My research investigates the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on protected areas. I use the pandemic as an opportunity to identify weaknesses and strengths in current protected area management models and draw lessons that can help us rebuild more resilient conservation approaches that are effective at delivering their ecological and social objectives. In this regard, I am interested in applied and interdisciplinary research aimed at guiding conservation practice in the global South, and particularly in communities' efforts to conserve and manage their biodiversity and ecosystems.
I hold a BSc in Environmental Biology (Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain) and an interdisciplinary MSc in International Nature Conservation (Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, Germany and Lincoln University, New Zealand). Previously, I worked in protected areas across Central and Southern Africa, South-East Asia and the Middle East conducting both ecological and socio-economic research and implementing a variety of projects ranging from strengthening compliance monitoring systems to environmental education. I also hold over a year of editorial experience in science publishing as managing editor of a multidisciplinary journal of Springer Nature. My PhD research is funded by the Frankfurt Zoological Society.