Jennifer Dyer

Postgraduate Student/Research Assistant

Telephone number: +44(0) 113 34 39085
Email address: j.dyer@leeds.ac.uk
Room: 9.127

Biography

Project details

Qualifications: BSc Biological Sciences (Plant Biology), University of Birmingham; MSc Environment and Development, University of Manchester

Project Title: To assess the potential of Jatropha curcas production to contribute towards livelihood sustainability at the household and village scale in rural areas of Malawi.

Supervisors: A. Dougill and L. Stringer

Funding: ESRC CASE Studentship

Start date: October 2008

Project outline:

Public and policy interest in biofuels has recently grown dramatically, despite a dearth of empirical data regarding the environmental, social and economic impacts. The focus of the biofuel debate is turning towards the global south as the future centre of production and as such there is a pressing need for objective field research into the impacts of biofuel cultivation in these areas, in order to minimise negative socio-economic and environmental impacts. The research aims to address the current lack of data by investigating the sustainability challenges and opportunities associated with cultivation of the inedible biodiesel crop J. curcas at the household and village scale in rural Malawi. It will provide empirical, case study data on the impacts of cultivation using conventional and participatory methods. It will therefore contribute to academic debates centring around livelihoods and participation as well as the broader biofuel and sustainability debates.

Publications

Dyer, JC; Stringer, LC; Dougill, AJ (2012) Jatropha curcas: Sowing local seeds of success in Malawi, Journal of Arid Environments, 79, 197-110. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.12.004

Stringer, L; Mkwambisi, D; Dougill, AJ; Dyer, JC (2010) Household and policy adaptations to climate change and desertification: perspectives from Malawi, Climate and Development, 145-160. doi:10.3763/cdev.2010.0042  

Stringer, L; Dyer, J; Reed, MS; Dougill, AJ; Twyman, C; Mkwambisi, D (2009) Adaptations to climate change, drought and desertification: insights to enhance policy in southern Africa, Environmental Science and Policy, 12, 748-765. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2009.04.002