I have been working in conservation for the last 12 years, in various volunteer, fundraising and project coordination positions. I have extensive fieldwork experience and have conducted both social and ecological research in countries such as South Africa, Madagascar, Uganda, Poland and Cambodia. I completed a PhD in Conservation Science at Bangor University in 2022.

Email: harriet.ibbett@bangor.ac.uk

Twitter: @harrietibbett

• PhD: Understanding rule-breaking in conservation
  2019–2022
• MSc: Conservation Science
  Imperial College London, 2014–2015
• BSc: Environmental Geography and International Development
  University of East Anglia, 2008–2011

My research is primarily focussed on understanding rule-breaking and compliance in conservation, with a specific interest in research ethics and law enforcement around protected areas.

During my PhD I investigated the most appropriate methods to elicit robust information about the prevalence of sensitive behaviour in different conservation contexts. I worked as part of a wider project, and undertook fieldwork in and around Protected Areas in Indonesia and Tanzania.

2024

• E-pub ahead of printCross-cultural applications of the New Ecological Paradigm in protected area contexts
  Dorward, L., Ibbett, H., Dwiyahreni, A. A., Kohi, E. M., Prayitno, K., Sankeni, S., Kaduma, J. F., Mawenya, R., Mchomvu, J., Sabiladiyni, H., Saputra, A. W., Supriatna, J., Trywidiarini, T. & St. John, F. A. V., 18 Sept 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Environment and Behavior.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• E-pub ahead of printImproving compliance around protected areas through fair administration of rules
  Ibbett, H., Dorward, L., Jones, J. P. G., Kohi, E. M., Dwiyahreni, A. A., Sankeni, S., Prayitno, K., Mchomvu, J., Kaduma, J. F., Saputra, A. W., Agustin, I. Y., Trywidiarini, T., Mawenya, R., Supriatna, J. & St. John, F. A. V., 17 Jul 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Conservation Biology.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedProtected areas and people: Understanding the links between well-being and rule breaking around the Leuser Ecosystem
  Ibbett, H., Dorward, L. & St. John, F. A. V., 20 Feb 2024
  Research output: Other contribution
• PublishedUnderstanding the links between well-being and rule breaking around protected areas
  Ibbett, H., Dorward, L., Dwiyahreni, A. A., Kohi, E. M. & St. John, F. A. V., 1 Feb 2024
  Research output: Other contribution

2023

• PublishedA mixed methods approach for measuring topic sensitivity in conservation
  Ibbett, H., Jones, J. P. G., Dorward, L., Kohi, E. M., Dwiyahreni, A. A., Prayitno, K., Sankeni, S., Kaduma, J., Mchomvu, J., Saputra, A. W., Sabiladiyni, H., Supriatna, J. & St John, F. A. V., 1 Aug 2023, In: People and Nature. 5, 4, p. 1245-1261 17 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedProtected areas and people: Understanding the links between well-being and rule breaking around the Ruaha-Rungwa landscape
  Ibbett, H., Dorward, L. & St. John, F. A. V., 30 Nov 2023
  Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
• PublishedTopic sensitivity still affects honest responding, even when specialized questioning techniques are used
  Ibbett, H., Dorward, L., Jones, J. P. G., Kohi, E. M., Sankeni, S., Kaduma, J., Mchomvu, J., Mawenya, R. & St. John, F. A. V., Jun 2023, In: Conservation Science and Practice. 5, 6, e12927.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2022

• PublishedExperimental Validation of Specialised Questioning Techniques in Conservation
  Ibbett, H., Dorward, L., Dwiyahreni, A. A., Jones, J. P. G., Kaduma, J., Kohi, E. M., Mchomvu, J., Prayitno, K., Sabiladiyni, H., Sankeni, S., Saputra, A. W., Supriatna, J. & St John, F. A. V., Oct 2022, In: Conservation Biology.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2021

• PublishedAsking sensitive questions in conservation using Randomised Response Techniques
  Ibbett, H., Jones, J. P. G. & St John, F. A. V., 1 Aug 2021, In: Biological Conservation. 260, 109191.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedEstimating hunting prevalence and wild meat reliance in Cambodia’s Eastern Plains
  Ibbett, H., Milner-Gulland, E., Dobson, A. D. M., Griffin, O., Travers, H. & Keane, A., Nov 2021, In: Oryx. 55, 6, p. 878-888
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2020

• PublishedChapter Five - Understanding local resource users’ behaviour, perspectives and priorities to underpin conservation practice
  Milner-Gulland, E., Ibbett, H., Wilfred, P., Cosmas Ngoteya, H. & Lestari, P., 23 Apr 2020, Conservation Research, Policy and Practice. Cambridge University Press, p. 63-81
  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
• PublishedConservation publications and their provisions to protect research participants
  Ibbett, H. & Brittain, S., Feb 2020, In: Conservation Biology. 34, 1, p. 80-92 13 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedEthical considerations when conservation research involves people
  Brittain, S., Ibbett, H., de Lange, E., Dorward, L., Hoyte, S., Marino, A., Milner-Gulland, E., Newth, J., Rakotonarivo, S., Verissimo, D. & Lewis, J., 31 Aug 2020, In: Conservation Biology. 34, 4, p. 925-933
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedExperimentally assessing the effect of search effort on snare detectability
  Ibbett, H., Milner-Gulland, E., Beale, C., Dobson, A. D. M., Griffin, O., O'Kelly, H. J. & Keane, A., Jul 2020, In: Biological Conservation. 247, 108581.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedMaking messy data work for conservation
  Dobson, A. D. M., Milner-Gulland, E., Aebischer, N. J., Beale, C., Brozovic, R., Coals, P., Critchlow, R., Dancer, A., Greve, M., Hinsley, A., Ibbett, H., Johnston, A., Kuiper, T., Le Comber, S., Mahood, S. P., Moore, J. F., Nilsen, E. B., Pocock, M. J. O., Quinn, A., Travers, H., Wilfred, P., Wright, J. & Keane, A., 22 May 2020, In: One Earth. 2, 5, p. 455-465
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2019

