Elizabeth De Santo is Associate Professor and Chair of the Environmental Studies Program at Franklin & Marshall College, based in the Department of Earth and Environment.
She is a human geographer with training in environmental law, history of international relations, environmental management, and marine zoology. Elizabeth's teaching and research focus on marine conservation and environmental governance, critically examining: (1) the efficacy of spatial approaches to conserving marine species and habitats, and (2) mechanisms for improving the science-policy interface in environmental decision-making. She is particularly interested in the challenges of effectively implementing Marine Protected Areas and biodiversity conservation worldwide.
Prior to joining F&M, Elizabeth taught in the Marine Affairs Program and College of Sustainability at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She has also held positions with the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and the World Environment Center, consultancies with the Office of the Auditor General of Canada and the Institute for European Environmental Policy, and she is a member of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law. She holds a PhD in Geography (co-supervised in Laws) from University College London, an MSc in the History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University, and a BA in Zoology from Connecticut College.
She is a human geographer with training in environmental law, history of international relations, environmental management, and marine zoology. Elizabeth's teaching and research focus on marine conservation and environmental governance, critically examining: (1) the efficacy of spatial approaches to conserving marine species and habitats, and (2) mechanisms for improving the science-policy interface in environmental decision-making. She is particularly interested in the challenges of effectively implementing Marine Protected Areas and biodiversity conservation worldwide.
Prior to joining F&M, Elizabeth taught in the Marine Affairs Program and College of Sustainability at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She has also held positions with the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and the World Environment Center, consultancies with the Office of the Auditor General of Canada and the Institute for European Environmental Policy, and she is a member of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law. She holds a PhD in Geography (co-supervised in Laws) from University College London, an MSc in the History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University, and a BA in Zoology from Connecticut College.
Latest News/Media:
A rush is on to mine the deep seabed, with effects on ocean life that aren't well understood
Mining the ocean floor for submerged minerals is a little-known, experimental industry. But soon it will take place on the deep seabed, which belongs to everyone, according to international law. Seabed mining for valuable materials like copper, zinc and lithium already takes place within countries' marine territories.
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As part of @FandMCollege's #FacultyFridays series, I was invited to talk about my research and teaching on Ocean Conservation and Marine Protected Areas - if you'd like to know more about these topics, enjoy! #BBNJ #MPAs #UNCLOS https://t.co/P6sUXn0Sdp
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My recent work on militarized MPAs was featured in this podcast, check it out... #MPAs #MarSocSci https://t.co/aF71Ls1yhq
Elizabeth De Santo, Franklin & Marshall College - Protecting the Oceans - The Academic Minute
On Franklin & Marshall Week: We are at a crucial moment for the health of our oceans. Elizabeth De Santo, associate professor of environmental studies, discusses what can be done. Professor De Santo is a human geographer with training in environmental law, international relations, environmental management and marine zoology.
Franklin & Marshall - Student Examines German Energy Policy in German
Franklin & Marshall College offers students a hands-on education that emphasizes close relationships with faculty. Students flourish in a supportive community that treats them as an individual, and their successes continue long after F&M. The College is a national leader in launching students and alumni to opportunities where they make a difference in the community and the world.
Analysis | 71 countries are negotiating a new biodiversity treaty. Here's what you need to know.
On Monday, under United Nations auspices, 71 countries debated in the first round of negotiations for a new "international legally binding instrument ... on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction."
Why we should care about the bottom of the ocean
Each of us can make a difference in our own way, whether by advocating for marine protection, boycotting plastic, eating sustainably-caught seafood, or just helping our friends and children learn to value the 70 percent of the planet we often take for granted.
How to save the high seas
In the early fifteenth century, Portuguese sailors reached a becalmed part of the Atlantic Ocean, coated with mats of gold-brown seaweed. Under windless skies, their ships drifted idly with the currents. The sailors named the seaweed Sargassum - after its resemblance to a Portuguese plant - and the region eventually became known as the Sargasso Sea.
