معرفی
Dr. Freya St John serves as Reader in Conservation Science at Bangor University's School of Environmental & Natural Sciences, where she leads the Conservation & Human Behaviour Research Group and contributes to Conservation@Bangor. Her work bridges conservation biology, social psychology, and criminology to address critical challenges in human-wildlife interactions. She holds leadership roles including Environmental Planning Pathway Link for the ESRC Welsh Graduate School of Social Science and Lead for the Place, Environment and Development Cluster.
Her research focuses on conservation conflict, illegal resource use, and the human well-being-conservation nexus, with particular emphasis on developing innovative social science methods for studying sensitive behaviors. Key projects include ERC-funded research on poverty and rule-breaking in conservation, Darwin Initiative projects in Indonesia on agroforestry and community land rights, and Leverhulme Trust research on tiger-human coexistence in Sumatra. Her methodological innovations include randomized response techniques for measuring illegal activities.
Dr. St John's recent publications reveal strong thematic trends in protected area management (2023-2025), with significant focus on Indonesian conservation landscapes (Gunung Leuser National Park, Harapan Rainforest) and human behavioral drivers of illegal activities. Her work increasingly integrates cross-cultural perspectives on environmental attitudes and procedural justice frameworks for improving conservation compliance.
- European Research Council Starting Grant (2018-2024)
- Darwin Initiative Grants (2016-2019) for Indonesian forest restoration projects
- Leverhulme Trust Grant (2014-2017) on tiger-human coexistence
- University of Kent Faculty Research Grant on human-goose conflicts
She supervises multiple PhD students including Harriett Ibbett (ERC-funded rule-breaking research), Elizabeth Morris-Webb (intertidal collection), and Sorrell Jones (Liberian hunting landscapes). Her group conducts fieldwork across Indonesia, Tanzania, Scotland, and Liberia, emphasizing community engagement and capacity building through workshops for conservation practitioners and government representatives. Current projects focus on improving conservation law enforcement through criminal justice insights and developing spatial planning tools for community forest management.
