Hollie.Booth@thebiodiversityconsultancy.com

Hollie Booth

Background

I’ve always felt that people and nature are intrinsically linked, and that all lives – human and animal – deserve moral consideration. With a passion for nature and the outdoors, a desire to improve human lives, and a thirst for knowledge and exploration, conservation science has always felt like the ideal career path for me.

My career and research background had been quite diverse, spanning three continents and several themes, from international environmental policy in Cambridge, UK; to community-based tourism in Ethiopia; to protected area management and anti-wildlife trafficking in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania; to saving sharks and rays in Indonesia.

Despite this variety, I have always maintained a common interest in understanding synergies and trade-offs between conservation and human well-being, and assessing the impact of conservation interventions. I am interested in cost-effective conservation, and ways of maximising conservation outcomes for minimum cost to society. I enjoy researching complex inter-disciplinary conservation issues in challenging contexts, especially where the results can inform management and lead to measurable conservation impact.

I’m a first-generation PhD from Birmingham, and passionate about equity and diversity in science. In particular, I’m interested in promoting participation of women, local people, minority groups, and people from low-income backgrounds in conservation.

Research Interests

I am interested in conducting applied research on how to solve tricky conservation problems. In particular, I’m interested in using interdisciplinary approaches to understand conservation challenges and design management measures to optimise trade-offs between conservation objectives and human well-being.

Current Research

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Hollie recently completed her DPhil on Interdisciplinary Approaches to Shark and Ray Conservation, with a particular focus on small-scale fisheries in Indonesia. The overarching aim of the DPhil was to contribute to more effective design of marine conservation interventions, which can simultaneously deliver conservation outcomes for sharks (with a particular focus on threatened species) and well-being outcomes for people (with a particular focus on vulnerable coastal communities). Read Hollie’s thesis here

After her DPhil Hollie completed a fellowship from the Oxford Policy Engagement Network (OPEN), working with government and community partners to apply her research findings to policy and management. She is now working as a part-time post-doctoral researcher with the MCEM research group, leading a DEFRA Darwin Initiative project on ‘Incentive-based approaches for biodiversity and well-being outcomes in small-scale fisheries’, which builds on her DPhil and OPEN fellowship [link to this somewhere https://mcem.web.ox.ac.uk/incentive-based-marine-conservation]. In parallel, Hollie is working in the private sector as a Nature Positive Senior Specialist at The Biodiversity Consultancy, where she helps businesses understand their impacts on nature and develop strategies to mitigate impacts and align with international biodiversity goals.

 

Brief CV

Education:

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:

 

2019- Present        Conservation Hierarchy Technical Coordinator, Synchronicity Earth, London

2016- Present        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

2016

Joseph Hooker Prize for best course work, MSc in Conservation Science, Imperial College London

2011

King’s College Academic Attainment Award, University of Cambridge

2010

Worts Travelling Scholars Award, Donald Robertson Travelling Scholarship, University of Cambridge

Papers

N.B this page was last updated in June 2020. Please see my google scholar profile for an up to date list.

Peer reviewed literature – lead author: (in order of publication, most recent first)

Booth, H. et al. (2020). Managing wildlife trade for sustainable development outcomes after COVID-19. SocArXiv preprints (n review at World Development).

Booth, H, Pooley, S, Clements, T, Hertwata, I, Lewis, S, Lestari, P, Warwick, L, Milner-Gulland, E.J, (2020). Assessing the impact of regulations on the use and trade of wildlife: An operational framework, with a case study on manta rays. Global Ecology and Conservation.

Booth H, Squires D, Milner-Gulland EJ. (2019). The mitigation hierarchy for sharks: a risk-based framework for reconciling trade-offs between shark conservation and fisheries objectives. Fish & Fisheries.

Booth H, Squires D, Milner-Gulland EJ. (2019). The neglected complexities of shark fisheries, and priorities for holistic risk- based management. Ocean & Coastal Management.

Booth, H. (2019). Knowing and doing – conservation charities must spend wisely. Nature.

 

Peer reviewed literature – co-author:

Booth H, Arias M, Brittain S, Challender DWS, Khanyari M, Kuiper T, Li Y, Olmedo A, Oyanedel R, Pienkowski T and Milner-Gulland EJ (2021) “Saving Lives, Protecting Livelihoods, and Safeguarding Nature”: Risk-Based Wildlife Trade Policy for Sustainable Development Outcomes Post-COVID-19. Front. Ecol. Evol. 9:639216. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2021.639216

Gupta, T., Booth, H., Arlidge, W., Rao, C., Manoharakrishnan, M., Namboothri, N., Shanker, K., Milner-Gulland, E.J. (2020) ‘Mitigation of elasmobranch bycatch in trawlers: A case study in Indian fisheries’, Front Mar Sci.

