Profile

Biography

Adriana joined the teaching staff in 2011, following on from her PhD at York. Her research interests are predominantly in the human dimensions of biodiversity conservation, with a particular interest in human-wildlife conflicts and community participation in conservation initiatives. For her PhD Adriana examined links between conservation and society, focusing on invasive species in Australia, particularly conflicts surrounding deer management. Prior to her research at York, Adriana worked for a conservation and development project in Tanzania.

Career

Research

Current projects

Ecosystem Interactions 

Adriana is currently working on a Defra funded project on ecosystem services. This project explores the policy implications of the interactions between ecosystems and other socio-economic systems in producing the important services from which society benefits. It focuses agricultural land, rivers and wetlands, and urban areas, which have been identified as priority landscapes in the UK National Ecosystem Assessment (UKNEA). The research examines synergies and tradeoffs in ecosystem services provided by these systems.

The project uses a participatory approach, including a high-level policy workshop, to develop a conceptual model of the synergies and tradeoffs in ecosystem service provision, and local partnership workshops to convert the conceptual model to a functioning simulation model for two case study areas- the Humberhead Levels (which includes a Nature Improvement Area) and Tees Valley. A scenario-based approach is used to explore the implications of land use change for the delivery of multiple ecosystem services.

The project will provide improved understanding of how mixed-use landscapes can be managed to enhance multiple ecosystem services. Importantly, it will also provide a formal evaluation of the transferability of information on ecosystem service interactions between different areas.

Publications

Full publications list

• Ford-Thompson, A.E.S., Snell, C.J., Saunders, G. & White, P.C.L. 2012. Stakeholder participation in management of invasive vertebrates. Conservation Biology 26(2), 345-356
• White, P.C.L., Ford-Thompson, A.E.S., Snell, C.J. & Harris, S. (2011).  Economic, environmental and social dimensions of alien vertebrate species in Britain. Pages 129-176 in: Pimentel, D. (ed) Biological Invasions: Economic and Environmental Costs of Alien Plants, Animal and Microbe Species, 2nd edition.  CRC Press, Boca Raton.
• White, P.C.L., Ford, A.E.S., Clout, M.N., Engeman, R., Roy, S. & Saunders, G. 2008. Alien invasive vertebrates in ecosystems: pattern, process and the social dimension. Wildlife Research 35, 171–179.
• Ford, A.E.S. & Ball, S. 2007. Village forest set aside for sustainable harvesting, Oryx, 41 (2):2

Teaching

Undergraduate

• Environmental policy
• Economics for the environment
• Current topics in environmental economics and environmental management