• PublishedConserving a globally threatened species in a semi-natural, agrarian landscape
  Ibbett, H., Lay, C., Phlai, P., Song, D., Hong, C., Mahood, S. P. & Milner-Gulland, E., Jan 2019, In: Oryx. 53, 1, p. 181-191
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedDetecting deterrence from patrol data
  Dobson, A., Milner-Gulland, E., Beale, C., Ibbett, H. & Keane, A., Jun 2019, In: Conservation Biology. 33, 3, p. 665-675
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedIntegrating models of human behaviour between the individual and population levels to inform conservation interventions
  Dobson, A. D. M., de Lange, E., Keane, A., Ibbett, H. & Milner-Gulland, E., 16 Sept 2019, In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 374, 1781, 20180053.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2018

• PublishedAsking sensitive questions using the unmatched count technique: Applications and guidelines for conservation
  Hinsley, A., Keane, A., St John, F. A. V., Ibbett, H. & Nuno, A., 2018, In: Methods in Ecology and Evolution. p. 1-12
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2024

• Ethical challenges of asking people directly about compliance

  To develop interventions that provide positive outcomes for both people and nature, conservationists need to better understand human behaviour, particularly the factors that influence compliance. However, research in this area is often hindered by the challenging nature of the topic; people are rarely willing to reveal their involvement, meaning it is difficult to access reliable data. Moreover, conducting research in this area raises a range of ethical and methodological concerns, which if unaddressed can have significant impacts on biodiversity outcomes, as well as human well-being. I’ll provide a broad overview of these challenges, reflect on ways of tackling them, and outline why their consideration can help move conservation research, policy, and practice towards a more socially just, biodiversity positive agenda.

  31 Jul 2024

  Activity: Invited talk (Speaker)
• Reconceptualising conservation law enforcement in protected areas

  Urgency to save species from extinction has prompted increased investment in law enforcement in and around protected areas, with considerable conservation resource spent training enforcers and supporting efforts to increase detection, prosecution, and sanctioning. However, relatively little evidence for the effectiveness of these approaches exists, and in recent years, investments in conservation law enforcement have come under increasing scrutiny due to associations with human-right abuses. In response, there has been a shift amongst practitioner organisations, funders, and governments to embed rights-based approaches into protected area governance, with a specific focus on implementing social safe-guards to improve how laws are enforced. To date dominant models of law enforcement have focused on increasing the cost of offending and reducing opportunities for offending to occur. Yet, other models of enforcement highlight that procedural fairness, and the legitimacy of enforcers and the laws themselves, are important but overlooked factors which can influence compliance. This workshop will draw conservation practitioners and academics together to share expertise and explore the need, opportunities, and challenges of reconceptualising how laws are enforced around protected areas.

  22 Jul 2024 – 24 Jul 2024

  Activity: Participation in Academic workshop, seminar, course (Organiser)
• European Conference for Conservation Biology

  Ethical challenges of asking people directly about compliance

  To develop interventions that provide positive outcomes for both people and nature, conservationists need to better understand human behaviour, particularly the factors that influence compliance. However, research in this area is often hindered by the challenging nature of the topic; people are rarely willing to reveal their involvement in illicit acts, meaning it is difficult to collect reliable data. Moreover, conducting research in this area raises a range of ethical and methodological concerns, which if not addressed, can have significant impacts on biodiversity outcomes, as well as human well-being. Here, we provide a broad overview of these challenges and outline how their consideration can help move conservation research, policy, and practice towards more socially just, biodiversity positive agenda.

  20 Jun 2024

  Activity: Participation in Academic conference (Speaker)
• Student Conference for Conservation Science

  Delivered workshops on social science research methods and research ethics.

  26 Mar 2024 – 28 Mar 2024

  Activity: Participation in Academic workshop, seminar, course (Speaker)
• Delivery of a series of workshops to conservation scientists, practitioners and government representatives in Indonesia.

  Delivery of two workshops in Jakarta and Banda Aceh to share research findings from the CONHUB project with academics, Government and NGOs representatives.

  24 Feb 2024 – 28 Feb 2024

  Activity: Participation in Academic workshop, seminar, course (Speaker)

2023

• Delivery of a series of workshops to conservation scientists, practitioners and government representatives in Tanzania.

  Delivery of a series of training workshops in social science research methods and dissemination of research findings from the CONHUB project. In total 4 separate workshops were run in 4 different locations (Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Irina, Arusha). Participants included representatives from: the Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources, TAWIRI, TAFORI, TANAPA, University of Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, the Open University, alongside NGOs including STEP, Lion Landscapes, Frankfurt Zoological Society, WWF, WCS.

  27 Nov 2023 – 9 Dec 2023

  Activity: Participation in Academic workshop, seminar, course (Organiser)