My research aims to help make conservation more effective so that it delivers better outcomes for both people and nature. I do this by developing and advancing methods for evaluating conservation policy and practice. I am both interested in ex-post evaluations with existing (almost inevitably flawed) designs and data, but I am even more interested in looking forward and finding opportunities to design interventions and data collection in parallel to allow a clearer understanding of "is conservation working"?

I am interested in nature markets (especially REDD+, BNG, biodiversity credits), reconciling conservation and developments (especially infrastructure projects), and local costs of conservation.

I have a strong interest in Madagascar where I have worked, with many Malagasy colleagues, for 24 years on issues around conservation and development.

I co-lead the College of Environmental Science and Engineering research theme on Conservation and Restoration of Resilient Ecosystems.

I am on the board of WWF-UK.

I serve on the board of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, which advises the UK and devolved governments on nature conservation where I co-chair the Chief Scientists Group of the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies. 

I am currently the Prince Bernhard Chair in International Nature Conservation at Utrecht University. The Prince Bernhard Chair (funded by WWF-The Netherlands) is appointed for a term of five years. The purpose of the Chair is to serve international nature conservation through strengthening the link between conservation science and practice, while opening new avenues for multidisciplinary approaches. You can watch my inaugural lecture here.

I was the director of the Sêr Cymru Low Carbon Energy and Environment Research Network Wales.

I served on the advisory board of Sounds Right (a collaboration between Spotify and UN-Live to all Nature to collect royalties from her creation).

Contact details: Thoday Building, Deniol Road, Bangor University, LL57 2UW, 01248 382650

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email: [email protected]

I am PI of 'Conservation Agreements in the Comores: Evidence-informed forest conservation and restoration for people and biodiversity' (funded by the Darwin Initiative Innovation fund and International Science Partnership Fund). This project is in collaboration with the Comorian conservation NGO Dahari.

I was PI of the Forest4Climate&People project which was funded by the CLARE programme (UKAid). The aim is to ensure forest carbon programmes are more effective (can lock up more carbon) and pro-poor (contribute to poverty alleviation and avoid avoid negative impacts). This project is continuing as MIRARI (lead by Sarobidy Rakotonarivo).

I am PI of the GCRF-funded project 'The perfect invader? Exploring impacts on human health from a rapidly invading crustacean in one of the world’s poorest countries'.

I was director of the Sêr Cymru National Research Network for Low Carbon, Energy and Environment. We worked with the Welsh Government and partner universities to support Wales’ world-leading research in low carbon energy, nature-based solutions to environmental challenges, the bioeconomy, and sustainable food production.

I was a co-I of the Nature4SDGs project which was funded by NERC and research councils in Sweden and India. We used multiple existing datasets to explore the relationship between nature and wellbeing, and how this varies for different people in varied parts of the Global South.

I was the PI of the p4ges project (can paying 4 global ecosytstem services reduce poverty?). Our central research question was: Can capturing global benefits from ecosystems (specifically carbon sequestration/storage and biodiversity) reduce poverty in low income countries, given bio-physical, economic and political realities? Our aim was to influence the development and implementation of international ecosystem service payment schemes such as REDD+ in the interests of poverty alleviation.

I was PI of The Leverhulme Trust and Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)-funded research project: "Can payment for ecosystem services deliver environmental and livelihood benefits?" The project was a three-year-long series of investigations in collaboration with local NGO partners in Bolivia and Madagascar. Our aim was to provide research to inform the development and implementation of ecosystem service payment schemes as well as other incentive-based approaches so as to maximise their potential in contributing to environmental conservation and improving the welfare of local people.

I teach the modules DXX1002: Environmental Management and Conservation; ENS 4402: Interdisciplinary Conservation Science; DXX3304: Tropical Conservation Management (Madagascar field course); DXX3510/11 Advances in Conservation