Bio

Hilary Brumberg (she/her) is a PhD student in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER) at Stanford. She is an interdisciplinary environmental scientist, conservation practitioner, and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow (NSF GRFP) with extensive experience researching and implementing Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) across the tropics. She studies socioeconomic, financial, political, and ecological dimensions of NCS implementation. Hilary spent four years managing community-based restoration projects while living at a research station deep in the Costa Rican rainforest, originally as a Princeton in Latin America Fellow. She has consulted for diverse international conservation organizations, including The Nature Conservancy (TNC), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and the Governors' Forest and Climate Task Force. Her work has been featured in National Geographic, Living on Earth on NPR, Mongabay Latam, and NASA DEVELOP. Hilary holds an M.S. in Environmental Studies with a Data Science Statistics Certificate from the University of Colorado Boulder as a USDA NNF Fellow, as well as a B.A. in Earth Science and Spanish from Wesleyan University.

Contact

  • Academic
    hbrum@stanford.edu
    University - Student Department: Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources Position: Graduate

Additional Info

All Publications

  • Global analysis of constraints to natural climate solution implementation. PNAS nexus Brumberg, H., Hegwood, M., Eichhorst, W., LoPresti, A., Erbaugh, J. T., Kroeger, T. 2025; 4 (6): pgaf173

    Abstract

    Natural climate solutions (NCS) could provide over one-third of the climate mitigation needed between now and 2030 to limit warming below 2°C and support the Sustainable Development Goals. However, large disparities persist between the estimated biophysical climate mitigation potential (CMP) of NCS and their actual implementation. Social, political, informational, and economic factors contribute to this gap, but the spatial distribution of these constraints and their impacts on different NCS pathways remains poorly understood. Understanding these constraints is especially important due to the large uncertainties in NCS CMP and growing research on spatial prioritization of NCS, often based only on biophysical criteria. We identified and mapped nonbiophysical constraints to NCS implementation efficacy by conducting a systematic review of recent peer-reviewed literature across 10 high-CMP NCS pathways. From 1,821 papers, we identified 352 that provided 2,480 observations of 39 unique constraints from 135 countries. We mapped the spatial distribution of these constraints and analyzed patterns across NCS pathways and geographic classifications. Lack of funding, insufficient information on NCS management, and ineffective policies emerged as the most common constraints globally. However, each pathway and geography faced a distinct suite of interrelated constraints spanning multiple categories. These findings highlight the need for context-specific, equitable solutions, likely requiring transdisciplinary approaches and cross-sectoral collaborations. The results could also help increase accuracy of NCS CMP estimates. We discuss how adaptive management may be used for NCS initiatives at any scale to proactively diagnose co-occurring constraints at each implementation phase and to develop integrated, place-based solutions.

    View details for DOI 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf173

    View details for PubMedID 40575699

  • Human interference with wildlife surveys: a case study from camera-trapping road underpasses in Costa Rica ORYX Flatt, E., Brumberg, H., Hidalgo, M., Whitworth, A. 2025

    View details for DOI 10.1017/S0030605324000097

    View details for Web of Science ID 001424006600001

  • Increasing Forest Cover and Connectivity Both Inside and Outside of Protected Areas in Southwestern Costa Rica REMOTE SENSING Brumberg, H., Furey, S., Bouffard, M. G., Quiros, M., Murayama, H., Neyestani, S., Pauline, E., Whitworth, A., Madden, M. 2024; 16 (6)

    View details for DOI 10.3390/rs16061088

    View details for Web of Science ID 001193012500001

  • Climate-resilient conservation strategies for an endemic forest bird, the Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager JOURNAL OF FIELD ORNITHOLOGY Newcombe, P. B., Forsyth, A., Brumberg, H., Whitworth, A. 2023; 94 (2)

    View details for DOI 10.5751/JFO-00250-940202

    View details for Web of Science ID 001007403000005

  • Arboreal wildlife bridges in the tropical rainforest of Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula FOLIA PRIMATOLOGICA Flatt, E., Basto, A., Pinto, C., Ortiz, J., Navarro, K., Reed, N., Brumberg, H., Chaverri, M., Whitworth, A. 2022; 93 (3-6): 419-435

    View details for DOI 10.1163/14219980-20211109

    View details for Web of Science ID 000912166400017

  • Riparian buffer length is more influential than width on river water quality: A case study in southern Costa Rica. Journal of environmental management Hilary, B., Chris, B., North, B. E., Angelica Maria, A. Z., Sandra Lucia, A. Z., Carlos Alberto, Q. G., Beatriz, L. G., Rachael, E., Andrew, W. 2021; 286: 112132

    Abstract

    Riparian zones are one of the most productive ecosystems in the world, but are at risk due to agricultural expansion and climate change. To maximize return on conservation investment in mixed-use landscapes, it is important to identify the minimum intact riparian forest buffer sizes to conserve riparian ecosystem services. The minimum riparian forest buffer width necessary to maintain tropical river water quality remains unclear, and there is little analysis of effective riparian buffer lengths. Also, in studies on the effect of land use on river water quality globally, there is little standardization in the area where land use is analyzed. Here, these challenges were addressed in the Osa Peninsula in southwestern Costa Rica. Water quality parameters and social variables were sampled at 194 locations across the region. For each sample, land use was calculated in nine different riparian buffer sizes and at the sampling location. Riparian forest cover had a positive effect on water quality parameters, while agricultural cover had a negative effect. The longer the length of the buffer considered, the greater the relative support for influencing water quality (1000 m > 500 m > 100 m). All buffer widths yielded similar support within each length class. These results indicate that length of riparian forest buffers, not width, drives their ability to conserve water quality. While wide and long riparian forests are ideal to maximize the protection of river water quality and other ecosystem services, in landscapes where that is impractical, the 15-m-wide riparian forest buffers that are supported by Costa Rican legislation could improve water quality, providing that they are at least 500 m long. The results also indicate the importance of methodological standardization in studies that monitor land use effects on water quality. The authors propose that studies in similar regions analyze land use in riparian zones 15-m-wide by 1000 m upstream. Conserving and restoring narrow, long riparian forest buffers could provide a rapid, economical management approach to balance agricultural production and water quality protection.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112132

    View details for PubMedID 33621848

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2514-1411