How is biodiversity conservation related to geopolitics in the Earth’s critical edges? This episode discusses the challenges related to transboundary conservation and research in the Korean peninsula and its Demilitarized Zone, a strip of land that divides North and South Korea. Our guest, Joshua Elves-Powell, talks about his research related to large carnivores, with a focus on the endangered Amur Tiger. The episode dives deep into research and practice, addressing the critical edge of planetary boundaries, global biodiversity loss, and accelerating climate change, which threaten our planet’s essential processes and Earth’s safe operating space. Several transdisciplinary methods help to explore and conserve biodiversity in the context of high political sensitivity. Join us for this fascinating episode hosted by Eleonoora Karttunen and Katherine Hall.
Joshua Elves-Powell is a conservation biologist, postdoctoral researcher at the University College London and a visiting researcher in the Tiger and Leopard Conservation Fund in Korea and the ZSL Institute of Zoology. He is the founder and expedition leader of Rangers Without Borders, a program that supports wildlife rangers across Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe. Joshua is also a National Geographic Explorer. Among others, he is the author of “Integrating local ecological knowledge and remote sensing reveals patterns and drivers of forest cover change: North-Korea as a case study”, published in Regional Environmental Change.
Date of recording: 31 January 2025
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