Frank Casey

Director, Conservation Economics Program


Areas of Expertise: Agricultural and natural resources economics, research and policy analysis, ecosystem service markets economics of conflict resolution, performance indicators

At Defenders, Frank leads research and policy projects related to the valuation of economic benefits of wildlife habitat and species conservation. He also works on projects and policies that promote incentives for landowners to conserve wildlife habitat and ecosystem services through agricultural legislation, ecosystem service markets, and through other private eco-labeling and ecotourism incentive programs. Frank provides policy analysis for the selection of economic and physical indicators for measuring the impacts of wildlife conservation projects. In addition to publishing several book chapters and journal articles, Frank is lead editor for the book Flexible Incentives for the Adoption of Environmental Technologies in Agriculture and lead author of the report Incentives for Biodiversity Conservation: An Ecological and Economic Assessment.

Before coming to Defenders in 1999, Frank worked in West Africa for more than 13 years in the fields of agricultural and rural development and the economics of natural resource conservation. This included the management of two-large scale USAID rangeland conservation and irrigation projects in Senegal; rural development and conservation projects in The Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea; and as an economic policy advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Niger.  In the western United States, Frank has worked for private consulting firms on the economic benefits associated with tribal water rights, the socio-economic impacts of establishing new national parks, and the impacts of licensing private hydro-power dams.

Frank earned his B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from the California State University Northridge.  He has a Master of Professional Studies in International Agriculture and an M.S. in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University and a PhD in Food and Resource Economics from the University of Florida.

Contact Information
Phone: (202) 682-9400 x227
Email: frank.casey@defenders.org