Global telecoupling: Linking UK consumption to international natural capital dependencies

鉴于当前全球化和复杂的供应链，到目前为止，我们不可能理解消费模式的变化将如何导致自然资本的变化。然而，通过TRASE、全球森林观察或卫星等平台，越来越多和更精细的分辨率数据变得可用。因此，可以将地理信息系统、生态系统服务综合评估工具和多区域投入产出贸易模型结合起来，开发将联合王国的消费与土地使用地点联系起来的工具，从而将生态系统商品和服务的变化联系起来。将这些方法与对利益攸关方的优先事项和指标需求的定性分析结合起来，将是非常新颖的。SEI和约克大学的跨学科和应用研究给我留下了深刻的印象，我非常兴奋地读到了ESRC的白玫瑰博士培训。这个项目对我来说是一个令人兴奋的机会，通过提供我从学术和行业导向的职业生涯中获得的独特见解，为一个强大的协作团队做出贡献。我对与世界级多学科团队合作的想法感到兴奋，他们与我有着相同的强烈愿景：所有人都有一个可持续的未来。我以前将科学转化为决策者的经验将确保成功地共同开发这些指标，以便它们能够为世界自然基金会的生命星球研究做出贡献。我在德国拜罗伊特大学获得了环境科学的两个大学学位(理学学士和理学硕士)，专业是生态系统的可持续利用。在我从新西兰惠灵顿大学获得保护生物学研究生文凭期间，我能够加深我的生态学知识，并将我的专业知识扩展到保护的人类层面。在我的硕士论文中，我应用这些知识来改进生命周期评估中土地利用对生物多样性的影响评估，以比较有机牛奶和常规牛奶。此外，我还在一个国际工作营担任领导，负责协调和促进志愿者、项目合作伙伴和当地人之间的跨文化交流。作为联合利华环境可持续发展科学家，我目前在联合利华为解决传统生命周期评估方法局限性的研究项目做出贡献。我们的团队开发了预测消费对全球土地利用(变化)的影响的方法，从而预测了生物多样性和生态系统服务，如碳储存、养分和沉积物保持。从复杂的科学中汲取见解，并将其转化为创新、供应链和营销方面的决策者，使我获得了宝贵的商业理解。在联合利华工作的过去三年里，我越来越清楚地看到，为了成功地将全球环境变化与消费驱动因素联系起来，对经济方面的理解至关重要。因此，我越来越有兴趣将我的专业知识扩展到经济科学，这些科学是解决当前全球挑战所必需的，可以帮助决策者做出更明智的决定。作为一个有上进心和好奇心的学习者，我相信我可以最大限度地利用社会研究硕士项目提供的培训，看到社会科学、经济学和环境科学之间的新的创新联系。通过TRASE工具将越来越多地提供的数据，可以克服对自然资本进行强有力的评估所需的高分辨率空间数据的挑战。我以前开发和向决策者传达科学的经验，也将帮助我找到以有意义的方式表示对生态系统服务的影响所需的适当复杂程度，同时允许进行必要的简化，以了解某些作物的需求变化如何转化为海外影响的变化。

Given current globalised and complex supply chains, it is up to now impossible to understand how changes in consumption patterns would result in changes to Natural Capital. Nevertheless, more and finer resolution data are becoming available through platforms like TRASE, Global Forest Watch or satellites. Therefore, geographical information systems, Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services tools and multi-regional input-output trade models can be combined to develop tools that link UK's consumption to the location of land use and therefore changes in ecosystem goods and services. Combining these approaches together with the qualitative analyses of stakeholder's priorities and needs for indicators would be very novel. As I have previously been impressed by the SEI's and York University's interdisciplinary and applied research, I was very excited to read about the ESRC's White Rose Doctoral training. This project represents an exciting opportunity for me to contribute to a strong collaborative team by providing unique insights gained from my academic and industry-oriented career. I am thrilled at the idea of working with a world-class multidisciplinary team who share my strong vision: a sustainable future for all. My previous experience in translating science to decision-makers would ensure a successful co-development of the indicators, so that they can contribute to WWF's Living Planet Research. I earned two university degrees in Environmental Sciences (BSc and MSc) where I specialised in the sustainable use of ecosystems from the University of Bayreuth in Germany. During my Postgraduate Diploma in Conservation Biology from the University of Wellington in New Zealand I was able to deepen my ecological knowledge, and broaden my expertise to the human dimension of conservation. In my Master's thesis, I applied this knowledge to improve the impact assessment of biodiversity from land use in life cycle assessment to compare organic and conventional milk. Furthermore I worked as a leader of an international work camp where I was responsible for the coordination and facilitation of cross-cultural communication between volunteers, project partners and local people.In my current role as Environmental Sustainability Scientist with Unilever, I contribute to research projects addressing limitations of traditional life cycle assessment approaches. Our team develops methods for predicting implications of consumption on global land use (change) and thus biodiversity and ecosystem services such as carbon storage, nutrient and sediment retention. Drawing out insights from complex science to translate to decision-makers in innovation, supply chain and marketing allowed me to gain valuable business understanding. Over the past three years with Unilever, it has become increasingly apparent to me, that in order to successfully link global environmental changes back to the drivers of consumption, an understanding of economic aspects is essential. Therefore, I became more and more interested in widening my expertise to the economic sciences that are needed to solve current global challenges that can help decision-makers to arrive at more informed decisions. Being a motivated and very curious learner, I am confident that I can maximise on the training provided by the Social Research Masters program, to see new and innovative links between social-, economic and environmental sciences. The challenge of high-resolution spatial data needed for a robust assessment of Natural Capital, could be overcome through the data the TRASE tool will make increasingly available. My previous experience in developing and communicating science to decision-makers, would also help me to find the right level of complexity needed to represent impact on ecosystem services in a meaningful way while allowing for the simplification that is needed to understand how changes in demand of certain crops translates to changes in overseas impacts.