Updated March 2010

2008-present

ETH Research Fellow

Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems

ETH Zürich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)

Mentor: Jaboury Ghazoul

2008-present

Honorary Research Associate

Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research

National University of Singapore

2004-2008

PhD in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Princeton University, USA

Advisor: David S. Wilcove

1999

Exchange Student

Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Cornell University, USA

2001-2004

MSc in Biology

Department of Biological Sciences

National University of Singapore

Advisor: Navjot S. Sodhi

1997-2001

BSc in Animal Biology (1st Class Honours)

Department of Biological Sciences

National University of Singapore

Advisors: Navjot S. Sodhi & Hugh T.W. Tan

Associate Faculty Member for

Faculty of 1000 Biology, Conservation and Restoration Ecology Section

Editorial Board Member for

Tropical Conservation Science (Regional Editor for Southeast Asia)

Biotropica (Subject Editor)

Endangered Species Research (Editor)

2004-present

Manuscript Reviewer for

Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Ecological Economics, Current Biology, Ecology Letters, PLoS One, Conservation Letters, Biology Letters, Journal of Applied Ecology, Conservation Biology, Biological Conservation, Auk, Oecologia, Diversity and Distributions, Biotropica, Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics, Environmental Science and Policy, Environmental Research Letters, Environmental Science and Technology,  Sustainability, Ecological Entomology, Ecological Research, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Austral Ecology

2009-2012

Swiss National Science Foundation

"Modeling Land Use for Decision Support in the Context of Biofuel Expansion"

Co-investigators: Jaboury Ghazoul & Lucy Rist (Budget: CHF 167,704)

2008-2010

ETH Fellowship

"Ecosystem and Societal Impacts of Biofuels" (Budget: CHF 208,300)

Janice S. H. Lee

PhD student (2009-2012)

"Modeling Land Use for Decision Support in the Context of Biofuel Expansion"

Co-supervisor: Jaboury Ghazoul

John Garcia-Ulloa

MSc student (2009-2010)

"Opportunity costs of REDD in Colombia in the context of oil palm agriculture"

Co-supervisor: Jaboury Ghazoul

Selected Media Features/ Reports

Can REDD make natural forests competitive with oil palm?

Lian Pin Koh & Rhett A. Butler

Tropical Forest Update – International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), Vol. 19 No. 1, January 2010

Sharing the burden of producing sustainable biofuels

Rhett A. Butler & Lian Pin Koh

The Jakarta Post (Indonesia), 12 January 2010

Profits at a 'naturally' hefty price

Lian Pin Koh

The Straits Times (Singapore), 14 November 2009

2010

An overhaul of the species-area approach for predicting biodiversity loss: incorporating matrix and edge effects

Lian Pin Koh, Tien Ming Lee, Navjot S. Sodhi & Jaboury Ghazoul

(in review)

A spatially-explicit scenario analysis for reconciling agricultural expansion, forest protection, and carbon conservation in Indonesia

Lian Pin Koh & Jaboury Ghazoul

(in review)

A REDD light for wildlife friendly farming

Jaboury Ghazoul, Lian Pin Koh & Rhett A. Butler

Conservation Biology, provisionally accepted

REDD: a reckoning of environment and development implications

Jaboury Ghazoul, Rhett A. Butler, Javier Mateo-Vega & Lian Pin Koh

Trends in Ecology & Evolution, revised manuscript in review

China, India and the environment

Kamaljit S. Bawa, Lian Pin Koh, Tien Ming Lee, Jianguo Liu, P.S. Ramakrishnan, Douglas W. Yu, Ya-ping Zhang & Peter H. Raven

Science, provisionally accepted

Conserving Southeast Asia's imperiled biodiversity - scientific, management, and policy challenges

Lian Pin Koh & Navjot S. Sodhi

Biodiversity and Conservation, in press

Addressing the threats to biodiversity from oil palm agriculture

David S. Wilcove & Lian Pin Koh

Biodiversity and Conservation, in press

Conserving Southeast Asian forest biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes

Navjot S. Sodhi, Lian Pin Koh, Reuben Clements, Thomas C. Wanger, Jane K. Hill, Keith C. Hamer, Yann Clough, Teja Tscharntke, Mary R. C. Posa & Tien Ming Lee

Biological Conservation, in press

Food security not (yet) threatened by declining pollination

Jaboury Ghazoul & Lian Pin Koh

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 8, 9-10

Improving the performance of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil for nature conservation

William F. Laurance, Lian Pin Koh, Rhett A. Butler, Navjot S. Sodhi, Corey J. A. Bradshaw, J. David Neidel, Hazel Consunji & Javier Mateo-Vega

