Nick Hill |
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An ecologist by background, my interest lies in the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. This interest has led me to pursue a greater understanding of the socio-economics of resource exploitation if we are to develop successful conservation strategies. Nowhere is this more true than in situations of poverty. Tropical marine resources are harvested primarily in a context of extreme poverty. In an attempt to deal with this issue, much conservation effort has focused on no-take zones and marine protected areas, which face their own particular management problems. However, the success of fisheries management will ultimately depend on what happens outside of these protected areas. My PhD investigates the relationships between livelihoods and fishing behaviour. I believe that a better understanding of this relationship will enable more successful management interventions to reduce fishing pressure in areas where poverty is frequently higher on the political agenda than conservation. By linking conservation to livelihoods, we are likely to be much better able to achieve conservation goals. |
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| Current research | |||
In investigating the relationship between livelihoods and fishing behaviour, I’m focusing on the role of “alternative” livelihoods in reducing pressure on marine resources. Once a popular focus for conservation efforts as a component of Integrated Conservation and Development Projects, they have received much criticism for achieving development goals at the expense of conservation goals. Seaweed farming is a good example of such an alternative livelihood. It is still promoted in some parts of the world as an ecologically benign activity that can help reduce poverty and entice people out of fishing. However, evidence has rarely been used to test the assumption that this activity can reduce fishing pressure. Furthermore, cursory evidence suggests that there is considerable variability in its success between different cases, but there is no sufficient information available to establish why there is this variation. My research aims to understand how seaweed farming affects fishing behaviour, and which conditions lead to its success or failure as a conservation tool so we can make recommendations to improve the use of alternative livelihood schemes as fisheries management tools.
My research is conducted in the Central Visayas of the Philippines in collaboration with Project Seahorse. Here, seaweed farming is being actively promoted as an alternative activity that can reduce fishing pressure, with considerable variation in success at both a household and community level. |
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| Supervision and funding | |||
| My PhD is jointly supervised by Drs Heather Koldewey and Marcus Rowcliffe (Zoological Society of London) and Professor EJ Milner-Gulland (Imperial College London). It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Fieldwork is undertaken in collaboration with Project Seahorse and the Philippines-based NGO Project Seahorse Foundation for Marine Conservation. | |||
| My MSc thesis (in thesis archives) | |||
| Brief CV | |||
Education
Research and conservation experience
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