School of Earth and Environment
Untitled Document

Rose Cairns Rose Cairns

Postgraduate Student

Telephone number: +44(0) 113 34 39085
Email address: r.cairns08@leeds.ac.uk
Room: 9.127

Biography

I am currently in the third year of ESRC/NERC funded interdisciplinary PhD examining conflicting discourses of conservation and science on Galapagos. I am interested in the social and poltical aspects of biodiversity conservation, and in particular examining the role of different scientific disciplines and other forms of knowledge in defining and dealing with these complex challenges.  My background is interdisciplinary: I hold an MSc in Conservation and Biodiversity from Exeter University (awarded in 2008), and a BA in Social Anthropolgy from Cambridge University (awarded in 2002). In the interim I held a variety of project management positions in the charity/environmental campaigning sectors, including: the Centre for Alternative technology (2002 -3), People and Planet (2003 - 2006) and Community Service Volunteers (2007). 

Research Interests

Social and political dimensions of conservation, the challenges of interdisciplinarity and the social sciences in conservation research, participatory approaches and research methods.

Supervisors

Simon Goodman (Biol), M. Termansen (SEE - SRI), Susannah Sallu (SRI) and Andrew Cunningham (IoZ)

Start date

1st October 2008

Project outline

My research seeks to contribute to a growing body of literature in the field of political ecology which engages with the social and political dimensions of biodiversity conservation. Despite its apparently scientific nature, biodiversity conservation is also widely recognised as being a highly political endeavour: it tends to involve the physical control of territories and people (often having direct impacts on local livelihoods), as well as impacting in less tangible ways on how people think and talk about the environment, and on the production and maintenance of particular narratives about the causality of environment change. My research applies a combination of Q methodology, ethnography and literary review to investigate the multiple discourses of conservation and science on an iconic location for both science and conservation: the Galapagos Islands. Firstly I examine the broad, public discourses around conservation, critically examining the various positions and exposing the subjective and value-laden dimensions of all sides of the debate to critical scrutiny. Subsequently I focus in on the broadly defined 'scientific conservation community' in Galapagos, and explore how different scientists and conservation managers understand the role of science in conservation on the islands.

In my use of Q methodology I bring an empirical focus to debates around conservation which have sometimes tended to be based in anecdotal evidence or based on philosophical or principled arguments. My results highlight some of the fundamental rifts in the ways in which conservation issues are conceptualised and talked about within Galapagos society, as well as illustrating the diverse range of perspectives that scientists and conservation managers have towards their role in conservation. The findings highlight some of the political implications of the search for a consensus around the dominant ecological crisis narrative, as well as revealing and critiquing the existence of a widespread 'linear view' of the relationship of science to conservation policy in Galapagos, and pointing to a number of barriers to the practice of truly interdisciplinary science for conservation.

Publications

Peer reviewed publications:

Cairns, R. (2011) 'Understanding Science in Conservation, a Q-method approach on the Galapagos Islands' Conservation and Society (in press)

Conference and Seminar papers:

(2011) 'Bio-security in Galapagos: social barriers to the generation and implementation of appropriate policies.' Paper presented at the ESRC seminar series entitled 'The socio-politics of bio-security: science, policy and practice' in collaboration with Keele University and Birkbeck University of London, 22nd - 23rd Sept 2011.

(2011) 'Understanding science in conservation, a use for Q methdology'.  Paper presented to the 27th annual ISSSS Q methodology conference, University of Birmingham, 7 - 9th Sept 2011.

(2011) 'Using Q methodology to understand conflicting discourses of conservation on the Galapagos islands'. Paper presented to the ACES 2011 conference: Conservation and Conflicts, strategies for coping with a changing world, Aberdeen 22 - 24th August 2011.

(2010) 'Entendiendo las perspectivas sobre la ciencia en la conservacion: el uso del metodo Q'. Paper based on results of doctoral research, presented to conservation managers at the Galapagos National Park, Sept 2010.

(2010) 'Uncovering social perspectives towards conservation'. Paper presented at the Charles Darwin Foundation's international workshop, Island Sustainability in a Globalised world, held in Puerto Ayora, Galapagos March 22 - 26th 2010.