Conservation Biology, in press

A matrix-calibrated species-area model for predicting biodiversity losses due to land use change

Lian Pin Koh & Jaboury Ghazoul

Conservation Biology, in press

Wash and spin cycle threats to tropical biodiversity

Lian Pin Koh, Jaboury Ghazoul, Rhett A. Butler, William F. Laurance, Navjot S. Sodhi, Javier Mateo-Vega & Corey J. A. Bradshaw

Biotropica, 43, 67-71

The state and conservation of Southeast Asian biodiversity

Navjot S. Sodhi, Mary Rose C. Posa, Tien Ming Lee, David Bickford, Lian Pin Koh & Barry W. Brook

Biodiversity and Conservation, 19, 317-328

2009

The biofuel potential of municipal solid waste

Allen Zihao Shi, Lian Pin Koh & Hugh T.W. Tan

Global Change Biology – Bioenergy 1, 317-320

Checking the reality check

Jaboury Ghazoul, Lian Pin Koh & Patrice Levang

Trends in Ecology & Evolution 25, 8-9

Biofuels: social benefits

Lucy Rist, Janice S. H. Lee & Lian Pin Koh

Science 326, 1344

Conversion of Indonesia's peatlands

Lian Pin Koh, Rhett A. Butler & Corey J. A. Bradshaw

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 7, 238

Calling Indonesia's US$13 billion bluff

Lian Pin Koh

Conservation Biology 23, 789

Designer landscapes for sustainable biofuels

Lian Pin Koh, Patrice Levang & Jaboury Ghazoul

Trends in Ecology & Evolution 24, 431-438

Oil palm: disinformation enables deforestation

Lian Pin Koh & David S. Wilcove

Trends in Ecology & Evolution 24, 67-68

REDD in the red: palm oil could undermine carbon payment schemes

Rhett A. Butler, Lian Pin Koh & Jaboury Ghazoul

Conservation Letters 2, 67-73

Butterfly species and traits associated with selectively logged forest in Borneo

Daniel F. R. Cleary, Martin J. Genner, Lian Pin Koh, Timothy J. B. Boyle, Titiek Setyawati, Rienk de Jong, Steph B. J. Menken

Basic and Applied Ecology 10, 237-245

A meta-analysis of the impact of anthropogenic forest disturbance on Southeast Asia's biotas

Navjot S. Sodhi, Tien Ming Lee, Lian Pin Koh & Barry W. Brook

Biotropica 41, 103-109

The sixth mass coextinction: are most endangered species parasites and mutualists?

Robert R. Dunn, Nyeema C. Harris, Robert K. Colwell, Lian Pin Koh & Navjot S. Sodhi

Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 276, 3037-3045

2008

Biofuels, biodiversity, and people: understanding the conflicts and finding opportunities

Lian Pin Koh & Jaboury Ghazoul

Biological Conservation 141, 2450-2460

Biofuels: waste not want not

Lian Pin Koh, Hugh T. W. Tan & Navjot S. Sodhi

Science 320, 1419

Can oil palm plantations be made more hospitable for forest butterflies and birds?

Lian Pin Koh

Journal of Applied Ecology 45, 1002-1009

Birds defend oil palms from herbivorous insects

Lian Pin Koh

Ecological Applications 18, 821-825

Is oil palm agriculture really destroying tropical biodiversity?

Lian Pin Koh & David S. Wilcove

Conservation Letters 1, 60-64

Correlates of extinction proneness in tropical angiosperms

Navjot S. Sodhi, Lian Pin Koh , Kelvin S. -H. Peh, Hugh T. H. Tan, Robin L. Chazdon, Richard T. Corlett, Tien Ming Lee, Robert K. Colwell, Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Barry W. Brook & Cagan H. Sekercioglu

Diversity and Distributions 14, 1-10

Measuring the meltdown: drivers of global amphibian extinction and decline

Navjot S. Sodhi, David Bickford, Arvin C. Diesmos, Tien Ming Lee, Lian Pin Koh, Barry W. Brook, Cagan H. Sekercioglu & Corey J. A. Bradshaw

PLoS One 3, e1636

2007

Cashing in palm oil for conservation

Lian Pin Koh & David S. Wilcove

Nature 448, 993-994

Potential habitat and biodiversity losses from intensified biodiesel feedstock production

Lian Pin Koh

Conservation Biology 21, 1373-1375

Impending disaster or sliver of hope for Southeast Asian forests? The devil may lie in the details

Lian Pin Koh

Biodiversity and Conservation 16, 3935-3938

Impacts of land use change on South-east Asian forest butterflies: a review

Lian Pin Koh

Journal of Applied Ecology 44, 703-713

Unreported yet massive deforestation driving loss of endemic biodiversity in Indian Himalaya

