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Craig Leisher
Craig Leisher
Senior Social Science Advisor
Contact Information
E-mail: cleisher@tnc.org
Brief Biography
Craig Leisher is The Nature Conservancy’s senior social science advisor. Prior to joining the Consevancy in 2003, Craig spent six years in Vietnam where he was the program director for WWF Indochina and the environment advisor for the UN Development Program. Before Vietnam, Craig worked for the World Bank in the environment sector of Latin America and the former Soviet Union for five years. From 2003 to 2006, he was the Conservancy’s senior policy and finance advisor for China and Indonesia. He has more than 60 publications and much of his work focuses on conservation’s impact on poverty. He holds an MA in international relations from the American University with an economics focus and a BA in Russian History from the University of New Mexico. He is an avid scuba diver and has discovered four new-to-science species of cave fish.
Related Publications
Leisher C., S. Mangubhai, S. Hess, H. Widodo, T. Soekirman, S. Tjoe, S. Wawiyai, S. Neil Larsen, L. Rumetna, A. Halim, and M. Sanjayan. 2012 Measuring the benefits and costs of community education and outreach in marine protected areas. Marine Policy doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2012.02.022
Leisher C., R. Brouwer, T. M. Boucher, R. Vogelij, W. R. Bainbridge, and M. Sanjayan. 2011. Striking a balance: socioeconomic development and conservation in grassland through community-based zoning. PLoS ONE 6: e28807. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0028807
Leisher C., S. Hess, T. M. Boucher, P. van Beukering, and M. Sanjayan. 2012. Measuring the impacts of community-based grasslands management in Mongolia's Gobi. PLoS ONE 7: e30991. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030991
Leisher C, M. Sanjayan, J. Blockhus, A. Kontoleon, and S.N. Larsen. 2010. Does conserving biodiversity work to reduce poverty? A state of knowledge review. The Nature Conservancy, University of Cambridge, and International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). 32 pp.
Leisher C. 2008. What Rachel Carson knew about marine protected areas. BioScience 58 (6): 478-479.
Leisher C, van Beukering P, Scherl L.M. 2007. Nature’s Investment Bank: How Marine Protected Areas Contribute to Poverty Reduction. Arlington VA: The Nature Conservancy. 52 pp.
Leisher C., and J. Peters. 2004. Direct Benefits to Poor People from Biodiversity Conservation. Arlington VA: The Nature Conservancy.
Leisher C. 2003. Strategic Environmental and Sustainability Analysis of Vietnam. Hanoi: SIDA. 45 pp.
Leisher C. et al. 2003. Vietnam National Report on Protected Areas and Development. Review of Protected Areas and Development in the Lower Mekong River Region. Queensland, Australia: ICEM. 60 pp.
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