Dr Elli Warren-Thomas

I am a Lecturer in Conservation Science at Bangor University. I recently held a NERC-IIASA Fellowship to work jointly between Bangor and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. I focus my research on avoiding tropical forest loss, supporting biodiversity in cultivated landscapes using agroforestry, and the role of sustainable supply chain initiatives in achieving both these aims. I am particularly interested in systems thinking, and the role of leakage effects from zero-deforestation and restoration policies. I aim to link my research closely to policymaking by governments, sustainability standards, business or NGOs. 

I use a variety of economic and spatial modelling approaches at large scale to understand how different policy scenarios affect land use change, and in turn, outcomes for biodiversity, people and climate. I also use field surveys at local scales to understand relationships between biodiversity, livelihoods and carbon in landscapes containing smallholder plantations and agroforests. I focus my university teaching on helping students get to grips with quantitative analysis methods, believing that placing data science tools in the right hands is powerful in driving positive change.