Frederico Santarém

I studied Biology in Faculty of Sciences of University of Porto and graduated in Ecology, Environment and Territory in 2013. During my MSc, I developed new methodologies to assess the ecotourism potential of hiking trails in protected areas. Since then, I have been evaluating ecotourism as a tool to preserve threatened biodiversity in the underdeveloped Sahara-Sahel region, while enhancing local economies.

During my Ph.D., in a partnership between the CIBIO-InBIO and the Geography Research Unit-University of Oulu, Finland, I am addressing the following questions: 1) which flagship species can be used for conservation marketing and ecotourism promotion in deserts?; 2) which natural and cultural features influence attractiveness of arid environments, and which factors negatively affect ecotourism development and wildlife conservation at different spatial scales?; and 3) does ecotourism provide more economic revenues for poor local communities and for wildlife conservation than other currently practiced land-uses?

I’ve published five papers in scientific journals as main author, including a letter in the prestigious Nature journal. I was the Principal Investigator of the project "Conserving Desert Biodiversity through Crocodile-based Ecotourism in Mauritania”, funded by the Rufford Foundation. I have been collaborating as a reviewer for many scientific journals in the fields of biological conservation, tourism management, and ecotourism. I am member of the IUCN WCPA Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group (TAPAS) - where we discuss issues related to sustainable tourism development in natural areas - and I was a tour guide in Peneda-Gerês National Park, Portugal for three years. I am also an environmental consultant.