The role of social media in forest and nature conservation policy debates

I would like to pursue a PhD as part of the Forest and Nature Policy Group at Wageningen University to explore how ‘born-digital’ data could be repurposed to study forests and nature conservation policy debates, and more broadly, social media-informed participatory formats of public engagement around policy issues associated with forests and nature. I have a strong interest in examining online policy debates and narratives around forest and nature conservation, in particular, how policy-relevant issues are put on the public agenda via the web, how these issues are portrayed on digital platforms, who addresses and engages with these issues, which narratives are used by those actors, and in what way emerging issues and themes online are addressed/not addressed in forest and nature conservation policy. Through the external PhD at Wageningen, I would like to expand my current research interest to seek a solution to the real-life issues experienced by policymakers, namely the implementation of effective public engagement around forest and nature conservation policy issues, informed by a diverse range of social media activities by broader publics.