America. Current projects address soy moratorium efficacy, sugarcane expansion in the Cerrado, and the MST landless movement's political influence.