[meetyeti] Fully funded PhD fellowships in 'Forests and Nature for Society'
- From: YETI <meet.yeti@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: meetyeti <meetyeti@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 7 Jul 2012 09:07:36 +0530
Please reply directly to the post.
Hari
-------- Original Message --------
*Subject:*
Fully funded PhD fellowships in 'Forests and Nature for Society'
*Date:*
Mon, 25 Jun 2012 13:13:43 +0100
*From:*
Jones,Julia P G <afs403@xxxxxxxxxxxx> <afs403@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Organisation:*
Prifysgol Bangor University
*To:*
undisclosed-recipients:;
Dear all
Please can you forward this to any contacts potentially interested in fully
funded PhD fellowships in the general subject area of ‘Forests and
Nature for Society (FONASO)’. This includes social forestry, forest
science, forest management, forest conservation etc. There are
categories for people from within the EU or outside.
Thanks
Julia
Forests and Nature for Society, an EU funded PhD funding scheme has
launched its call for fully funded PhD fellowships to start Sept 2013.
Please have a look at the full list of topics on the FONASO website
(http://www.fonaso.eu/). I am co-supervising 5 of the proposed topics
(these are pasted below and atached in word format). If anyone is
interested in applying for my
topics I’d be interested in hearing from them. They should read the
FONASO website carefully 1st to check eligibility etc and then send me
a draft proposal (following FONASO guidelines) and a CV. The deadline
for full applications is 1st November 2012.
All the best
Julia
1.3 How does biodiversity contribute to the cultural services provided
by forests?
It is increasingly recognised that society gets many
benefits from ecosystems. Biodiversity in its broadest sense clearly
underpins the supply of these ecosystem services as without biodiversity
there would be no functioning ecosystems. However in a world where
anthropogenic activities are resulting in loss of biodiversity at
unprecedented levels, a much better understanding of the complex
linkages between changes in biodiversity and human welfare is urgently
needed. The importance of cultural services is increasingly recognised
as evidence mounts that people value nature highly, that exposure to
natural areas impacts wellbeing and that recreation in natural areas is
important to mental and physical health. However, the extent to which
biodiversity, rather than other environmental variables, influence the
cultural services provided by ecosystems such as forests is poorly
known. This project will include field work in at least three countries
(possibly including the UK, Denmark, Madagascar, Bangladesh or
Mauritius). Field work (involving choice experiments, analysis of
national geographical data sets on biodiversity and cultural services,
and semi-structured interviews) will aim to answer the following
questions: 1) To what extent do various aspects of biodiversity
influence the cultural services people obtain from forests? 2) How do
these patterns vary with cultural background? 3) How is this affected by
knowledge about biodiversity? Principal supervisor at Bangor
University Co-supervisor at University of Copenhagen
1.4 Maximising the potential of REDD+ to deliver biodiversity
co-benefits in tropical forest countries
Deforestation and degradation of forest ecosystems are important
sources of green-house gas emissions
world-wide. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
(REDD+) offers financial incentives for tropical forest countries to
reduce emissions from forested lands through forest conservation, forest
management or enhancement. Many forest ecosystems also harbour important
biodiversity and the growing voluntary market in REDD+ carbon credits
frequently uses co-benefits, such as biodiversity conservation, as part
of their marketing. Key research questions in this PhD include: 1) What
is the market for biodiversity-friendly credits and what elements of
biodiversity are valued by buyers? 2) How does the degree of congruence
between biodiversity and carbon stocks vary depending on the measure of
biodiversity used? 3) How does the cost of directly monitoring elements
of biodiversity of interest to buyers influence which co-benefits can be
marketed. This project will involve desk-based analysis, interviews with
buyers and other stakeholders, as well as field work in tropical forest
countries. Case studies will be finalised in associated with the
successful student but may include Madagascar or Costa Rica. Principal
supervisor at Bangor University Co-supervisor at University of Copenhagen
2.5 Reconciling community-based institutions with emerging
market-based mechanisms for forest management
Over the last two decades the key-role of community-based institutions
in sustainable
forest management has been increasingly recognised (e.g. the increasing
prevalence of policies such as Joint Forest Management and
Community-Forest Management in many countries). More recently, there has
been an explosion of interest in the potential of substantial financial
resources being made available for forest management through
market-based mechanisms, such as Reduced Emissions from Deforestation
and Degradation (REDD+). To effectively deliver avoided deforestation,
REDD+ activities need to be undertaken on the ground and strengthening
