Dr. Dietrich Schmidt-Vogt

Biography

Dietrich Schmidt-Vogt, geographer and fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, has served as Director of the Mountain Societies Research Institute at the University of Central Asia, based in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic since October 2015. He is also Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, Freiburg University, Germany, and Distinguished Adjunct Professor at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. Before joining UCA, Dr Schmidt-Vogt was Head of the Research Program at the World Agroforestry Centre East and Central Asia Office, and Professor at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Kunming, China beginning in 2009. Previous affiliations include: Associate Professor with the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, from 2002 to 2009, and Senior Lecturer with the South Asia Institute of Heidelberg University, Germany, from 1998 to 2002. Dr Schmidt-Vogt studied Geography and English in Germany and Canada, and earned his doctoral and postdoctoral degrees at Heidelberg University. He has more than 30 years of research experience in mountainous areas, mainly of the Himalayan and Mekong regions in South and Southeast Asia. His research interests include forest-farming interactions, multi-functional landscapes, integrated land use systems, and land use change and livelihoods in mountainous areas. He has extensive experience in teaching and supervising graduate students from diverse national and cultural backgrounds, as well as in capacity building and curriculum development.

Selected Publications

Strengthening mountain societies in Central Asia in a context of multidimensional change
Schmidt-Vogt, D., Foggin, M., Hergarten, C.
Mountain Research and Development 36 (3): 380-383 (2016)

Farmers’ perceptions of and adaptations to changing climate in the Melamchi River Valley of Nepal
Sujakhu, N.M., Ranjitkar, S., Rabin, R.N., Pokharel, B.K., Schmidt-Vogt, D., Xu, J.
Mountain Research and Development 36 (1): 15-30 (2016)

Pushing the limits: the pattern and dynamics of rubber monoculture expansion in Xishuangbanna, SW China 
Chen, H., Yi., Z. Schmidt-Vogt, D., Ahrends, A., Beckschaefer, P., Kleinn, C., Ranjitkar, S., Xu, J.
PLoS ONE 11 (2): e0150062.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0150062 (2016)

Land Use
Schmidt-Vogt, D., Miehe, G.
In: Miehe, G., Pendry, C. (eds.) Nepal: an introduction to the natural history, ecology and human environment of the Himalayas. A companion volume to the Flora of Nepal. Edinburgh: Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh (2015)

Second thoughts on secondary forests: can swidden cultivation be compatible with conservation?
Schmidt-Vogt, D.
In: Cairns, M. (ed.): Shifting cultivation and environmental change: indigenous people, agriculture and forest conservation. London: Earthscan, pp. 388-400 (2015)

Farmers’ land use decision-making in the context of changing land and conservation policies: a case study of Doi Mae Salong in Chiang Rai Province, Northern Thailand
Duangjai, W., Schmidt-Vogt, D., Shresta, R. P.
Land Use Policy 48: 179-189

Rural wood consumption patterns of local and immigrant households with differentiated access to resources in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China
Mertens, C. F., Bruun, T.B., Schmidt-Vogt, D., Jun, H., de Neergaard, A.
Energy Policy 80: 112-121 (2015)

Dynamics of the Multi-Stakeholder-Forum and its effectiveness in promoting sustainable forest fire management practices in South Sumatra, Indonesia
Achyar, E., Schmidt-Vogt, D., Shivakoti, G.P.
Environmental Development 13: 4-7 (2015)