HOW WE SAVE THE AMAZON

Karen Mustin is a conservation scientist and mother.

Karen's career in conservation has taken her to various parts of the world, each providing unique experiences and insights. She started her journey by studying the impacts of climate change on bird populations using theoretical models and empirical studies of birds at the University of Aberdeen. She then worked at the James Hutton Institute in Scotland, researching the economic and biodiversity impacts of hunting in the Scottish Highlands. In January 2011, Karen moved to Brisbane, Australia, just four days after catastrophic flooding hit the area, to take up a post-doc at the University of Queensland. While in Australia, she worked on various conservation projects such as connectivity restoration in fragmented habitats, monitoring of birds, climate change, and conservation of migratory shorebirds.

She was then lucky enough to get a post-doc position in the state of Amapá, in the far north of Brazil, where she spent two years working on varied projects, often relating to the sustainable use of non-timber forest products. While there she fell head over heels in love with the region, Brazil, Brazilians (one in particular!), and Latin America in general."

More recently, between January 2017 and January 2018, Karen was a Marie Curie Research Fellow in the Conservation Conflicts Research Group. She studied the links between governance, equity, and biodiversity outcomes in protected areas, and she continues to maintain strong links with the group while working on her projects in collaboration with other team members. Karen is currently a Visiting Lecturer in the Post-Graduate Program in Animal Biology at the Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil. Her extensive experience and expertise in conservation science have made a significant impact in the field, and her work continues to inspire others to protect the natural world.

We chatted to Karen about her journey to becoming a conservation scientist, how it feels to be a scientist and a mother during ecological collapse, and what all of us can do to help protect the lungs of our home.

MUSIC: Aidan Roberts & Emma Davis

⁠www.theecoenthusiastpodcast.com ⁠

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