Projects
Livelihood vulnerability and Human-wildlife interactions in Mozambique
Region: Quirimbas National Park, Niassa Special Reserve, Limpopo National Park, & overall country
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Objective: The general objective was to investigate the interactions between rural livelihoods, protected areas, and human-wildlife interactions in Mozambique. Two main conceptual frameworks underpinned my research: i) the Livelihood Vulnerability, which looks at the multidimensionality of livelihoods, which I used to assess whether households are impacted by HWI and in turn influence vulnerability and its dimensions; and ii) Social-Ecological Systems (SES) framework that I used to focus on the social-ecological relationships between PAs and their surrounding landscapes, and on the interactions between people’s vulnerability and livelihoods, management institutions, rules and norms that mediate how humans interact with the environment and wildlife.
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Methods: Qualitative methods such as interviews and questionnaires, and quantitative analysis such as social network analysis, text mining and clustering, generalized linear mixed modeling, and spatial data collection.
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Local Partners: ANAC, Lúrio University, WCS, Niassa Carnivore Project
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Project role: Project leader
Suitability of Revenues-sharing scheme for human-wildlife coexistence
Region: Worldwide, but with a focus on experiences from Mozambique
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Objective: This project goal is to provide a practical toolkit that can guide conservation practitioners, managers, and consultants to adjust or re-create the Revenues-sharing schemes (RSS) to adequately support the implementation of coexistence strategies more effectively and facilitate an environment where people feel emotionally and socially supported.
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Methods: Creation of a platform or forum of researchers, conservationists, and partners working either with RSS or in conservation areas with people and wildlife to further discuss solutions to improve the design, processes and structural implementation, and sustainability of the schemes. Social participatory methods and facilitation approaches will be used to collaboratively build practical guidelines to (re)-design an efficient RSS.
Partners: Niassa Carnivore Project, CoalitionWild EXCELarator Program
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Project Role: Project leader
Forest Certification as a tool to preserve vertebrates’ biodiversity in exotic forestry plantations
Region: Portugal and Brasil
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Objective: We aim to understand the motivations and attitudes of land owners and the general public towards Forest Certification, as societal demands have implications for how forests are used and managed. We aim to 1) assess dissimilarities in perceptions and motivations between certified and non-certified land owners; 2) understand landowners' and managers' attitudes towards biodiversity conservation and environmental management; 3) identify of benefits and types of cultural and recreational use of certified and non-certified forests.
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Methods: Interviews and questionnaires
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Local Partners: FCiências.ID, cE3c, Universidade Federal do Amapá, Navigator, Altri
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Project Role: Researcher collaborator
Capacity building towards the implementation of an EcoHealth framework in Mozambique
Region: Niassa Special Reserve and Maputo National Park
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Objective: Positively influence Quality of Life in Eastern Africa through capacity building, collaborative research, and knowledge transfer. Implementation of an outreach strategy towards mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts and improving communities' participation in landscape planning and management.
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Methods: Participatory methods
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Local Partners: Lúrio University, WCS-Moz, AGA KHAN
Project Role: Researcher collaborator
Vozes do Mar: engaging fishermen in plastic circularity
Region: Portugal, Cascais city
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Objective: Vozes do Mar's mission is to value fishermen's identity and co-create a circular economy system that rewards fishermen's efforts in collecting plastic from the sea.
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Methods: Co-design and co-implementation, focus groups, phone interviews, socio-cultural activities, creation of a social brand
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Partners: Movimento Claro, Cascais county council
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Project Role: Project co-leader