Aida Cuní Sanchez

My research interests, at the interphase between natural and social sciences, have focused on tropical forest ecology, carbon stocks, ethnobotany, forest use by local communities and forest conservation. I have been involved in several multidisciplinary collaborative research projects, in over ten countries in Africa. Apart from publishing in peer-reviewed journals, I am involved in disseminating results to wider audiences (from local communities to policy makers) and in science outreach, as I believe ‘science should be useful to people’. I am committed to capacity building in Africa, teaching in short courses and being an advisor for several African MSc and PhD students. My current research project focuses on African montane forests and assesses ecosystem services, threats and potential management strategies. As well as developing the AfriMont plot network in African tropical montane forests, I am a key partner in research collaborations in Africa including AfriTRON (tropical lowland forest monitoring), Mountain Research Initiative, Mountain Sentinels and ATBC-Africa Chapter.

Career
2020-ongoing: Associate Professor at Noragric department, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.
2017-2020: Research Associate – Environment Department, University of York, and Dept. Ecosystem Science & Sustainability, Colorado State University. Project: African montane forests
2017: Research Associate –Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, UK. Project: Central African vegetation carbon stocks. Fieldwork in Congo
2014-2016: Postdoctoral Researcher – CMEC, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Project: ASEC – Avoiding the socio-ecological collapse of remnant evergreen forests in drylands. Fieldwork in northern Kenya
2013-2014: Postdoctoral Researcher–Department of Geography, University College London, UK. Project: Carbon stocks of rainforests in Gabon. Fieldwork in Gabon
2012: Conservation Scientist and Carbon Specialist– RSPB, UK. Fieldwork in Sierra Leone
2007-2011: PhD in Environmental Sciences–University of Southampton, UK. Fieldwork in several countries in Africa
2002-2006: Graduated in Biology, Specialization: Organisms and Ecosystems – Barcelona University, Spain