ARIES-SeNSS joint studentship competition for an October 2023 start

Project title: Coconut & conservation: Environmental and social sustainability of coconut farming in tropical countries

The ARIES-SeNSS studentship competition is OPEN for applications for those wishing to start their studies in October 2023.

Project background

Coconut farming contributes to the livelihoods of millions of people in tropical countries, but rarely features in discussions about biodiversity threats or sustainability. Preliminary work identified coconut as a crop with potentially significant impacts on wildlife because palms are mainly grown on tropical islands and/or coastal areas with high levels of species diversity and endemism. While coconut is generally grown at smallholder scales, cumulative areas are vast. Yet, compared to other tropical crops such as oil palm, very little is known about coconut’s roles in deforestation and biodiversity loss, or livelihoods and human well-being. This PhD will address this through an interdisciplinary study of coconut farming impacts on wildlife and people.

The student will implement some of the first research in Indonesia to quantify the biodiversity value of coconut farms relative to other relevant land-uses (e.g. corn, oil palm, rice). They will conduct biodiversity surveys of birds and/or other indicator taxa using standard methods, and have the option to investigate differences among various production practices.

Working with established social scientists at Kent, Surrey and Universitas Indonesia, the student will also investigate the contributions of coconut farming to the incomes and livelihoods of local communities. They will document the extent to which people are reliant on coconut compared to other crops and livelihood options, and characterise levels of multidimensional poverty in coconut farming villages. They will be able to adapt the case-study to their strengths to help understand the role coconut farming has in – for example – environmental incomes, food security and/or poverty alleviation. Surveys will be undertaken by local researchers, but the student will need to design the study and analyse the data.

Efforts are underway to map coconut farms across the tropical world. The student will combine this map with their ecological and social datasets and other map products (e.g. IUCN range maps, national census data) to help estimate the scaled-up effects of coconut farming on wildlife and people. The research will help inform changes to practices in sustainability certification standards via a partnership with Chester Zoo.

Essential and/or desirable attributes/skills

The successful candidate will be familiar with ecological and social dimensions of sustainability, have strong analytical skills (including GIS), and ideally some experience of tropical fieldwork.

Why apply?

You will:

• Get paid to study! The studentship award, which is open to both home and international applicants, covers your university fees, and provides you with a stipend (salary) of £17,668 per year (2022-23 rate). This funding allows you to focus on your research for 3.5 years. You may study either part- or full-time.
• Work on an innovative inter-disciplinary topic and obtain a PhD.
• Work alongside expert academic supervisors from disciplines which cut across the environmental and social sciences.
• Join a friendly community of postgraduate researchers.
• Have access to fantastic training opportunities and funding not only in your specific field, but also broader academic training.
• Develop a range of important employability skills, enabling you to work in, amongst others, industry, government, an NGO, or in academia.

How do I make an application?

• Contact the primary supervisor, Dr Matthew Struebig (m.j.struebig@kent.ac.uk), for an informal discussion to determine if this is the right project for you, and you for it.
• Apply directly to the University of Kent via the button below. The deadline for applications is 23.59 GMT on 11 January 2023.
• As part of your application, you will be required to provide Equality and Diversity information. The information you provide will be used solely for monitoring and statistical purposes; it will remain confidential, and will be stored on the University of East Anglia server. Click here for UEA’s GDPR statements.
• For any queries relating to the application process, please contact ARIES DTP (aries.dtp@uea.ac.uk).