Karen A Kainer
Biographic Data
| ID | 88494 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Karen A Kainer |
| GIVEN NAMES | Karen A |
| FAMILY NAME | Kainer |
| SIGNATURE | KAINER K A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Florida |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6967-5442 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 96 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1992 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
‘Bleeding’ Brazil nut trees
Bertholletia excelsa , commonly known as the Brazil nut tree, is an emblematic species for Amazon forest conservation and a key source of income for many extractivist families. Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities have interacted with this species for millennia, developing local management practices aimed at maintaining or increasing fruit production. Among these practices is “bleeding,” which involves making incisions in the trunk to s…
Burning perceptions that integrate wellbeing and ecosystem services to inform fire governance in the Peruvian Andes
What affects the sustainability of a non-timber forest product value chain? A case study of an endemic palm harvested by local communities in Brazil
Our results suggest policy recommendations for reconciling social, economic, and ecological aspects. These include promoting community-based tourism as a complementary income source. Recognizing and disseminating piassava value chain outcomes as sociobiodiversity products, for example, strengthening legal and commercial frameworks to certify piassava products, or encouraging investment in local processing infrastructure to enhance value addition …
Living with Fire
Decision making processes and power dynamics in timber production co-management
Women and timber management
Leading by listening, learning by doing
Conservation professionals are increasingly called on to adopt democratic approaches that integrate public concerns and diverse societal voices yet are not taught how to do so. We use a case study approach to analyze a 3-year graduate learning initiative piloted in Mexico by Universidad Veracruzana and the University of Florida that sought to fill this gap. Two team-taught courses were integrated with multiple field and on-campus experiences (e.g…
Tourism consumption of biodiversity
The evolving role of Bertholletia excelsa in Amazonia
In the last three decades, Brazil nut ( Bertholletia excelsa ) has emerged as a cornerstone species for Amazonia. This has gone hand-in-hand with the creation of extractive reserves, an alternative land use model to balance biodiversity conservation with rural development, whereby traditional forest residents are assigned legal responsibility for co-management of these reserves and their resources, including Brazil nut. The essential role of this…
To log or not to log
Cooper, N. A., and K. A. Kainer. 2018. To log or not to log: local perceptions of timber management and its implications for well-being within a sustainable-use protected area. Ecology and Society 23(2):4. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09995-230204
Three stories under the same hut
Smallholder Specialization Strategies along the Forest Transition Curve in Southwestern Amazonia
Rural specialization strategies can be examined within the forest transition framework. We compared smallholder livelihood strategies between neighboring southwestern Amazonian sites at different stages along the forest transition curve. Surveys of 243 households in Pando, Bolivia and Acre, Brazil, within and outside of two major protected areas, confirmed a higher reliance on forest-based income in forest-rich Pando than in Acre. In Acre, forest…
Is Certification Associated with Better Forest Management and Socioeconomic Benefits? A Comparative Analysis of Three Certification Schemes Applied to Brazil Nuts in Western Amazonia
Nontimber forest product (NTFP) certification has potential to promote sustainable harvest and to bolster rural livelihoods. This research compares environmental and socioeconomic benefits of Brazil nut certification for 231 producers in 17 communities in the trinational border region of Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru during the 2006–2007 harvest. Specific objectives were: (1) to analyze differences in “best management practices” between certified and…
Are community-based forest enterprises in the tropics financially viable? Case studies from the Brazilian Amazon
Community-based forest management is an integral component of sustainable forest management and conservation in the Brazilian Amazon, where it has been heavily subsidized for the last ten years. Yet knowledge of the financial viability and impact of community-based forest enterprises (CFEs) is lacking. This study evaluates the profitability of three CFEs in the Brazilian Amazon: Ambé, an industrial-scale, upland forest operation producing logs in…
Resource Theft in Tropical Forest Communities
Duchelle, A. E., P. Cronkleton, K. A. Kainer, G. Guanacoma, and S. Gezan. 2011. Resource theft in tropical forest communities: implications for non-timber management, livelihoods, and conservation. Ecology and Society 16(1): 4. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-03806-160104
Experiments in Forest-Based Development in Western Amazonia
The state government of Acre, Brazil, has integrated ecological, cultural, social, and economic forest values into a comprehensive forest policy to manage Acre's abundance of comparatively pristine forests, while couching specific goals and the processes for achieving them within a broader sustainable development framework. Inspired by the rubber tapper culture and social movement, policy implementation has been advanced with broad support from n…
Tapping women’s knowledge
Tapping women’s knowledge
Are community-based forest enterprises in the tropics financially viable? Case studies from the Brazilian Amazon
Community-based forest management is an integral component of sustainable forest management and conservation in the Brazilian Amazon, where it has been heavily subsidized for the last ten years. Yet knowledge of the financial viability and impact of community-based forest enterprises (CFEs) is lacking. This study evaluates the profitability of three CFEs in the Brazilian Amazon: Ambé, an industrial-scale, upland forest operation producing logs in…
Experiments in Forest-Based Development in Western Amazonia
The state government of Acre, Brazil, has integrated ecological, cultural, social, and economic forest values into a comprehensive forest policy to manage Acre's abundance of comparatively pristine forests, while couching specific goals and the processes for achieving them within a broader sustainable development framework. Inspired by the rubber tapper culture and social movement, policy implementation has been advanced with broad support from n…
Smallholder Specialization Strategies along the Forest Transition Curve in Southwestern Amazonia
