Major Professor Donald R. Nelson, Ph.D.

Expertise and Interests


​​In my professional life I have worked extensively in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a particular focus in Northeast Brazil and the Brazilian Amazon. I have also been involved with work in Africa including the countries of Mozambique, Angola, and The Comoros.

I use a range of qualitative and participatory methodologies as well as quantitative tools in my research, which include GIS and remote sensing.

My research explores relationships between humans, climate and their natural environments. Particular fields of interest include:
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  • Vulnerability and adaptation studies 
  • Food and Water security 
  • Global climate and environmental change
  • Land-use and land-cover change
  • Water governance and water ethics
  • International development  
​Curriculum Vitae

​Associate Editor of Anthropocene
Subject Editor for Ecology & Society​

Recent Publications 

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  • Seigerman, C.K., N.S. Leite, E.S. Martins, and D.R. Nelson. 2024. At the Extremes: Assessing Interrelations Among the Impacts of and Responses to Extreme Hydroclimatic Events in Ceará, Northeast Brazil. Journal of Hydrology. doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.130850. pdf
  • van Rees, C.B., Hernández-Abrams, D.D., …Nelson, D.R., …. 2023. Reimagining infrastructure for a biodiverse future. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. v. 120, n. 46. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.221433412. pdf
  • Chambers, M.L., van Rees, C.B, Bledsoe, B.P., Crane, D., Ferreira, S., Hall, D.M., Lammers, R.W., Landry, C.E., Nelson, D.R., Shudtz, M., and B.C. Suedel. 2023. Nature-based Solutions for Leveed River Corridors. Anthropocene. doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2023.100417. pdf
  • Rocha, A.L.C. da, Eckert, C., and D.R. Nelson, 2023. Antropologia e Crise Ambiental. Horizontes Antropológicos. v. 29, n. 66.  doi.org/10.1590/1806-9983e660201 
    Seigerman, C.K., S.K. McKay, R. Basilio, Biesel, S.A., J. Hallemeier, A.V. Mansur, C. Piercy, S. Rowan, B. Ubiali, E. Yeates, and D.R. Nelson, 2023. Operationalizing equity for integrated water resources management. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association. doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.13086. pdf
  • Grave, I., Bojórquez‐Tapia, L.A., Estrada‐Barón, A., Nelson, D.R. and Eakin, H., (2022). Analytic hierarchy process and sensitivity analysis implementation for social vulnerability assessment: A case study from Brazil. Journal of Multi‐Criteria Decision Analysis. ​pdf
  • Feagin, R.A.,  T.S. Bridges, …..D.R. Nelson,…(2021). Infrastructure investment must incorporate Nature’s lessons in a rapidly changing world, One Earth (4):10. doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.10.003. pdf
  • Foroughi, M., J. Mallard, D.R. Nelson, L.A. Sutter and D. Markewitz (2021). The impacts of historical land-use on phosphorus movement4in the Calhoun Critical Zone Observatory in the southeastern US Piedmont. Biogeochemistry 154:17-35. doi.org/10.1007/s10533-021-00794-8. ​pdf
  • Ordway, E., A. Elmore, …… D.R. Nelson….(2021). Leveraging the NEON Airborne Observation Platform for socio-environmental systems research. Ecosphere 12(6). doi/10.1002/ecs2.3640. ​pdf
  • Nelson, D.R., Bledsoe, B., and M Shepherd. (2020). From hubris to humility: Transcending original sin in managing hydroclimate risk management. Anthropocene. ​pdf
  • De Azevedo Reis, G., F.A. de Souza Filho, D.R. Nelson, R.V. Rocha and S.M.O. da Silva. (2020). Development of a vulnerability to drought index using MCDM and GIS. Natural Disasters. ​pdf
  • Chin, A., X. Cui, L. Gillson, D.R. Nelson, M. P. Taylor, V. Vanacker and E. Wang (2020). "Anthropocene in an age of pandemics." Anthropocene. ​pdf
  • King, E., Nelson, D.R., and J.R. McGreevy. 2019. Advancing the integration of ecosystem services and livelihood adaptation. Environmental Research Letters. ​pdf
  • Coughlan, M. R. and D. R. Nelson (2019). "Geostatistical analysis of historical contingency and land use footprints in the prehistoric settlement dynamics of the South Carolina Piedmont, North America." Journal of Archaeological Science 107: 1-9. pdf
  • Coughlan, M. R. and D. R. Nelson (2018). "Influences of Native American land use on the Colonial Euro-American settlement of the South Carolina Piedmont." PLoS One 13(3): e0195036.  PDF
  • Coughlan, M., Nelson, D., Lonneman, M., & Block, A. (2017). Historical Land Use Dynamics in the Highly Degraded Landscape of the Calhoun Critical Zone Observatory. Land, 6(2), 32. doi:10.3390/land6020032. PDF
  • ​Nelson, D.R., M.C. Lemos, H. Eakin, Y.J. Lo. (2016). The limits of poverty reduction in support of climate change adaptation. Environmental Research Letters. 11:094001. PDF
  • Barbosa, R., D.R. Nelson. (2016. The use of support vector machine to analyze food security in a northeastern region of Brazil. Applied Artificial Intelligence. 30(4):318-330. PDF
  • Lemos, M.C., Y.J. Lo, D.R. Nelson, H. Eakin. (2016). Leveraging generic and specific capacities to reduce vulnerability to drought in NE Brazil. Global Environmental Change. 39:170-179. PDF

Representative consultancies

Center for Disease Control - Facilitator/Trainer, Reflective Structured Dialogues

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - Lead consultant for Post-Disaster Needs Assessment, Belize.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - Lead author for an Introductory Overview on infrastructure sector corruption and conservation impacts 

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - Lead consultant for Post-Disaster Needs Assessment, Mozambique.

UNDP - Lead consultant for drought impact and recovery assessment, Mozambique.

UNDP – Social Impact Assessment Lead for Post-Disaster Needs Assessment, Angola. 

United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Country-level representative for Feed the Future – FEEDBACK.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Ministry of Science and Technology, Brazil. Expert review of the Brazilian Panel on Climate Change Working Group 2 Report.

Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel, Global Environment Facility (GEF). Co-author Enhancing Resilience to Reduce Climate Risks: Scientific Rationale for the Sustained Delivery of Global Environmental Benefits in GEF Focal Areas.

USAID. Food and livelihood security risk and impact assessment tool development.
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 World Food Program (WFP), Union of Comoros. Comprehensive Food Security Vulnerability Assessment.