About the Project
Supervisors: Prof. Mariana Rufino, Dr Fernando Espirito-Santo (Lancaster University, UK), Dr Paolo Cerutti (CIFOR, Kenya)
Montane forest ecosystems deliver valuable ecosystem services including food, feed, fiber, bioenergy and water. These services are necessary for the livelihoods of communities living in neighboring rural areas and urban centers. In Kenya and Uganda these forested mountains are referred to as ‘water towers.’ The Mau Forest Complex is the main water source for 12 rivers that feed into lakes Victoria, Natron and Turkana. The Mt Elgon forest, shared by Uganda and Kenya, is also an important water catchment, with rivers draining into Lake Turkana and Lake Victoria.
Both water towers face intense anthropogenic pressures: deforestation and conversion to other land uses, charcoal burning, encroachment for settlement and poor land management have undermined the ability of these landscapes to provide critical ecosystem services. Measures aimed at halting deforestation, and restoring tree cover have been instituted in the past decade by a range of stakeholders. However, the effectiveness of these measures in achieving sustainable forest and water management has not yet been evaluated.
This project aims to generate scientific evidence on the state of forest and water resources to be used to identify policy and practice options for improved management. The ultimate goal is to minimize or reverse forest degradation and sustain the delivery of related ecosystem services such as water. Objective: To test and implement a citizen science approach as a low-cost strategy for monitoring forest and water resources. Citizen science will be used not only to fill data and information gaps, but also to work collaboratively with communities to generate relevant management-oriented knowledge. This project will study forest disturbance of two tropical forests in Kenya (Western and SW Mau and Mt Elgon), and how this is related to hydrological functioning.
Specifically, the project will address the following aims:
1) To assess different models for citizen science in forest monitoring, 2) to evaluate the effectiveness in citizen science-based monitoring in the Western and SW Mau and in Mt Elgon, to support remote-sensing and field based methods, 3) To use the methods developed to estimate the impact of forest disturbance and tree cover on water provisioning.
Further information: http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/sci-tech/downloads/phd_308.pdf
Academic Requirements: Master’s degree in Forestry, Earth Environmental Sciences.
Deadline for applications: Midnight CET 28 February 2017
Provisional Interview Date: First week of March
Start Date: as soon as possible
For further information or informal discussion about the position, please send your CV and an email to Prof. Mariana Rufino ([Email Address Removed]) .
Application process: Please upload a completed application form (download from
http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/media/lancaster-university/contentassets/documents/lec/pg/LEC_Funded_PhD_Application_Form.docx)
outlining your background and suitability for this project and a CV at LEC Postgraduate Research Applications,
http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/graduate-school/phd/apply-online/.
You also require two references, please send the reference form (download from
http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/media/lancaster-university/contentassets/documents/lec/pg/LEC_Funded_PhD_Reference_Form.docx)
to your two referees and ask them to email it to Andy Harrod ([Email Address Removed]), Postgraduate Research (PGR) Coordinator,
Lancaster Environment Centre by the deadline.
Due to the limited time between the closing date and the interview date, it is essential that you ensure references are submitted by the closing date or as soon as possible.