NEW
Read an essay by Prof David Maddison, written for the University of Birmingham series of essays "Addressing the Climage Challenge: '
The Amenity Value of the Climate'
Prof Robert Elliott is part of the WM-Air team researching air pollution in the West Midlands. Air pollution in the West Midlands affects some 2.8 million people, reducing average life expectancy by up to 6 months, and is responsible for direct and indirect economic costs of several hundred million pounds per year. Air quality is therefore a key priority for local and regional government, and for the health and wellbeing of the region’s population. Find out more at WM-Air team
Prof Fiona Nunan (International Development Department) & Dr Brock Bersaglio (International Development Department) supervise PhD student Harriett Croome (see below)
Doctoral Research
Maria Teresa Gonzalez is a PhD student with the Forest Edge Doctoral Scholarship Programme and is supervised by Dr Allan Beltran and Prof David Maddison. Forests are a terrestrial carbon sink, a home to biodiversity, provide clean air etc. Forest fires threaten these ecosystem services and also pose physical danger to households located on the vicinity. The high and increasing economic costs of forest fires can be reduced if we have a better understanding on the factors shaping the perceived risk of households. By using satellite and house price data our research will identify the size and persistence of the impact of pure information effect on the perception of forest fire risk.
Harriet Croome - Focusing on interactions between Maasai pastoralists and African elephants in Laikipia, Kenya, my project aims to understand how elephant behaviours have changed with wildlife conservation initiatives in Mukogodo Forest. By relying on the experiences, observations, and understandings of Maasai pastoralists this project will provide insights into how changing human-nonhuman interactions associated with wildlife conservation initiatives can affect the material and ontological existence of dryland forests.
Previous Doctoral Research
Vilane Goncalves-Sales, had been looking at satellite monitoring of deforestation and the role of clouds in Maranhão, and is now working for the World Trade Institute. Vilane was supervised Prof Robert Elliott and Prof Eric Strobl.