existing community-based institutions and related governance mechanisms
may be a valuable means to achieve this. Nevertheless, our understanding
of the extent to which existing institutions can be adapted to the
emerging market-based paradigm is limited. This PhD will use a
combination of literature-based analysis and field work in selected case
studies (for example in Madagascar, Costa-Rica, Indonesia) to
investigate whether and how community-based institutions are adapting to
new models of funding for forest management. Key research questions are:
a) the understanding of conditionality by community members; b) the
extent to which participatory monitoring by community institutions can
reduce the costs of verifying avoided deforestation or delivery of other
ecosystem services; c) how the scale of negotiations between community
institutions and intermediaries affects transaction costs and thus
cost-efficiency. Principal supervisor at University of Padua
Co-supervisor at Bangor University
3.1 Ecosystem effects of bushmeat hunting: Understanding the impacts
on tree recruitment and forest structure in tropical forests
The wider ecosystem effects of bushmeat hunting are not well understood. Many
mammal species are important agents of pollination, seed dispersal and
seed predation. Depletion and local extinction of larger and medium
sized mammals could therefore alter forest composition, structure,
productivity and ecosystem function, including in relation to carbon
storage. Research in South America confirms such effects. However,
although the impacts of bushmeat hunting have been widely demonstrated
in Africa, very limited attention has been paid to these wider ecosystem
effects. One well studied location is the Eastern Afromontane
biodiversity hotspot where existing data demonstrate a gradient of
hunting pressure between forest fragments of otherwise similar habitat
quality. We therefore propose using the Janzen-Connell model regarding
density- and distance-dependent plant recruitment success to study
spatial variation in seed and seedling density, diversity and condition
for selected tree species with known modes of seed dispersal and
socioeconomic importance in heavily hunted vs. non-hunted locations.
Data collection will be based on tree plots, seed traps and seed and
sapling examination and species identification. As well as contributing
to furthering our understanding of forest ecology, this project will
provide valuable information for hunting management and policy
development. Principal supervisor at University of Copenhagen.
Co-supervisor at Bangor University
3.9 Using individual-based simulations to model functional landscape
connectivity for multi-species corridor design in the tropics
The degree to which landscape connectivity is important for avoiding species
extinctions and for maintaining ecosystem functions is still
surprisingly poorly understood. While structural landscape connectivity
is relatively easy to quantify in a GIS, understanding functional
landscape connectivity from the perspective of species requires
understanding the behavioural response of individual animals to
landscape characteristics. In this project, we aim to use a
multi-species simulation approach to model functional landscape
connectivity for a tropical study area (Sumatra or Borneo are possible
choices but this will be finalized in discussion with the student). We
will use empirical data to parameterize individual-based simulations to
understand landscape influences on realized movement and gene flow
(potentially validating our models with landscape genetic data). Key
research aims are to: (i) develop a GIS database for quantifying
landscape attributes (i.e., landcover, landuse, topography etc.) that
will likely affect movement and gene flow in selected wildlife species;
(ii) use individual-based simulations to assess how landscape complexity
likely impedes or facilitates movement and gene flow in the different
species; (iii) use the resulting landscape models to identify corridor
areas that are particularly important for maintaining functional
landscape connectivity for multiple wildlife species in the study area.
Principal supervisor *at University of Göttingen Co-supervisor at
Bangor University
--
Dr Julia Jones
Senior lecturer in Conservation
School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography
Bangor University
Deniol Road
LL57 2UW
tel: +44 (0) 1248 382650
e-mail: julia.jones@xxxxxxxxxxxx
website: http://www.bangor.ac.uk/~afs403/
follow me on twitter @juliapgjones http://twitter.com/#!/juliapgjones
--
Rhif Elusen Gofrestredig / Registered Charity No. 1141565
Mae'r e-bost yma'n amodol ar delerau ac amodau ymwadiad e-bost Prifysgol
Bangor. Gellir darllen testun llawn yr ymwadiad yma:
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email disclaimer. The full text of the disclaimer can be read here:
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--
Dr Julia Jones
Senior lecturer in Conservation
School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography
Bangor University
Deniol Road
LL57 2UW
tel: +44 (0) 1248 382650
e-mail: julia.jones@xxxxxxxxxxxx
website: http://www.bangor.ac.uk/~afs403/
follow me on twitter @juliapgjones http://twitter.com/#!/juliapgjones
--
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