Ruth Larbey is a first-year PhD researcher in the 3S research group at the University of East Anglia (UEA), supported by the South East Network for Social Sciences (SENSS). Her project sits at the science-policy-society interface and explores decision-making around tree planting for climate change mitigation, with a particular interest in responsible assessment practices. The project is supervised by Dr Martin Mahony, Lecturer in Human Geography and Prof Jason Chilvers, Professor of Environment and Society, both in the School of Environmental Sciences.
Large-scale implementation of land-based carbon dioxide removal via tree-planting will have implications for land availability, with resulting impacts on biodiversity and food production. Assessments are systematic practices that are used to make inferences about the future, and in doing so, they help to create particular futures. In her research, Ruth endeavours to contribute to policy reflexivity, analysing the assumptions behind existing assessment approaches, mapping a more diverse ecology of afforestation assessments that are happening outside of the policy sphere, and considering the implications for new, more responsible practices of assessments.
Before starting the PhD, Ruth gained a specialist knowledge in environmental science-policy communications from almost a decade working on a variety of projects at the Science Communication Unit at University of the West of England (UWE), including leading a science-policy project for the European Commission. She has also gained experience in the international development sector and worked for many years as an editor. She has a Masters (LLM) in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development from UWE and a BA(Hons) and a MA from the University of Warwick. She has presented her work at a variety of conferences and has worked as an occasional associate lecturer in science communication in the UK, Nigeria and Senegal. Ruth current works as a Policy and Advocacy Manager at the National Landscapes Association, a UK charity focused on protected areas, which offers abundant chances to complement her research interests in responsible environmental policymaking and competing demands for land use.