Maharaj K. Pandit, Navjot S. Sodhi, Lian Pin Koh, Arun Bhaskar & Barry W. Brook

Biodiversity and Conservation 16, 153-163

Predation on artificial nests and caterpillars in Subic Bay, Philippines

Mary Rose C. Posa, Navjot S. Sodhi & Lian Pin Koh

Journal of Tropical Ecology 23, 27-33

2006

Rapid assessment of Lepidoptera predation rates in neotropical forest fragments

Lian Pin Koh & Duncan N. L. Menge

Biotropica 38,132-134

Southeast Asian birds in peril

Navjot S. Sodhi, Lian Pin Koh & Barry W. Brook

Auk 123, 275-277

Importance of reservoirs for the conservation of freshwater molluscs in a tropical urban landscape

Reuben Clements, Lian Pin Koh, Tien Ming Lee, Rudolf Meier & Daiqin Li

Biological Conservation 128, 136-146

Momentum drives the crash: mass extinction in the tropics

Barry W. Brook, Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Lian Pin Koh & Navjot S. Sodhi

Biotropica 38, 302-305

Biodiversity and human livelihood crises in the Malay Archipelago

Navjot S. Sodhi, Thomas M. Brooks, Lian Pin Koh, Greg Acciaioli, Maribeth Erb, Alan Khee-Jin Tan, Lisa M. Curran, Peter Brosius, Tien Ming Lee, Jason M. Patlis, Melvin Gumal & Robert J. Lee

Conservation Biology 20, 1811-1813

Long-term avifaunal impoverishment in an isolated tropical woodlot

Navjot S. Sodhi, Tien Ming Lee, Lian Pin Koh & Dewi M. Prawiradilaga

Conservation Biology 20, 772-779

2005

Importance of reserves, fragments and parks for butterfly conservation in a tropical urban landscape

Lian Pin Koh & Navjot S. Sodhi

Ecological Applications 14, 1695-1708

Response to Hau et al.: Beyond Singapore: Hong Kong and Asian biodiversity

Navjot S. Sodhi, Lian Pin Koh, Barry W. Brook & Peter K. L. Ng

Trends in Ecology & Evolution 20, 282-283

Land use and conservation value for forest birds in central Sulawesi

Navjot S. Sodhi, Lian Pin Koh, Dewi M. Prawiradilaga, Darjono, Idris Tinulele, Dadang Dwi Putra & Tommy Han Tong Tan

Biological Conservation 122, 547-558

A century of avifaunal losses from a small tropical rainforest fragment

Navjot S. Sodhi, Tien Ming Lee, Lian Pin Koh & Robert R. Dunn

Animal Conservation 8, 217-222

Effects of habitat disturbance on mixed species bird flocks in a tropical sub-montane rainforest

Tien Ming Lee, Malcolm Chu Keong Soh, Navjot S. Sodhi, Lian Pin Koh & Susan L. -H. Lim

Biological Conservation 122, 193-204

2004

Ecological correlates of extinction proneness in tropical butterflies

Lian Pin Koh, Navjot S. Sodhi & Barry W. Brook

Conservation Biology 18, 1571-1578

Species co-extinctions and the biodiversity crisis

Lian Pin Koh, Robert R. Dunn, Navjot S. Sodhi, Robert K. Colwell, Heather C. Proctor & Vincent S. Smith

Science 305, 1632-1634

Co-extinctions of tropical butterflies and their host plants

Lian Pin Koh, Navjot S. Sodhi & Barry W. Brook

Biotropica 36, 272-274

Southeast Asian biodiversity: an impending disaster

Navjot S. Sodhi, Lian Pin Koh, Barry W. Brook & Peter K. L. Ng

Trends in Ecology & Evolution 19, 654-660

Factors affecting Sarcocystis infection of rats on small tropical islands

Ilan Paperna, Kelvin S.-H Peh, P. Martelli, Lian Pin Koh & Navjot S. Sodhi

Ecological Research 19, 475-483

2002

Factors affecting the distribution of vascular plants, springtails, butterflies and birds on small tropical islands

Lian Pin Koh, Navjot S. Sodhi, Hugh T.W. Tan & Kelvin S. -H. Peh

Journal of Biogeography 29, 93-108

Biofuel expansion in Southeast Asia: a convoluted tale of food, fuel, people and climate (2010, expected)

Lian Pin Koh

in Socioeconomic and Environmental Impacts of Biofuels in Developing Nations

(edited by Per Stromberg & Alexandros Gasparatos), United Nations University-Institute of Advanced Studies, Tokyo

Impacts of biofuel expansion in biodiversity hotspots (2010, expected)

