Dr Gail Stott

I have been involved in conservation since 2007, working on projects in Cambodia, Australia, Belize, Saudi Arabia, and Tajikistan. Most of my research centres around the collection and analysis of biodiversity data to inform practical conservation. I am particularly interested in working with local stakeholders to develop evidence-based adaptive management of protected areas, and in building capacity to integrate botanical research & monitoring into strategies for the sustainable use of plants. 

After a PhD at the University of Oxford, I joined the Centre for Middle Eastern Plants in 2019 to work on a Darwin Initiative project in Tajikistan. The project reduced wild collecting of six target species by providing people with skills and resources to cultivate these plants near their homes. Alongside this, I worked with in-country partners to collect distribution data, information on wild collecting and other threats, and used spatial analysis and species distribution models to inform IUCN Red List assessments.

I currently lead research on a checklist of plants for the Arabian Peninsula which feeds into curation & management of a comprehensive database of plant records for the region. I am also developing a research collaboration with an NGO in Iraq to support designation of a new protected area.