He was among 154 new fellows and 15 foreign honorary members recognized for their distinguished contributions to science, scholarship, public affairs and the arts. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences was founded in 1780 to cultivate the arts and sciences.
Members apply their diverse expertise to studies on issues of major intellectual and public concern.
The article has been described as a seminal work on the issue. Since then, he has conducted research focusing on tropical forest conservation and management. And, he has worked to find alternative approaches for sustainable management of tropical biodiversity, in part by forging alliances between scientists, government agencies in Mexico and indigenous populations to protect nature. One such effort is the El Eden Ecological Reserve on the northeast portion of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.