Postdoctoral Research Associate in Physical Geography

We are seeking to appoint a full-time Postdoctoral Research Associate in Physical Geography to work on the UKRI-funded Future Leader Fellowship “Digging into sand: new territories in the making” with Dr. Laura Schoenberger.

The core aim of the project is to make sand extraction and its associated issues visible through an investigation of its particular geographies in terms of how and where it takes place and its effects on ecologies and livelihoods. This research ‘follows the sand’, starting with extraction points in Southeast Asia. The research objectives driving this study are designed to contribute to theoretical debates, activist work, and policy by constructing a political ecology of sand extraction; building the evidence base through new empirical knowledge; and analysing the different legal arrangements surrounding the mining and trade of sand. A key output of the research will be an online database and mapping tool to visualize and track where sand is being mined and to trace how sand moves from extraction points through commodity chains.

The PDRA will work with satellite imagery to map and analyse the shifting locations of sand dredging, other methods of extraction, and the movement of sand, and document resultant environmental changes such as wetland infill and land reclamation. Data generated will contribute to building the evidence base through generating new empirical knowledge of where sand is being mined and how it moves through the commodity chain to its eventual uses. The post-holder will create an online database and mapping tool and work towards documenting hidden extraction. They will also identify and explore new ways to spatially and visually depict the workings of the sand industry.

The post-holder will be based at Durham University, but will be expected to work closely with collaborators at Newcastle University and with civil society partners in Southeast Asia. They will be expected to travel to conduct field research during the course of the project. They will also be expected to ensure that the understandings and tools developed in this project are relevant to the research needs and skills of a wide range of potential stakeholders.

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