PhD Scholarship on Biodiversity Conservation in Forest Restoration

The PhD project will be focused on biodiversity conservation outcomes of forest restoration. The PhD student will look at the literature related to the topic. Then, research questions will be addressed with fieldwork. For example, research questions might be related to the effects of environmental and socioeconomic variables and restoration practices adopted on specific groups of fauna and flora.

The student will work as part of a very large project, the Project Tarsier (https://www.usc.edu.au/research/forest-research-institute/project-tarsier). Project Tarsier is a research for development project aimed at improving our understanding on how to implement large-scale rehabilitation of deforested and degraded forest landscapes and improve the socioeconomic status of communities through providing sustainable livelihoods and voluntary trading of carbon credits generated through Nature-based Solutions (NbS).Despite the large global commitments on ecosystem restoration and carbon emission reductions, there are still significant knowledge gaps on how to implement forest restoration projects for the generation of carbon credits to optimise community, climate, and biodiversity benefits. Using an action research approach, and drawing on over 20 years of previous research undertaken by the team in the Philippines, we will work with communities to restore around 10,000 ha of degraded forest landscapes.

We will use this activity as a living laboratory that provides an unique opportunity to undertake research on a ‘real-life’ project which will provide invaluable insights into how reforestation projects elsewhere in the Philippines and in other tropical countries can be better implemented. Research activities will be targeted at addressing critical gaps in knowledge in both STEM and humanities and are informed by lessons learned and experience gained from previous research. Research activities will be organised under the following key research themes:

1. Improving Reforestation Project Design and Funding;

2. Improving Stakeholder Engagement;

3. Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation Systems;

4. Livelihood Projects;

5. Socioeconomic Aspects;

6. Use of Remote Sensing in Carbon Projects;

7. Carbon Stocks and Accumulation;

8. Policy and Governance.

Project Tarsier will address key knowledge gaps from the site level up to the global policy arena to advance efforts towards the Sustainable Development Goals related to equity, poverty reduction, climate change mitigation and adaptation, wellbeing, food security, and biodiversity conservation. The project is likely to have a substantial impact on the practice of reforestation and guide national and international policy initiatives.The PhD project will be part of one or a subset of the key themes listed above. The student will be part of a cohort of up to fifteen PhD students and of a research group comprising senior Australian, Filipino, and other international researchers. This scholarship provides great opportunities for collaboration, networking, and learning.

• Be accepted into the Doctor of Philosophy program at the University of the Sunshine Coast
• Not have an equivalent qualification to the one for which they are applying
• Have a first class bachelor honours degree, or show equivalent level of achievement with other academic qualifications or professional research experience