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Slideshow

Aoife Kate Pitts

UGA Arch

I graduated from the University of Alabama in 2021 with a B.A. in Anthropology and a B.S. in Conservation Ecology. My interest in political ecology and community-led conservation arose from ethnographic fieldwork in Belize that explored the motivating factors of conch piracy. Other research projects have included analysis of the connections between land-use change and food insecurity in Laos, and spatial analysis of narco-trafficking through Central America.  

In my current work, I analyze the implementation and impact of biodiversity-focused conservation policies in the Colombian Amazon. My research integrates social-ecological systems theory, ethnoecology, and multi-species ethnography to work towards conservation policies that recognize and protect entanglements of biodiversity, natural resource dependent livelihoods, and cultural practices. 

Research Areas:
Selected Publications:

Pitts, A.K. Trost, B, Trost, N, Hand, B & Margulies, J. (2022, 5 16). Learning with the seed
bomb: on a classroom encounter with abolition ecology. Journal of Political Ecology 29(1):302–308. doi:10.2458/jpe.4715  

LaFevor, M.C.; Pitts, A.K. Irrigation Increases Crop Species Diversity in Low-Diversity Farm Regions of Mexico. Agriculture 2022, 12, 911. https://doi.org/10.3390/ agriculture12070911 

Grants:

Robert E. Rhoades Pre-Dissertation Travel Award, Summer 2023 

Integrative Conservation Travel Grant, Summer 2023 

Integrative Conservation Conference Support, Fall 2023 

UGA Graduate School NSF Incentive Award, Spring 2024 

Education:

B.A. in Anthropology, University of Alabama 2021

B.S. in Conservation Ecology, University of Alabama 2021

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