SPP faculty colloquium- Roman Sieler

Google map

Talk Title: "The Impact of Coral Bleaching on Nutrition in East Africa."

Bio:

Roman is a fourth-year PhD Candidate in Environmental Economics at the University of Basel in Switzerland, exploring ecosystem impacts of climate change, how environmental degradation and pollution affect human health and productivity, and the effectiveness of climate policy. He is particularly passionate about using spatial data, remote sensing and machine learning in combination with econometric micro-analyses. Beyond his academic work, he works as climate policy and development consultant and supports NGO work in the context of the UN climate conferences, seeking to translate scientific findings into policy action and to empower young people from around the world to share their perspectives in the UN space.

Abstract:

Coral bleaching is a phenomenon caused by climate change that can destroy coral reef ecosystems and might thereby reduce fish stocks. As a consequence, it can pose a threat to the economic well-being of communities that depend on coastal fisheries, in particular in developing countries. This paper uses a novel coral bleaching dataset based on machine learning and satellite imagery to study the impacts of coral bleaching on fish catch in Kenya, household level consumption and adaptation patterns in Tanzania as well as child malnutrition as an ultimate consequence in the four East African countries of Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Due to the potential endogeneity of bleaching and to isolate climate-dependent impacts, IV or, depending on the model, instrumented treatment intensity differences-in-differences approaches are used, relying on long-term thermal stress as an instrument. Results confirm the hypothesized chain of consequences. Coral bleaching exposure significantly 1) reduces fish catch, 2) leads to a reduction in the consumption of fresh fish and protein overall and forces households to reduce assets and livestock, and 3) causes stunting in exposed children, which is an indicator for early childhood malnutrition. Taken together, these results underline that coral bleaching presents a threat to economic well-being of coastal communities.