AUCA professor visited Stanford

March 31, 2016

Between March 21 and 25, 2016, an assistant professor of Economics Department Rahat Sabyrbekov participated in a conference at Stanford University in the US. He told us about this trip in a short interview below.

What was the main topic of the conference?

The conference was devoted to Natural Capital. The concept of natural capital is very simple: it is a natural stock of assets including soil, air, flora and fauna. However, it was very complex system that requires a multidisciplinary approach.

Do you think “Natural Capital” is applicable to the Kyrgyz Republic?

Yes, certainly. Advanced countries acknowledge the necessity of accounting for natural capital and a lot of work has been done regarding this, including in the US, the UK and in many other countries. The Kyrgyz Republic is part of international conventions, and the government has taken the initial steps to fully accounting for natural capital and ecosystem services assessment.  Ecosystem services valuation methods are in particular what my PhD dissertation discusses, so it was very exciting to see what’s been done at Stanford and other leading institutions.

What was specifically interesting for you? Did you have a chance to get feedback from your Stanford colleagues?

Well, I do ecosystem assessment in various locations in Kyrgyzstan, so I was mainly interested in data processing and experimental economic valuation tools. During the meeting I learned a lot about the use of GIS in addition to valuation. I was very excited to learn about how open API databases can be used for the assessment and mapping of recreational ecosystem services. We have agreed that we would keep in touch and maybe implement some new methods here in the Kyrgyz Republic.

What do you think about Stanford University in general?

It is amazing to be at one the of the top universities in the world. It was fantastic to find out that Nobel Laureate in Economics, Kenneth Arrow, was one of the speakers at the conference. Later, I found out there are actually twenty-one current faculty members at Stanford who are Nobel Laureates.

The university itself looks like more a huge resort with its huge palms and green lawns. It has twenty libraries and about 700 major buildings. 

What did you think of Stanford students?

Unfortunately, I did not meet any students directly, but I saw a few in campus coffee shops. They were always writing or reading something. I guess it is very hard to be a Stanford student.

<< go to news list