IGDC Member Spotlight - Eleanor Jew

Eleanor is a lecturer in Environment and Development within the Department of Environment and Geography. She is an interdisciplinary researcher who uses methods across the social and natural sciences to investigate relationships between human and environmental systems, and how they can be used to achieve development and conservation goals.

Eleanor did her undergraduate degree at the University of Leeds, where she undertook her dissertation research in Botswana, examining the role of ants as indicators of land use change. At the University of Oxford, Eleanor pursued an MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management, looking at wildlife utilisation in Zimbabwe. From here, she worked on conservation projects in Tanzania, Indonesia and Honduras which included the discovery of a new species of ant in Tanzania. After this practical work experience, Eleanor gained her PhD at the University of Leeds, examining the impact of tobacco cultivation on the miombo woodlands of south-west Tanzania. The findings of her research can be found in her 2017 article, "Tobacco hurts more than just your lungs - it damages the communities that grow it" in The Conversation.

Eleanor’s post-doctoral research examined the impact of the El Niño on farming systems in Malawi and her other research interests include land use management, wildlife utilisation, conservation agriculture, biodiversity indicators and ecosystem provision. Eleanor is currently working on a research project in Vietnam forests, looking at resilience to storms, as well as expanding her research on tobacco cultivation and household health within agricultural systems.

View Eleanor Jew's profile in the Research Database