Petrovan, S. et al. (2020). Post COVID-19: a solution scan of options for preventing future zoonotic epidemics, OSF preprints (in review at Biological Reviews).

Milner-Gulland, E. J. et al. (2020) ‘Four steps for the Earth: mainstreaming the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework’. SocArXiv preprints (accepted with revisions at One Earth).

Mustika, P. L. K., Ichsan, M., & Booth, H. (2020). The Economic Value of Shark and Ray Tourism in Indonesia and Its Role in Delivering Conservation Outcomes. Front Mar Sci.

Arlidge WNS, Squires D, Alfaro-shigueto J, Booth H, Mangel JC. (2020). A Mitigation Hierarchy Approach for Managing Sea Turtle Captures in Small-Scale Fisheries. Front Mar Sci.

Ichsan, M., Ula, S., Simeon, B., Muttaqin, E., & Booth, H. (2020). Thresher sharks (Alopiidae) catch in the pelagic fisheries of Western Indonesia. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science.

Muttaqin, E., Abdullah, A., Nurilmala, M., Ichsan, M., Simeone, B. M., Yulianto, I., and Booth, H. 2019. DNA-barcoding as molecular marker for seafood forensics: Species identification of locally consumed shark fish products in the world’s largest shark fishery. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science.

Mardhiah, U., Booth, H., Simeon, B. M., Muttaqin, E., Ichsan, M., Prasetyo, A. P., & Yulianto, I. (2019). Quantifying vulnerability of shark and ray species in Indonesia: Is biological knowledge sufficient for the assessment?. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science.

Yulianto, I., Booth, H., Ningtias, P., Kartawijaya, T., Santos, J., Kleinertz, S., Campbell, S.J., Palm, H.W. and Hammer, C., (2018). Practical measures for sustainable shark fisheries: Lessons learned from an Indonesian targeted shark fishery. PLOS One.

Hudson, L.N., Newbold, T., Contu, S., Hill, S.L., Lysenko, I., De Palma, A., Phillips, H.R., Senior, R.A., Bennett, D.J., Booth, H. and Choimes, A., (2014). The PREDICTS database: a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts. Ecology and evolution.

Newbold, T., Hudson, L.N., Phillips, H.R., Hill, S.L., Contu, S., Lysenko, I., Blandon, A., Butchart, S.H., Booth, H., Day, J. and De Palma, A., (2014). A global model of the response of tropical and sub-tropical forest biodiversity to anthropogenic pressures. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences.

Newbold, T., Scharlemann, J.P., Butchart, S.H., Şekercioğlu, Ç.H., Alkemade, R., Booth, H. and Purves, D.W., (2013). Ecological traits affect the response of tropical forest bird species to land-use intensity. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences.

 

Other selected reports and media:

Booth, H. If new international protections are going to save sharks, we must work with shark fishers. ICCS blog. September 2019. https://www.iccs.org.uk/blog/if-new-international-protections-are-going-save-sharks-we-must-work-shark-fishers

Booth, H. Sharks and rays: worth more alive, but to whom? ICCS blog. July 2019. https://www.iccs.org.uk/blog/sharks-and-rays-worth-more-alive-whom

Booth, H. and Yulianto, I., Saving sharks through science-based fisheries management. Medium. November 2018. https://medium.com/wcs-marine-conservation-program/saving-sharks-through-science-based-fisheries-management-9e2b8109febd

Booth, H. Reducing manta ray mortality in the world’s largest targeted manta ray fishery. National Geographic Blog.  July 2018. https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2018/07/26/reducing-manta-ray-mortality-in-the-worlds-largest-targeted-manta-fishery/

Booth, H. Shark conservation success stories from South East Asia. Medium, July 2018. https://medium.com/wcs-marine-conservation-program/shark-conservation-success-stories-from-south-east-asia-2abf340dac6d

Booth, H. Muttaqin, E., Simeon, B., Ichsan, M., Siregar, U., Yulianto, I. and Kassem, K. 2018. Shark and ray conservation and management in Indonesia: Status and strategic priorities 2018-2023. Wildlife Conservation Society. Bogor, Indonesia.

Booth, H. Indonesia Shark Diaries. National Geographic Blog.  July 2017. https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2017/07/24/indonesia-shark-diaries/

Presentations

  • Marine Protected Areas for Sharks. Our Oceans Conference, Bali, Indonesian, 2018
  • Shark Fisheries Management. Our Oceans Conference, Bali, Indoneisa, 2018
  • 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. 5th International Marine Conservation Congress, Kuching, Malaysia, 2018
  • Putting marine science in to practice for conservation and management of sharks and rays in South East Asia (symposium organiser/cochair). 5th International Marine Conservation Congress, Kuching, Malaysia, 2018
  • Not by legality alone: addressing shark overexploitation in Indonesia. The Oxford Martin School on Illegal Wildlife Trade Annual Symposium. Oxford, UK, November 2017