Bangor University
Lead supervisor:
Dr Neal Hockley 
Other supervisor(s):
- Prof Julia Jones
Start date: October 2025 (Full time)
Award: Collaborative
Subject Pathway:
Environmental Planning
Thematic Cluster:
Place, Environment and Development Cluster
In partnership with:
Understanding the social and environmental consequences of climate-driven migration to the tropical forest frontier
After an MSc in Forestry with a focus on Biodiversity and Ecosystems from the School of Agronomy - University of Antananarivo, Madagascar, my voluntary and professional works over the last 6 years built my substantial experience and my deep interest for local communities' participation, equity and governance in biodiversity conservation, particularly in protected areas in Madagascar.
For the past four years, as a fellow researcher at the Mitsilo Lab, I managed the Darwin-funded MIRARI action-research project at the intersection of community rights, conservation, and environmental governance. My work focused on protected areas (PAs) and included technical support to the Ministry of Environment in the write up of the reformed Environmental and Social Management Framework for Madagascar’s PAs based on previous research results. I also designed and piloted an innovative local community-and-equity-focused governance tool —the Community Governance Convention (CGC) , developed and delivered training modules tailored to rural communities with varying literacy levels, created user-friendly information sessions and tools on PA rules, the CGC, and equity-related topics.
I was also actively involved in Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN, the official youth constituency of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity) as a former national co-coordinator of Madagascar chapter (2017-2024) and member of the GYBN's youth delegation and policy team to the last 3 CBD COPs. That enriching human adventure also made me realise that conservation actions are often shaped by upstream decisions where the real leverage lies and where scientists can play a crucial role to inform and influence decision makers. Attending high level international negotiations on biodiversity helped me further understand the importance of and urgent need for action to promote inclusive and equitable conservation strategies if we really were to stop biodiversity loss.
Four main questions have emerged from and guided my work experience and are now shaping my academic research interests: (1) What are the effects of life close to PAs /OECMs on community livelihoods, practices and rights, and how does governance structure mediate these? (2) What are the community attitudes towards conservation and their participation in or resistance to conservation activities? (3) What lessons can be drawn to enable a model of conservation that effectively balances biodiversity conservation with positive socioeconomic outcomes? (4) How can we empower local communities to become fully fledged PAs/OECMs co-managers?
My PhD project: "Understanding the social and environmental consequences of climate-driven migration to the forest frontier in Madagascar" focuses on Mangabe in Madagascar’s eastern rainforest - a PA involved in Chester Zoo' Field Programmes - where migration was identified as a pressing threat to conservation.
Indeed, migration to seek better opportunities or flee environmental stress and hazards has been attested in Madagascar as extreme climatic events and hazards are intensifying. This study will help to better understand the extent to which migration contributes to deforestation and will explore mechanisms through which migrants access natural resources and influence land use changes through the lenses of equity and governance, and ultimately inform more efficient and equitable conservation efforts.
Climate change-induced migration, driven by escalating environmental stress and mediated by multiple factors, is rising across the Global South and increasingly framed as an adaptation strategy. Madagascar is highly vulnerable to climate change, facing more frequent and severe droughts and cyclones, intensifying water scarcity, food insecurity, and economic hardship— key drivers of internal migration. The conservation sector is concern over this trend, highlighting examples like Ankarafantsika and Menabe Antimena PAs, where migration has been associated with deforestation and social tensions. While migration has complex social and environmental effects at both origin and destination sites, it is often seen as a threat to forest conservation—especially where migrants settle in more resilient, resource-rich areas like forest frontiers. Yet, how rural-rural migration affects natural habitats within protected areas (PAs) remains poorly understood.
The research pushes forward debates on inclusive conservation governance by examining how rural-rural migration is framed and managed within PA practice. It will contribute new empirical data on how governance quality and equity shape environmental outcomes at the intersection of the pressing climate induced migration and tropical conservation.