My research and teaching aims at evaluating of the direct and indirect effects of human activities on forested and agricultural ecosystems, with the goal of mitigating climate change, supporting conservation and adaptation, and improving environmental governance.

These interests are pursued using remote sensing along with other quantitative methods and are oriented toward providing policy-relevant information and evidence to support decision-making in developing countries and in Canada.

She received her PhD from McGill University and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Panama) on emissions from land use change. As a postdoctoral researcher at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, she played a leading role in a NASA-funded project to improve estimates of carbon emissions and removals from land cover changes in southern and eastern Africa. She was selected for a NatureNet Fellowship by the Nature Conservancy at Cornell University, where she worked with agricultural and development economists to study the relationship between deforestation and smallholder farmers' use of agricultural inputs. At Cornell University, she also led a TNC-Cornell Atkinson Sustainability Center collaborative project to create new soil maps in Zambia to estimate land-based climate change mitigation potential and monitor charcoal production using remote sensing. Most recently, she was a postdoctoral fellow for the CGIAR Standing Group on Impact Assessment advising on and integrating satellite Earth observations into impact assessment.

Her research focuses on understanding the impacts of direct and indirect human activities on forest and agricultural ecosystems through land use and land cover changes, with the aim of mitigating and adapting to climate change, conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services, and improving environmental management for the benefit of society.

Articles avec comité de lecture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Pelletier, J., Hamalambo, B., Trainor, A., and Barrett, C. B. How land tenure and labor relations mediate charcoal’s environmental footprint in Zambia: implications for sustainable energy transitions. World Development, 146:105600, 2021.

Ngoma, H., Pelletier, J., Mulenga, B. P., and Subakanya, M. Climate-smart agriculture, cropland expansion and deforestation in Zambia: Linkages, processes and drivers. Land Use Policy, 107:105482, 2021.

Pelletier, J., Ngoma, H., Mason, N. M., and Barrett, C. B. Does smallholder maize intensification reduce deforestation? Evidence from Zambia. Global Environmental Change, 63:102127, 2020.

Pelletier, J., Gelinas, N., and Potvin, C. Indigenous perspective to inform rights-based conservation in a protected area of Panama. Land Use Policy, 83:297–307, 2019.

Pelletier, J., Chidumayo, E., Trainor, A., Siampale, A., and Mbindo, K. Distribution of tree species with high economic and livelihood value for Zambia. Forest Ecology and Management, 441:280–292, 2019.

Pelletier, J., Paquette, A., Zimba, N., Mbindo, K., Siampale, A., Chendauka, B., and Roberts, J. W. Carbon sink despite large deforestation in African tropical dry forests (miombo woodlands). Environmental Research Letters, 13(9):094017, 2018.

Pelletier, J., Horning, N., Laporte, N., Samndong, R. A., and Goetz, S. J. Anticipating social equity impacts in REDD+ policy design: An example from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Land Use Policy, 75:102–115, 2018.

Pelletier, J., Siampale, A., Legendre, P., Jantz, P., Laporte, N., and Goetz, S. J. Human and natural controls of the variation in aboveground tree biomass in African dry tropical forests. Ecological Applications, 27(5):1578–1593, 2017.

Pelletier, J., Gelinas, N., and Skutsch, M. The Place of Community Forest Management in the REDD+ Landscape. Forests, 7(8):170, 2016.

Pelletier, J. and Goetz, S. J. Baseline data on forest loss and associated uncertainty: advances in national forest monitoring. Environmental Research Letters, 10:021001, 2015.

Pelletier, J., Busch, J., and Potvin, C. Addressing uncertainty upstream or downstream of accounting for emissions reductions from deforestation and forest degradation. Climatic Change, 130(4):635–648, 2015.

Pelletier, J., Martin, D., and Potvin, C. REDD+ CO2 flux estimation and reporting for early actions: dealing with uncertainty. Environmental Research Letters, 8:034009, 2013.

Pelletier, J., Kirby, K. R., and Potvin, C. Significance of Carbon Stock Uncertainties on Emissions Reductions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in Developing Countries. Forest Policy and Economics, 24:3–11, 2012

Pelletier, J., Codjia, C., and Potvin, C. Traditional shifting agriculture: tracking forest carbon stock and biodiversity through time in western Panama. Global Change Biology, 18(12):3581–3595, 2012.

Sloan, S. P. and Pelletier, J. How accurately may we project tropical forest-cover change? A validation of a forward-looking baseline for REDD. Global Environmental Change, 22(2):440, 2012.

Pelletier, J., Ramankutty, N., and Potvin, C. Diagnosing the uncertainty and detectability of emission reductions for REDD+ under current capabilities: an example for Panama. Environmental Research Letters, 6:024005, 2011.

Oestreicher, J. S., Benessaiah, K., Ruiz-Jaen, M. C., Sloan, S., Turner, K., Pelletier, J., Guay, B., Clark, K. E., Roche, D. G., Meiners, M., and Potvin, C. Avoiding deforestation in Panamanian protected areas: An analysis of protection effectiveness and implications for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. Global Environmental Change, 19(2):279–291, 2009.

Autres publications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Pelletier, J., Maue, C., Karasalo, M., Jack, K., and Barrios, J. Remote sensing for impact evaluation of agriculture and natural resource management research: Guidelines for use in One CGIAR. Technical review, Standing Panel on Impact Assessment, Rome, 2023.

Jack, K., Walker, K., Moscona, B., Costedoat, S., Munoz Brenes, C., Carleton, T., Heilmar, R., and Pelletier, J. Integrating remote sensing and randomized controlled trials. Technical report, EmLab, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, US, 2023.

Mwampamba, T.H., Herzog, S., Pelletier, J., Kachaka, E.Y., Agyei, F., Aniston, A., Chinder, G., Mabele, M.B., Muvatsi, L.K., and Ramilanajorohavirelo, M. Are policies in Africa conducive to sustainability interventions in the charcoal sector? A preliminary assessment of 31 countries. Forestry Working Paper No. 36., FAO, Rome, Italy, 2022.

Pelletier, J. Evaluation of fire management interventions on the greenhouse gas emissions in the Kafue and West Lunga Ecosystems. Final report, The Nature Conservancy, Lusaka, Zambia, 2020.

Pelletier, J. Assessment of conservation agriculture intervention on greenhouse gas emissions in the Kafue and West Lunga Ecosystems. Final report, The Nature Conservancy, Lusaka, Zambia, 2020.

Ngoma, H., Pelletier, J., Mulenga, B. P., and Subakanya, M. Climate-Smart Agriculture, Cropland Expansion, and Deforestation in Zambia: Linkages, Processes, and Drivers. Working Paper No. 151, Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI), Lusaka, Zambia, 2019.

Pelletier, J. and Gélinas, N. Foresterie communautaire et la REDD+: obstacles et synergies. Synthesis, Institut EDS, Québec, Canada, 2012.