Mattia Troiano

Project Title: Navigating nature recovery landscapes: towards equitable and effective outcomes for planet and people

My personal background in critical political and economic theory, including decolonial scholarship, has led me to develop a specific approach and intent in my research: decolonising white middle class environmentalism by facilitating and giving visibility to loci of justice in environmental governance, deeply shaped by power inequalities at all levels. My ongoing research seeks to create space for community-driven non-mainstream nature conservation and restoration initiatives and enquires governance structures to inform more equitable solutions.

In partnership with the Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership (OLNP), my PhD research project explores the complexity of the nature recovery agenda. By exploring the intersection of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy, Biodiversity Net Gain (both part of the Environment Act 2021) and the Green Infrastructure Framework from Natural England, the project considers trade-offs and synergies to maximise outcomes of equitable nature recovery for different actors and governance levels. By drawing from the descriptive potential of system thinking and the analytical lens of critical political ecology, the project aims at informing a more equity-centric framework for collaborative and strategic nature recovery.

I hold a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) from Goldsmiths, University of London and have worked in European advocacy before my time at Oxford. I then completed the MPhil in Environmental Change and Management at the School of Geography and the Environment in 2024 and have since then worked on equity in the English biodiversity market on the Agile Initiative research programme at the Oxford Martin School.

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