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EIUI Team Member, Elizabeth De Santo, Cited in Scientific American https://t.co/HZDGq4gT9l Link to issue: https://t.co/Dy3BUNEvqU @sciam @OceanAcademic
Get your research off the shelf and into policy: Writing reports and
Editor's note: The Environmental Information: Use and Influence research program (EIUI) MEAM: Tell us a bit about your research. - which brings together experts in information management and the natural and social sciences - examines the role of marine scientific information in environmental management. The program is based at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada.
Franklin & Marshall - National Monuments Need Protection, Environmental Studies Professor Says
Franklin & Marshall College offers students a hands-on education that emphasizes close relationships with faculty. Students flourish in a supportive community that treats them as an individual, and their successes continue long after F&M. The College is a national leader in launching students and alumni to opportunities where they make a difference in the community and the world.
Franklin & Marshall - Research Takes Senior, Professor to Bonn UN Conference on Biodiversity
Franklin & Marshall College offers students a hands-on education that emphasizes close relationships with faculty. Students flourish in a supportive community that treats them as an individual, and their successes continue long after F&M. The College is a national leader in launching students and alumni to opportunities where they make a difference in the community and the world.
Hawaii and other big marine protected areas 'could work against conservation'
British and US marine scientists say that the race to designate ever-bigger marine national parks in remote parts of the world could work against conservation. In an commentary timed to coincide with President Obama's announcement of the huge extension of a marine park off Hawaii, the authors argue that the creation of very large marine protection areas (Vlmpas) may give the illusion of conservation, when in fact they may be little more than "paper parks".
Bringing science and scholarship to public policy
Why doesn't scientific information always flow through the appropriate channels to inform public policy? That's what Bertrum MacDonald, currently acting dean of the Faculty of Management, and his team with the Environmental Information: Use and Influence research program asked themselves before setting the wheels in motion on a new interdisciplinary graduate course.
The race for vast remote 'marine protected areas' may be a diversion
The seas around Hawaii are set to become the world's largest marine protected area, US president Barack Obama has announced. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument will be expanded to more than 1.5m square kilometres - that's as big as France, Spain and Germany combined. If this story sounds familiar that's because it is.
Planning for equity and social justice in ocean use
Equity and social justice concerns are intrinsic to all ocean planning processes. Some groups benefit more, or are perceived to benefit more, than others in terms of continued or new access to space and resources.
Franklin & Marshall - Initiative: Diving for Sea Turtles, Launching a Career
Franklin & Marshall College offers students a hands-on education that emphasizes close relationships with faculty. Students flourish in a supportive community that treats them as an individual, and their successes continue long after F&M. The College is a national leader in launching students and alumni to opportunities where they make a difference in the community and the world.
Franklin & Marshall - At F&M's Phillips Museum, An Exhibit for All Seasons
Franklin & Marshall College offers students a hands-on education that emphasizes close relationships with faculty. Students flourish in a supportive community that treats them as an individual, and their successes continue long after F&M. The College is a national leader in launching students and alumni to opportunities where they make a difference in the community and the world.
Negotiated learning: Simulating an international environment convention
For three days last month, the University's Club Great Hall was home to an international negotiation of sorts between the Students of SUST 2001 - Environment, Sustainability and Governance: A Global Perspective. Their goal: pass six articles on Access and Benefit Sharing within the Convention on Biological Diversity, a document which they collaborated to prepare over the last few months.
Ocean conservation: Uncertain sanctuary
D. Doubilet/Natl. Geogr. Former US President George W. Bush did not garner much applause from environmentalists during his eight years in the White House, but on 15 June 2006, he gave them something to cheer about. Bush signed an order to create the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in Hawaii, then the world's largest ocean conservation area.
Scientists urge greater protection of marine preserves
A group of marine researchers and scientists have banded together for one purpose: to fight for protected areas of the ocean to ensure they are free of harmful industrial activities. A report commissioned by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) was introduced at the recent International Marine Conservation Congress in Victoria, B.C.
