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Tue, Sep 08, 2026 09:24 PM All times are UTC

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Jesica Lopez

PhD Candidate, Centre for Environmental and Climate Research, Lund University
I am a PhD student in Sustainable Land Use at the Centre for Environmental and Climate Research, CEC. I've been living in the Nordics since 2009. I have a BSc in Environmental Biology at Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogotá (Colombia) and a MSc in Forest and Nature Management at the University of Copenhagen. After my studies, I’ve gained experience in the private and public sector in Denmark as an ecosystem services consultant at consultancy firm COWI A/S Denmark, and ecosystem service specialist at Climate-KIC Nordic. I was also Project coordinator/Research assistant at the Department of Food and Resource Economics of the University of Copenhagen.

The overarching aim of my PhD study is to improve our systems' approach understanding the mechanisms behind the land use transformation. More specifically, the cumulative effects of extensive cattle ranching into tropical forests in protected areas, in order to implement effective and integrative land use planning in the northwest of Amazon region of Colombia. I am combining the systems approach with the use of Causal Loop Diagrams (CLD) together with remote sensing and GIS tools. The contribution of the study seeks to increase our knowledge to ensure pathways to reduce the alarming deforestation, create sustainable food systems and tackle the loss of biodiversity in this part of the Amazon.

As part of the Agenda 2030 graduate school at Lund University my research interests within the SGDs are focused on the nexus between the competition of land for food production (i.e., livestock) and the pressure on biodiversity and ecosystem services in protected areas with tropical rainforests.

As Colombia hosts a UN biodiversity summit, its own Amazonian rainforest is in crisis

Oct 25, 2024 12:08 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

The city of Cali, in Colombia, is hosting the UNs 16th biodiversity summit, known as Cop16. The summit, which runs until Friday, November 1, is focused on how countries will fulfil previous pledges to protect at least 30%...

Economy

Asian Stocks Mixed as Korean Chipmakers Rally

Asian stocks traded mixed on Tuesday as strong gains in South Korean semiconductor shares boosted the regions technology sector, while rising oil prices, higher U.S. Treasury yields and expectations for tighter monetary...

Canada Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Goods Take Effect

Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of U.S. goods early Tuesday, escalating its trade dispute with the United States after negotiations between the two countries collapsed last month. Prime Minister...

Iran Threatens Gulf Energy Assets as U.S. Tensions Escalate

Iran warned Monday that it would retaliate against further U.S. attacks, threatening American oil and gas interests across the Gulf as renewed hostilities raise concerns over global energy supplies and shipping through the...

US Stock Futures Mixed as Fed Rate Hike Bets Rise

U.S. stock futures traded mixed Tuesday as Wall Street returned from the Labor Day holiday, with investors weighing stronger employment data, rising oil prices and growing expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise...

China Exports Surge 25% in August as Trade Surplus Hits $119 Billion

Chinas exports posted another strong increase in August, while imports exceeded market expectations, highlighting resilient trade activity despite signs of weakness in the worlds second-largest economy. Official customs...

Politics

Trump Threatens Bombardier U.S. Sales Ban

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to block Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier from selling planes in the United States unless the company expands its manufacturing operations in the country, escalating tensions...

Australia Plans New Rules Giving Users Control Over Social Media Feeds

Australia has proposed new social media regulations that would give users greater control over the content appearing in their feeds, expanding the governments efforts to strengthen online safety and regulate major...

Cuba Says No US Talks as Blockade Costs Hit $8.1 Billion

Cubas foreign minister said Monday that no negotiations with the United States are currently taking place and there are no plans for future talks, as Havana blamed Washingtons decades-old trade embargo for more than $8...

Bolivia Military Barracks Explosion Kills Nine

Bolivian authorities confirmed on Monday that the death toll from an explosion at a military barracks in Viacha has risen to nine, while rescue teams continue searching for people still missing after the deadly blast. The...

Iran Threatens US With ‘Economic Warfare’ as Gulf Tensions Rise

Iran threatened the United States with economic warfare on Tuesday and claimed it had launched an advanced ballistic missile toward U.S. warships, raising concerns about another escalation in the six-month conflict. The...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Qualcomm Stock Jumps on Amazon AI Chip Deal

Qualcomm Technologies (NASDAQ: QCOM) shares surged 9.5% after the chipmaker announced a multi-generational partnership with Amazon to develop custom silicon and high-speed optical connectivity technology for artificial...

Google Revamps EU Search Results to Meet DMA Rules

Alphabets Google has introduced major changes to its search results in Europe as it seeks to comply with European Union antitrust rules under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Google said Tuesday that the overhaul represents...

Anthropic Drops $6 Billion Decart AI Acquisition Talks

Anthropic has reportedly abandoned plans to acquire artificial intelligence startup Decart AI after exploring a potential transaction valued at roughly $6 billion, according to Bloomberg News. The maker of the Claude AI...

Huawei Launches Mate XT2 Foldable Phone in China

Huawei unveiled its latest flagship foldable smartphone, the Mate XT2, on Monday as the Chinese technology giant looks to maintain its dominance in the countrys premium smartphone market amid growing competition from Apple...

Nvidia CEO Says AGI Has Arrived With OpenAI GPT-6 Astra

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang has declared that artificial general intelligence, or AGI, has arrived, pointing to OpenAIs newly launched GPT-6 Astra as a major milestone in the accelerating development of...