Congratulations to this year’s recipients of our Environment and Sustainability Research Grants, Dr Agatha Herman, Dr Thomas Smith and Dr Max Martin.
Dr Agatha Herman, from Cardiff University, will be working with local communities in Tanzania to better understand the opportunities and challenges in promoting socially just and environmentally sustainable mining practices. Looking specifically at tanzanite mining and production, Dr Herman will combine interviews, site tours and focus groups to gain an understanding of the different land rights and claims across tanzanite production, the extent to which gemstone production supports sustainable livelihoods, and how the future of gemstone production is envisaged by local communities.
Dr Thomas Smith, from the London School of Economics and Political Science, will be looking at how tropical peatland greenhouse gas emissions respond in the immediate aftermath of a fire. Working in Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, Dr Smith will measure the immediate post-fire greenhouse gas emissions and investigate the evolution of these emissions through the post-recovery period of the burnt site. This research will fill an important gap in current knowledge, which has so far focused on greenhouse gas emissions during a fire and monitoring emissions on sites over longer time periods.
Dr Max Martin of the University of Sussex will be investigating how weather forecasts are used by traditional fishers on the Arabian Sea coast of southern Kerala in India. Working with a variety of fishers, including free divers, those that use motorised boats, and those who spend longer trips in international waters, Dr Martin will identify the main weather-related hazards they face and how marine weather forecasts are used to identify uncertain conditions.
Each year, the Environment and Sustainability Research Grants offer three awards of £15,000 to researchers who are within 10 years of completing their PhD and undertaking projects that investigate some of the bigger issues of environmental sustainability. Find out more.
Our grants programme supports over 60 projects across the world every year. Are you seeking funding for fieldwork? Find a grant.