Phd in ENVIRONMENTAL AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY

Graduated summa cum lauda from the University of Rome La Sapienza, I obtained an MS in EcoBiology, with research on ‘Environmental factors and human activity as drivers of tree cover and density on the Island of Socotra, Yemen’. With the tool Collect Earth, a freely available software implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in collaboration with Google Earth, I mapped the tree cover distribution and studied the relative influence of environmental factors and human activity (roads and population density) on changes in tree cover and density.
After I graduated with an MS, I was hired as a data analyst consultant at FAO with the Dryland Forestry team in the Forestry Policy and Resources Division. This work aimed at providing recommendations to facilitate reversing the negative trends of land degradation and increasing awareness of the importance of arid environments.
I am currently a PhD candidate in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Rome La Sapienza, and my dissertation project I will focus on studying the effectiveness of the Management Models of Protected Areas in Southern Africa closely Examining the Link between Local Communities and Savannah Ecosystems.