Dr Yuan Pan

Teaching:

• AP2AE30/ AP3AE65: Landscape and Ecosystem Management Field Course
• AP1AE10-Research Skills for Environmental Management

Natural Capital; Ecosystem Services; Biodiversity Conservation; Interdisciplinary Research.

Biography:

I am an interdisciplinary conservation scientist working on natural capital assessments, using ecological, economics, and social science approaches. I am interested in valuing the non-material and intangible benefits of nature, moving beyond economic valuations for natural capital. Originally trained as an ecologist, I have considerable experience in incorporating social science data into conservation research and statistical analysis in R.

Previously, I have worked on using an ecosystem services approach to protect freshwater ecosystems. The project was interdisciplinary and involved using methods from ecology, ecotoxicology, and the social sciences. Due to my bilingual fluency in English and Mandarin Chinese, I have worked on conservation projects in China for many years. These have included investigating illegal fishing behaviour in Yangtze fishermen, collecting local ecological knowledge from ethnic minorities, and using contingent valuation to assess ecosystem services.

Sustainable Land Management (SLM)

Career:

Sep 2020 - Feb 2021

Research Associate, University of Cambridge Conservation Institute (UCCRI)

• Project Title: Sustainable finance for Conservation Landscapes in the post-COVID world
• Collaborative project with FFI (Fauna and Flora International) & Birdlife International

Nov 2017- Aug 2020

Research Associate, University of Cambridge Conservation Institute (UCCRI)

• Developing the natural capital module for TESSA (The Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessment) with other conservation NGOs
• Incorporating biodiversity into natural capital assessment as part of the natural capital working group. Collaborations with UNEP-WCMC (UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre), RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and FFI (Fauna and Flora International)

Qualifications:

Ph.D. in Ecosystem Services at the University of Sheffield (2013-2017):

• Supervisors: Professor Lorraine Maltby (University of Sheffield) and Dr Stuart Marshall (Unilever, UK)
• Using an ecosystem services approach to protect freshwater ecosystems: linking ecology, ecotoxicology and cultural values (CASE studentship with Unilever)

MRes in Ecology, Evolution & Conservation at Imperial College London (2012-2013)

• Modelling human impacts on biodiversity: using China as a case study. Supervisor: Professor Andrew Purvis. Part of the PREDICTS project
• Using local ecological knowledge to assess the status of the critically. Endangered Chinese giant salamander Andrias davidianus in Guizhou Province, China. Supervisors: Professor E.J. Milner-Gulland and Dr Sam Turvey (Institute of Zoology, London)

BSc in Biology at Imperial College London (2009-2012)

• Final year project: Testing a novel interview technique to investigate causes of decline in the Yangtze finless porpoise (Supervisors: Professor E.J. Milner-Gulland and Dr Sam Turvey)