Contact Details

Telephone

work +44 (0)1224 273837

Email

tavis.potts@abdn.ac.uk

Address

The University of Aberdeen University of Aberdeen
Department of Geography and Environment
Elphinstone Road
Aberdeen  AB24 3UF

Web Links

https://www.facebook.com/SustainableSeas/

Biography

Dr Tavis Potts is a Senior Lecturer in environmental geography and Director of the MSc in Environmental Partnership Management at the University of Aberdeen. Dr Potts interests include marine protected areas and marine resource governance; the political economy of ecosystem services; public perceptions of marine environments; green consumerism and eco-labelling and the emergence of the blue (low carbon) economy.

Research Interests

Dr Tavis Potts is a Senior Lecturer in environmental geography and Director of the MSc in Environmental Partnership Management at the University of Aberdeen. Dr Potts interests include innovation in coastal conservation and resource management; the political economy of ecosystem services; public perceptions of marine environments; green consumerism and eco-labelling and the blue economy in theory and practice. 

Dr Potts is engaged in research projects and policy initiatives that work with coastal communities and industries in developing ecosystem based approaches to marine planning; conservation and management. Projects and topics inclue: 

• The application of ecosystem service concepts to marine protected area governance to understand the social benefits; impacts and effectivenss of designations;
• Developing participatory and survey based approaches to map social values, uses and benefits of the coastal environment and exploring links to wellbeing;
• Exploring the processes and impacts of market based approaches such as ecoloabelling in fisheries and aquaculture and the links to changing consumer perceptions of seafood;
• Understanding the emergence, effectiveness and components of the blue economy from international to local scales and the role of marine spatial planning;
• Working and innovating across the science-policy and art-science interface

Collaborations

Dr Potts has geographical research interests in Scotland and the UK, North-East Europe, the Polar regions; East Asia; Australia and Peru. Dr Potts is actively involved moving between social science and policy practice in the UK. He is a member of the Scottish Coastal Forum and Director of the East Grampian Coastal Partnership; is a non-executive member of the UK Government Marine Science Coordination Committee and Chair of the recent Marine Social Science Task Group that will promote dialogue and knowledge sharing between social scientists and policy makers. 

Research Grants

Selected Grants 

• University of Aberdeen Impact Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation award (2017 10k)
• British Council Peru - Researcher Links Grants. Advancing Green Growth in Peru: A spotlight on tourism, transport and the blue economy (2016, £32k).
• Royal Geographic Society of Edinburgh and Natural Science Foundation of China. Mapping Coastal Ecosystem Services in Scotland and China. Scientific Exchange Network. (2015-17, £13k)
• NERC Knowledge Exchange: Cooperative Participatory Evaluation of Renewable Technologies on Ecosystem Services (CORPORATES) (2014-16, £110k – Co-Investigator.
• World Bank: Review of STAP Marie Litter Program (2014 , £1500)
• Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) Implementing an ecosystem service approach in the UK (2013, £40k).
• EU FP7 IDREEM (Increasing Industrial Resource Efficiency in European Mariculture)(Co-Investigator & Work Package leader on Social and Policy Analysis (2012-2014; £200 000)
• EU LIFE+ Celtic Sea Partnership (Policy Network Analysis and community engagement) (2013, £110k).
• MSP-LED (Local Economic Development and Marine Planning) Centre of Expertise in Water (CREW) (2012-13, 50k)Centre of Expertise in Water (CREW) Coasts and Catchment Integration. £22 k
• ECOBAR: Environmental and Benthic Indicators for industrial development in the Barents Sea. Norwegian Funding Council. (WP Leader) £35k 2009-10
• Knowledge Based Development of Europe’s Seas (KNOWSEAS) EU FP7 2009-2013 Co-Investigator & Work Package leader (£150k) overall project €9 million). 

Publications 

View publications