Congratulations to Grantham Scholar Maria Wang, she’s been published in the influential journal Current Biology on rubber expansion and biodiversity conservation.
Impressively, Maria managed to complete her work during lockdown. Talking to us just before publication, Maria told us about her work.
“Completing the revisions for this paper became my sole target during the first few months of lockdown. And I’m thankful that I had a clear goal to work towards.
I’d like to thank the Online WriteClub and Grantham Writing Retreats for providing company and motivation to get through the slog. Although it took 1-2 months more than desired, I can finally put my pen down on the first chapter of my thesis.”
Is it feasible to reconcile plantation expansion with biodiversity conservation?
By mapping extinction threats the paper shows that there are no no ‘‘win-win’’ areas to maximize profit and minimize threats. However, there were enough areas of compromise to meet 2027 rubber demand. And importantly, areas of compromise to significantly cut biodiversity loss compared with business as usual.
You can read the paper in print in the October 5 issue of Current Biology. Or you can find it online here.
Maria wrote one of the most popular articles on our website about her Masters research. Read: Cempedak, A Funky Tropical Fruit You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
Photo credit: Alifah Ilyana