Rural specialization strategies can be examined within the forest transition framework. We compared smallholder livelihood strategies between neighboring southwestern Amazonian sites at different stages along the forest transition curve. Surveys of 243 households in Pando, Bolivia and Acre, Brazil, within and outside of two major protected areas, confirmed a higher reliance on forest-based income in forest-rich Pando than in Acre. In Acre, forest…
Is Certification Associated with Better Forest Management and Socioeconomic Benefits? A Comparative Analysis of Three Certification Schemes Applied to Brazil Nuts in Western Amazonia
Nontimber forest product (NTFP) certification has potential to promote sustainable harvest and to bolster rural livelihoods. This research compares environmental and socioeconomic benefits of Brazil nut certification for 231 producers in 17 communities in the trinational border region of Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru during the 2006–2007 harvest. Specific objectives were: (1) to analyze differences in “best management practices” between certified and…
Resource Theft in Tropical Forest Communities
Duchelle, A. E., P. Cronkleton, K. A. Kainer, G. Guanacoma, and S. Gezan. 2011. Resource theft in tropical forest communities: implications for non-timber management, livelihoods, and conservation. Ecology and Society 16(1): 4. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-03806-160104
Tourism consumption of biodiversity
Three stories under the same hut
Tapping women’s knowledge
Experiments in Forest-Based Development in Western Amazonia
The state government of Acre, Brazil, has integrated ecological, cultural, social, and economic forest values into a comprehensive forest policy to manage Acre's abundance of comparatively pristine forests, while couching specific goals and the processes for achieving them within a broader sustainable development framework. Inspired by the rubber tapper culture and social movement, policy implementation has been advanced with broad support from n…
Resource Theft in Tropical Forest Communities
Duchelle, A. E., P. Cronkleton, K. A. Kainer, G. Guanacoma, and S. Gezan. 2011. Resource theft in tropical forest communities: implications for non-timber management, livelihoods, and conservation. Ecology and Society 16(1): 4. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-03806-160104
Are community-based forest enterprises in the tropics financially viable? Case studies from the Brazilian Amazon
Community-based forest management is an integral component of sustainable forest management and conservation in the Brazilian Amazon, where it has been heavily subsidized for the last ten years. Yet knowledge of the financial viability and impact of community-based forest enterprises (CFEs) is lacking. This study evaluates the profitability of three CFEs in the Brazilian Amazon: Ambé, an industrial-scale, upland forest operation producing logs in…
Is Certification Associated with Better Forest Management and Socioeconomic Benefits? A Comparative Analysis of Three Certification Schemes Applied to Brazil Nuts in Western Amazonia
Nontimber forest product (NTFP) certification has potential to promote sustainable harvest and to bolster rural livelihoods. This research compares environmental and socioeconomic benefits of Brazil nut certification for 231 producers in 17 communities in the trinational border region of Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru during the 2006–2007 harvest. Specific objectives were: (1) to analyze differences in “best management practices” between certified and…
Smallholder Specialization Strategies along the Forest Transition Curve in Southwestern Amazonia
Rural specialization strategies can be examined within the forest transition framework. We compared smallholder livelihood strategies between neighboring southwestern Amazonian sites at different stages along the forest transition curve. Surveys of 243 households in Pando, Bolivia and Acre, Brazil, within and outside of two major protected areas, confirmed a higher reliance on forest-based income in forest-rich Pando than in Acre. In Acre, forest…
Three stories under the same hut
Tourism consumption of biodiversity
The evolving role of Bertholletia excelsa in Amazonia
In the last three decades, Brazil nut ( Bertholletia excelsa ) has emerged as a cornerstone species for Amazonia. This has gone hand-in-hand with the creation of extractive reserves, an alternative land use model to balance biodiversity conservation with rural development, whereby traditional forest residents are assigned legal responsibility for co-management of these reserves and their resources, including Brazil nut. The essential role of this…
To log or not to log
Cooper, N. A., and K. A. Kainer. 2018. To log or not to log: local perceptions of timber management and its implications for well-being within a sustainable-use protected area. Ecology and Society 23(2):4. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09995-230204
Leading by listening, learning by doing
Conservation professionals are increasingly called on to adopt democratic approaches that integrate public concerns and diverse societal voices yet are not taught how to do so. We use a case study approach to analyze a 3-year graduate learning initiative piloted in Mexico by Universidad Veracruzana and the University of Florida that sought to fill this gap. Two team-taught courses were integrated with multiple field and on-campus experiences (e.g…
Decision making processes and power dynamics in timber production co-management
Women and timber management
Living with Fire
Burning perceptions that integrate wellbeing and ecosystem services to inform fire governance in the Peruvian Andes
What affects the sustainability of a non-timber forest product value chain? A case study of an endemic palm harvested by local communities in Brazil
Our results suggest policy recommendations for reconciling social, economic, and ecological aspects. These include promoting community-based tourism as a complementary income source. Recognizing and disseminating piassava value chain outcomes as sociobiodiversity products, for example, strengthening legal and commercial frameworks to certify piassava products, or encouraging investment in local processing infrastructure to enhance value addition …
‘Bleeding’ Brazil nut trees
Bertholletia excelsa , commonly known as the Brazil nut tree, is an emblematic species for Amazon forest conservation and a key source of income for many extractivist families. Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities have interacted with this species for millennia, developing local management practices aimed at maintaining or increasing fruit production. Among these practices is “bleeding,” which involves making incisions in the trunk to s…
Geography (13 works) · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management (11 works) · Environmental resource management (11 works) · Ecology (10 works) · Environmental Science (10 works) · Forestry (10 works) · Agroforestry (9 works) · Biology (9 works) · Business (9 works) · Economics (9 works)