Doctoral Dissertation Research: Spatial and Geological Mapping in Local Communities

This doctoral dissertation research investigates the decision-making, motivations, and variations amongst local and indigenous communities in the management of land and other natural resources. It specifically examines how local communities build and adapt sustainable solutions to changing environmental and political conditions. The dissertation research project trains a graduate student in methods of scientific data collection and analysis. Findings will be disseminated in various public venues to help the public understand the ways local and diverse communities and their needs can be included in adaptations to global energy and resource transitions. To analyze how and why various stakeholders in local communities manage natural resources and decision-making the investigators use systematic spatial land-mapping, geological data, impact assessments, and ethnographic methods. Findings from this study contribute to the scholarship in environmental anthropology, studies of land use, and geology. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.