What Faculty do you work in?
Science and Engineering

What is your main area of research?
I am an evolutionary biologist with a strong focus on reptiles and amphibians, especially venomous and poisonous species. Part of my work has a heavily applied slant, in particular collaborations with engineers to improve road drainage infrastructure for wildlife conservation, and collaborations with social scientists and local people to reduce venomous snakebite in rural Ugandan communities and enhance human-wildlife coexistence.

Why is your research important?
Humans cannot develop modern infrastructure (such as road networks) without having an impact on wildlife. Hence, there must be interaction between zoologists and the engineers who design, build, and manage the built environment to mitigate and minimize those impacts. My research in this vein focused on road drainage ‘gully pots’ which act as lethal traps for small animals, especially toads, who fall in and can’t escape. We are designing, developing, and testing new gully pot designs in the lab and the field to create options that retain the key drainage function while allowing trapped animals to escape.

Human-wildlife conflict is an important socioeconomic, public health, and conservation issue throughout the world, and one major component of this (especially in tropical latitudes) is venomous snakebites. The WHO have designated snakebite envenoming as a Neglected Tropical Disease, recognizing its “devastating health, social and economic consequences” and the disproportionate impact “among impoverished communities in tropical areas”. Much of the work on this problem has focused on new and better treatments once a bite takes place, but even if successful for preventing death of the victim, snakebite can impose life-changing physical and mental health consequences that can limit the health and livelihoods of the bitten person and their family. Prevention is undoubtedly better than cure. Killing snakes is a common reaction to this issue but can both create increased risk of bites and be detrimental to snake populations (the IUCN recognize ‘persecution and control’ as amongst the biggest conservation threats to snakes). My research combines expertise in snake biology with community engagement approaches to generating human behaviour change to prevent snakebites, promoting human-wildlife coexistence to the benefit of all parties under a One Health lens.

What SDG is your research most closely aligned with?
These research projects interface with several SDGs, with both strands coming under SDG 15 (Life on Land). The research on wildlife-friendly road drainage also contributes towards SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure). Due to the diverse consequences of the problem (health, socioeconomic, and conservation) and the integration of local communities in the research, my work on snakebite prevention in the rural tropics contributes to several SDGs, most directly SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing). As a ‘disease of poverty’ that impacts food security and ability to sustain livelihoods in the effected communities, the work will help address SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger). Finally, by working closely and equitably with Ugandan communities to enhance their knowledge and capacity to improve the safety of their surroundings, the work contributes to SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

What do you hope to accomplish with your research?
I ultimately aim to find win-win solutions to global issues that need addressing at a local level, such as those involving human-wildlife conflict in the broad sense, from shared habitats to direct interactions. My research is showing how successful coexistence is possible when those affected are involved and when the right blend of experience is combined. Conservation and human wellbeing is not a zero sum game – we can devise solutions that will simultaneously benefit both in multifarious ways.

Is there a cross-disciplinary element to your research?  If so, who else at the University is involved?
Within the University I collaborate with engineers Patricia Xavier (now moved to another institution) and Vasileios Samaras for the road drainage work, and behavioural ecologist Hazel Nichols for the snakebite work.

Are there any external collaborators involved?
The road drainage project is supported by collaborations with ecological consultants and engineers at Atkins and SWTRA (who are responsible for managing the Welsh Government’s strategic road network across South Wales).

For my snakebite work I collaborate with a social science colleague at the University of Edinburgh (Jess Mitchell) and also with the Ugandan communities (in general and with key partners) within which we work.

What is next for your research?
We are currently running field trials for our new gully pots, which if successful we will look to roll out across the UK’s road network starting with South Wales, facilitated by our external partners.

We are also working to scale up our snakebite prevention efforts following successful trials of our community engagement approach to mitigating the problem. This will involve bringing in more partners, preparing resources to enable our interventions to be used elsewhere to make use of local knowledge and experiences to minimize the problem. We are also seeking to prepare more resources for our current focal communities, based on cultural insights we have gained from the communities, including locally tailored videos and leveraging local folk tales to sustainably generate income to support snakebite prevention efforts, driven by the people themselves to provide a sense of ownership of the solutions.

 

Dr Kevin Arbuckle