University of Oxford
11a Mansfield Rd
OX1 3SZ
UK
Hollie Booth
Background
I completed my DPhil in the Biology Department in 2021 on Interdisciplinary Approaches to Shark and Ray Conservation, with a focus on small-scale fisheries in Indonesia. Since then I have been working with local researchers, NGOs and decision-makers in Indonesia to put my findings into practice, by designing and testing incentive-based approaches for marine biodiversity and human wellbeing outcomes with support from the Oxford Policy Engagement Network (OPEN) and the UK Darwin Initiative. This includes running the world's first Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) of an incentive-based marine conservation program for Critically Endangered sharks and rays. In parallel, I have been working on mechanisms for improved accountability for nature-related impacts and dependencies in the private sector, through approaches to operationalise ambitious and evidence-based Nature Positive commitments which mitigate the negative environmental impacts of corporate value chains and channel funding towards measurable, additional and socially-just biodiversity outcomes. I am generally interested in conducting applied interdisciplinary research to make conservation more effective and socially just.
Aside from my research work at Oxford, I have also worked in the non-profit and private sector, with roles spanning community-based tourism and protected area management in East Africa; shark and ray fisheries and trade in SE Asia; and global environmental policy and corporate biodiversity strategies.
I grew up in Birmingham, and was the first person from my family to go to university after attending a poorly-performing state school. As such, I am passionate about promoting participation of women, minority groups, and people from low-income backgrounds in academia and conservation.
Research Interests
The overarching question that my research seeks to answer is “how can we deliver positive outcomes for biodiversity and people?”
I am generally interested in links between conservation and human wellbeing; designing locally appropriate conservation programs using predictive methods and economic valuation; and evaluating the impacts of conservation programs on nature and people using causal inference, from theory-based to experimental research designs.
Current Research
My research currently focuses on two parallel streams, within the general theme of interdisciplinary research towards a nature- and people-positive future.
- Designing and experimentally evaluating incentive-based approaches for biodiversity and wellbeing outcomes in small-scale fisheries (funded by the UK Darwin Initiative).
- Developing methods and approaches so that large, powerful stakeholders with impacts & dependencies in the marine real (e.g., commercial fishing companies, tourism companies) can be held accountable for their negative impacts on nature, in ways which channel funding towards measurable, additional and socially-just biodiversity outcomes in biodiversity-rich coastal communities (as part of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery).
Brief CV
Education:
2019-2021
DPhil Zoology, University of Oxford (no corrections)
Thesis: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Shark and Ray Conservation
2016
Imperial College London, MSc Conservation Science | Grade: distinction
Thesis: Evaluating the impact of conservation policy: the case of manta ray catch and trade in Indonesia
2011
University of Cambridge, BA (Hons) Natural Sciences and Management Studies | Grade: first class
Thesis (Part II Management Studies): Towards a credit-scoring model for social investment
Thesis (Part II Zoology): Information acquisition and decision-making in locusts
Work experience:
2022-Present Post-doctoral researcher (part time), University of Oxford
2022-2025 Strategic Director and Head of Nature Strategies, The Biodiversity Consultancy
2019- 2021 Conservation Hierarchy Technical Coordinator, Synchronicity Earth, London
2016- 2022 Sharks and Rays Advisor, the Wildlife Conservation Society, SE Asia Archipelago
2015 Assistant Programme Officer, Species, UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge
2013–15 Assistant to the Africa Director, Africa Regional Office, Frankfurt Zoological Society, Tanzania
2013 Sustainable Tourism Consultant, Counterpart International, Ethiopia
2011-13 Assistant Program Officer, Ecosystem Services and Assessment, UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge
2010-11 Intern, Science Programme, UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge
Awards
2024 | 2025 Indianapolis Prize Emerging Conservationist Award Top Ten Finalist
2023 | ZSL Marsh Award for Marine and Freshwater Conservation 2022 | European Early Career Research Award, Society for Conservation Biology; nominated by Oxford Biology Department for the John C Marsden Medal for the best doctoral thesis in biology 2020 | Graduate Student Research Award, Society for Conservation Biology 2019 | Best Graduate Seminar, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford 2018 | Oxford-NaturalMotion Graduate Scholarship, University of Oxford 2016 | Joseph Hooker Prize, Imperial College London |
2011 | King’s College Academic Attainment Award, University of Cambridge; Worts Travelling Scholars Award and Donald Robertson Travelling Scholarship, University of Cambridge
Papers
Please see a complete list here: https://www.biology.ox.ac.uk/people/hollie-booth#tab-2908621
Presentations
2024 | SCB Conservation Social Science Conference – Oral Presentation: “Designing & testing conservation incentives: impacts and hidden actions in a randomized trial of a marine pay-to-release program”
2024 | SCB International Marine Conservation Congress – Oral Presentation: “Incentive-based Approaches for Biodiversity & Wellbeing Outcomes in Small-Scale Fisheries” 2024 | Nature-Based Solutions Conference – Poster Presentation: “Designing & testing incentive-based approaches for biodiversity & well-being outcomes in small-scale fisheries” 2023 | WorldFish workshop on Asia-Africa BlueTech Superhighway – Invited Speaker: “Designing and experimentally testing marine conservation incentives: a case study on sharks & rays in Indonesia” 2023 | International Congress for Conservation Biology – Oral Presentations: “Avoiding ocean extinctions through threat reduction” and “Operationalizing Transformative Change for business in the context of nature positive” 2021 | International Congress for Conservation Biology – Symposium organizer: “Aligning incentives for blue economy and biodiversity” and Oral Presentation: “Bycatch levies for blue growth and biodiversity outcomes: a global model for payments for ecosystem services and sustainable financing in the ocean” 2021 | International Gillnet Bycatch Workshop – Invited speaker: “People-centred approaches for reconciling trade‐offs between fisheries & conservation” 2021 | IUCN Shark Specialist Group Workshop – Workshop organizer and speaker: “Crash Course in Human Dimensions of Shark Conservation” 2020 | International Marine Conservation Congress – Symposium organizer: Sharks, turtles and small-scale fisheries: saving marine megafauna in an ocean-dependent world” and Oral Presentation: “The mitigation hierarchy: a risk-based framework for supporting fisheries management and conservation in data poor situations” 2019 | International Congress for Conservation Biology – Oral Presentations: “No net loss for sharks and people? Towards a risk-based framework for feasible, equitable shark fisheries management” and “The role of culture in shaping shark conservation in the coral triangle: challenges, opportunities and ways forward” 2019 | Conservation Optimism Summit – Symposium organizer: “Innovative approaches for reducing by-catch in small-scale fisheries” 2018 | International Marine Conservation Congress. Symposium organizer: “Putting marine science in to practice for conservation and management of sharks and rays in Southeast Asia” 2018 | International Marine Conservation Congress. Invited speaker: “Tools & incentives to combat IUU trade of marine fauna: Combining law enforcement & livelihoods to deliver measurable conservation outcomes in the world’s largest targeted manta ray fishery” 2018 | Our Oceans Conference. Speaker: “Marine Protected Areas for Sharks” 2018 | Our Oceans Conference. Speaker: “Shark Fisheries Management in Indonesia” 2017 | The Oxford Martin School on Illegal Wildlife Trade Annual Symposium – Invited keynote speaker: “Not by legality alone: addressing shark overexploitation in Indonesia” 2012 | IUCN World Conservation Congress. Workshop organizer: “Methods and approaches for assessing ecosystem services” |