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Apply for a PhD-position in land-use change, primarily tropical deforestation, and its causes and consequences.
Open PhD student position at division of Physical Resource Theory at Department of Energy and Environment, Chalmers.
Information about the research/the project/the division
The topic of this PhD position is land-use change, primarily tropical deforestation, and its causes and consequences. Tropical deforestation is a major contributor to climate change and a prime driver of biodiversity loss globally. Increasingly tropical deforestation is driven by large-scale, commercial agricultural production of commodities such as beef, soybeans and palm oil, often destined for export markets and consumers globally. The aim of the PhD project is to contribute to the understanding of how international trade in agricultural and timber products contribute tropical forest loss and associated environmental impacts (e.g. carbon emissions and biodiversity loss). The PhD student will develop methods for linking spatial data on deforestation to commodity production data, attributing deforestation to different products, and using trade-models to trace production to final consumers across the world.
The purpose of this research is to create knowledge that can be used to formulate more effective policies for tropical forest conservation, including demand-side measures such as product certification schemes. The work will be carried out in a research group working on different aspects of sustainable global land use and will contribute to ongoing research projects that feed into policy making in Sweden and elsewhere.
The PhD position is placed at the division of Physical Resource Theory, one of five divisions within the Department of Energy and Environment. All divisions in this department conduct research on potential solutions to the major environmental challenges facing humanity, e.g., global warming and sustainable use of land and other resources. In total, about 200 people work in the department, with 40 in the Physical Resource Theory division (including 15 PhD students).
Application deadline January 31.
For questions please contact:
Martin Persson, Physical Resource Theory, martin.persson@chalmers.se, +46 31-772 2148
Fredrik Hedenus, Physical Resource Theory, hedenus@chalmers.se, +46 31-772 3453
