Christina is an Environmental Social Scientist interested in the relationships individuals and societies form with nature; how these relationships shape people’s social, environmental, and health outcomes; and how they create sustainable livelihood choices. Christina is a professor within the Political Ecology group at Lancaster University’s Environment Centre. She gained her PhD in 2013 from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University; after which she held an Early Career Social Science Fellowship at the Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University. Christina main source of research funding conmes from an ERC Starting Grant: FAIRFISH, and she was awarded the 2019 Philip Leverhulme Prize for Geography. Christina’s work is global with particular field sites on the east and west coasts of Africa and in the Pacific.
Recent and current research
Christina’s current research examines small scale fisheries, how they contribute nutritional, cultural, and wellbeing benefits, and their vulnerability to climate change. This research sits within LEC's Tropical Futures Research Challenge and addresses three themes: 1) Ensuring socially and ecologically sustainable access to fisheries nutrition; 2) Integrating social theories into ecosystem services research and, 3) Building fisheries governance capacity.
Christina has published >40 peer reviewed publications in these areas, available through her Google Scholar Profile. She has given keynote and plenary presentations at the 2nd World Small Scale Fisheries Congress and the Western Indian Ocean Marine Sciences Symposium, and has led or been involved in successful funding bids from ESPA, Rockefeller Foundation, MASMA, and NCCARF.
Christina works in collaboration with Academic, Governmental, and non-profit organisations in the Geographies in which she works; including WorldFish, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute and Seychelles Fishing Authority.
Other affiliations
Adjunct Research Fellow: ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University
Affiliated Researcher: Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University
Christina teaches primarily on LEC’s geography courses and convenes LEC 225 People and the Sea
Select media
Video: Cinner et al 2016 in Nature video coverage by Reuters in The Washington Post ‘Some Coral Reefs are Actually Thriving’
Web: Hicks et al 2016 in Science covered by the Huffington Post ‘Why Human Wellness is Critical to Combatting Climate Change’
Seminars Online
Bevan Series Talk 2018
Human Dimensions of Ecosystem Services
Current Students
- Marleen Schutter, ‘Transitions in ecosystem service values’, PhD
- Anna Woodhead, ‘Capturing Ecosystem Service delivery’, PhD
- Jacqueline Lau: Winners and Losers in Coral Reefs: Ecosystem Services, Equity and Institutions, PhD
- Emmanuel Mbaru, ‘Using fisheries dependent data and socio-economic indicators to develop ecosystem based fisheries management tools’ PhD
- Emily Malsack, ‘Aquarium fish Trade in the Philippines’, MSc (research)
- Rebecca Turley, ‘Aquarium fish Trade in the Philippines’, MSc (research)
- Alice Craven, ‘Are the most nutritious fish accessible to the poor?’ MSci
Jacqueline Lau, Winners and Losers in Coral Reefs: Ecosystem Services, Equity and Institutions, PhD
Emmanuel Mbaru, ‘Using fisheries dependent data and socio-economic indicators to develop ecosystem based fisheries management tools’ PhD
PhD, Mialy Andriamahefazafy, Lausanne, Switzerland
PhD, Rosanna Carver, Lancaster University, UK
PhD, Rebecca Short, Imperial, UK
PhD, Katarsyna Mikolajczak, Lancaster University, UK
PhD, Sieglind Wallner Hahn, Stockholm University, Sweden
PhD, Bijayalakshmi Devi Nongmaithem, Southern Cross University, Australia
PhD, Jonas Fox, Lancaster University, UK
PhD Daniel Tregidgo, Lancaster University, UK
MRes Leyla Page, Lancaster University, UK