Janice S. H. Lee, John Garcia-Ulloa & Lian Pin Koh

in Biodiversity Hotspots

(edited by Frank Zachos & Jan C. Habel), Springer, New York

Conservation in human-modified landscapes (2009)

Lian Pin Koh & Toby A. Gardner

in Conservation Biology for All

(edited by Navjot S. Sodhi & Paul R. Ehrlich), Oxford University Press

Importance of protected areas for butterfly conservation in a tropical urban landscape (2007)

Lian Pin Koh

in Biodiversity and Human Livelihoods in Protected Areas: Case Studies from the Malay Archipelago

(edited by Navjot S. Sodhi, Greg Acciaioli, Maribeth Erb & Alan K. -J. Tan), Cambridge University Press

2009

Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation

Annual Meeting (Marburg, Germany), July

Invited talk: "REDD in the Red: Palm Oil Could Undermine Carbon Payment Schemes"

Kunming Institute of Zoology-The Chinese Academy of Sciences

Summer School in Evolutionary Genetics (Kunming-Yunnan, China), July

Invited lecture: "Is Oil Palm the Biggest Threat to Southeast Asia's Biodiversity?"

Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden-The Chinese Academy of Sciences

Advanced Field Ecology and Conservation Course (Menglun-Yunnan, China), July

Invited lecture: "Save the Carbon, Save the World? Can REDD Rescue Forests from the Evil Clutches of Oil Palm Tycoons"

Society for Conservation Biology

23rd Annual Meeting (Beijing, China), July

Invited talk: "Is Oil Palm the Biggest Threat to Southeast Asia's Biodiversity?"

Environmental Leadership & Training Initiative–National University of Singapore

Conference on "Biofuels: the Impact of Oil Palm on Forests and Climate" (Singapore), May

Invited talk: "REDD in the Red: Palm Oil Could Undermine Carbon Payment Schemes"

National Museum of Natural History, Luxembourg

Symposium on Biodiversity Hotspots: Evolution and Conservation, March

Talk: "Impacts of Biofuels on Southeast Asian Biodiversity Hotspots"

Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation

3rd Asian Chapter Meeting (Chiang Mai, Thailand), February

Invited talk: "Save the Carbon, Save the World? Can REDD Rescue Forests from the Evil Clutches of Oil Palm Magnates"

2008

40th Session of the World Federation of Scientists

Erice International Seminars on Planetary Emergencies (Sicily, Italy)

Invited talk: "Habitat and Biodiversity Losses from Biofuels: Lessons from Southeast Asia"

Society for Conservation Biology

22nd Annual Meeting (Chattanooga, Tennessee)

Talk: "The Oil Palm Conundrum: How Oil Palm Agriculture Affects Tropical Biodiversity and What Can We Do About It"

Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation

2nd Asian Chapter Meeting (Kuching, Malaysia)

Talk: "The Oil Palm Conundrum: How Oil Palm Agriculture Affects Tropical Biodiversity and What Can We Do About It"

Malaysian Palm Oil Council

International Palm Oil Sustainability Conference (Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia)

Plenary talk: "Biodiversity and Oil Palm: Understanding the Conflicts and Finding Opportunities for Cooperation"

2007

Conservation International

Brown Bag Seminar Series (Arlington, Virginia)

Invited talk: "The Oil Palm Conundrum: How Oil Palm Agriculture Affects Tropical Biodiversity and What Can We Do About It"

Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation

1st Asian Chapter Meeting (Chennai, India)

Talk: "Can Bornean Oil Palm Plantations Be Made More Hospitable for Biodiversity"

2006

Society for Conservation Biology

20th Annual Meeting (San Jose, California)

Poster: "Co-extinctions and the Biodiversity Crisis"

American Museum of Natural History

Center for Biodiversity and Conservation's 11th Annual Spring Symposium (New York City)

Poster: "Long-term Extinction Patterns in the Avifauna of an Isolated Tropical Woodlot in a Human-dominated Landscape"

National Institute for Basic Biology

Okazaki Biology Conference (Okazaki, Japan)

Poster: "Species Co-extinctions: Till Death Do Us Part?"

2005

National University of Singapore

Workshop on "Conservation For and By Whom?

Invited talk: "Importance of Protected Areas for Butterfly Conservation in a Tropical Urban Landscape"

2004

Society for Conservation Biology

18th Annual Meeting (University of Columbia, New York City)

Invited talk: "Butterfly Conservation in a Tropical Urban Landscape"

National Institute for Basic Biology

Okazaki Biology Conference (Okazaki, Japan)

Poster & talk: "Predicting Extinction Proneness of Southeast Asian Tropical Butterflies"