Social-ecological resilience in mangrove shrimp communities in Thailand

Angie Elwin PhD Thesis and prior research

My PhD thesis explored social-ecological resilience in mangrove shrimp farming communities in Thailand. My methods were interdisciplinary, involving mangrove forest carbon stock assessments in abandoned shrimp ponds to investigate the impact of land-use change on ecosystem carbon and patterns of ecosystem recovery over time, and participatory approaches to explore local ecological knowledge and perceptions of ecosystem health and ecosystem service delivery among mangrove-dependent communities in coastal Thailand.

I also hold an MSc in Marine Environmental Protection, where my research involved mapping above ground biomass and degradation status of mangrove forests in Zanzibar (Tanzania). I have additionally spent time working in coastal Kenya, assisting with a mangrove Payments for Ecosystem Services project, and on a NERC funded research project to quantify the export of particulate and dissolved carbon from Kenyan mangrove forests.

Angie being supported by mangrove prop roots, photo taken in Trat, Thailand