About

Dr. Peach Brown is an Associate Professor and Director of Environmental Studies, a multidisciplinary liberal arts and science program, at the University of Prince Edward Island.

Her research focuses on environmental governance for management of commons resources, and how such strategies can contribute to the goals of sustainable resource management and improved livelihoods. In particular, she explores the role played by communities and civil society groups in multi-level governance, in the context of changing policy and a changing climate.  Dr. Peach Brown’s research is guided and informed by her interdisciplinary background in both the natural and social sciences.

Having worked for over 10 years in international development in Central Africa she continues to maintain an active focus in that region. She is also conducting research on community adaptation to climate change in Atlantic Canada.

Selected Publications

  • Brown, H.C. Peach and D. Sonwa. 2015. “Rural local institutions and climate change adaptation in forest communities in Cameroon.” Ecology and Society 20 (2): 6.
  • Brown, H.C. Peach, Smit, B., Somorin, O., Sonwa, D., and J. N. Nkem. 2014. “Climate change and forest communities: Prospects for building institutional adaptive capacity in the Congo Basin forests.” Ambio – A Journal of the Human Environment 43 (6): 759-769.
  • MacNeil, C., Brown, H.C. Peach, and D. Sonwa. 2013. “Youth livelihood strategies and environmental decision-making in the Congo Basin forest of eastern Cameroon.” Nature & Faune 28 (1): 38-41. (Special issue: African youth in agriculture, natural resources and rural development).
  • MacNeil, C.A., Brown, H.C. Peach and D. Sonwa. 2013. “Stratégies de moyens d’existence des jeunes et prise de décision environnementale dans la forêt du Bassin du Congo: le cas de la région sud-est du Cameroun”. Nature & Faune 28 (1): 38-41. (Issue spéciale: La place de la jeunesse africaine dans l’agriculture, la gestion des ressources naturelles et le développement rural). (translation of 2013 article).
  • Brown, H.C. Peach, Smit, B., Somorin, O., Sonwa, D., and F. Ngana. 2013. “Institutional perceptions, adaptive capacity and climate change response in a post-conflict country: A case study from Central African Republic (CAR).” Climate and Development 5 (3): 206-216.
  • Brown, H.C. Peach. 2011. “Gender, climate change and REDD+ in the Congo Basin forests of Central Africa.”  International Forestry Review 13 (2): 163-176. (Special issue on gender and forests).

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