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I am an environmental and resource economist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at Portland State University. I serve as Director of the Institute for Economics and the Environment and Undergraduate Committee Chair for the Department of Economics. I also hold a courtesy Research Advisor position at IUCN-Sri Lanka and serve as an Associate Editor of Environment and Development Economics.
My research focuses on ecosystem services, land and marine conservation, climate change, and environmental policy. I use choice experiment surveys to understand public preferences and values, spatial optimization models to guide conservation and resource allocation, experimental methods to study behavior and policy, and carbon accounting methods to assess environmental impacts. I work with communities, practitioners, and public agencies to connect this research with environmental decisions.
My recent and ongoing projects examine post-wildfire watershed management, coastal climate adaptation, urban greenspace access and environmental justice, nature prescriptions and health, Indigenous land tenure, and the cultural and spiritual values associated with ecosystems. I also work on industrial decarbonization and the carbon footprints of industrial hemp and organizations. I am currently leading a U.S. Forest Service-funded project that combines watershed modeling and spatial optimization to guide post-wildfire land management and protect water quality.
Sahan has published 38 peer-reviewed journal articles and six book chapters, and his work has received more than 1,000 citations. His research has been supported by over $1.4 million in grant funding.In 2025, PSU’s College of Urban and Public Affairs recognized him with its Researcher of the Year Award. Read more about his research, impact, and background.
Recent Publications
Dissanayake, S. T. M., Bluffstone, R., Kennedy, J., & Kline, J. D. (2026). Urban greenspace and environmental justice: A conceptual framework and analysis of use, preferred amenities, and barriers in Portland, Oregon. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 124, 129601.
Bluffstone, R., Chan, M., Cox, C., Davis, M. M., Dickinson, C., Dissanayake, S. T. M., Kline, J. D., Carrera López, C., Ojha, H., Stokes, S., Thosar, S. S., & Vedantam, S. (2025). Evaluating nature-based versus generic physical activity programs to address chronic health conditions: Lessons from an Oregon (USA) pilot study. Forests, 16(5), 752.
Dissanayake, S. T. M., & Shah, P. (2024). Land conservation and climate change. In T. Lundgren, M. Bostian, & S. Managi (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Energy, Natural Resource, and Environmental Economics (2nd ed., pp. 289-298). Elsevier
Blackman A., Dissanayake S. T. M., Martinez Cruz A. (2024) The benefits of titling indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon: A stated preference approach. Land Economics. 38(2).
Dissanayake S. T. M. and S. Jacobson (2023), "An Absolute Giant in the Classroom:" What We Can Learn from Thomas Tietenberg about Teaching, International Review of Env and Res Economics. 17(4) 481-500
Dissanayake S. T. M., Vidanage S. (2023). Valuing ecosystem services from restoring ancient irrigation systems: An application comparing labor vs. monetary payments for choice experiments. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review. 52(2), 422-449.
D. LaFave, A. D. Beyene, R. Bluffstone, S. T. M. Dissanayake, Z. Gebreegziabher, A. Mekonnen, M. Toman. (2021) Impacts of Improved Biomass Cookstoves on Child and Adult Health: Experimental Evidence from Rural Ethiopia. World Development. V-140, 105332
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