Tobia de Scisciolo
PhD project title: Exploring the interconnections between Tourism, Marine Protected Areas, and Coral Reef Health: A Socio-Ecological Approach for the Dutch Caribbean.
Supervisory team: Erik Mijts (UA), Lisa Becking (WUR), Ingrid van de Leemput (WUR), Andries Richter (WUR)
PhD project description: The decline of coral reefs worldwide, particularly evident in the Caribbean, has been attributed to both local stressors, such as pollution, coastal development, and overfishing and global stressors, including rising sea temperatures. Concurrently, the region has experienced rapid growth in tourism, which has become a vital economic driver for many Caribbean islands. While tourism and coastal development can contribute to diversifying coastal economies and even support marine protected areas (MPAs), they can also exacerbate local stressors and hinder economic resilience. With my PhD within the INREEF project, by recognizing the interdependencies between the social system of tourism, MPAs, and the ecological system of coral reefs, I aim to adopt a socio-ecological approach to explore their interactions. This project seeks to assess the role of tourism in MPAs, understand the trajectories and lock-in processes influenced by tourism, and identify possible intervention points to prevent destabilizing feedback and protect the socio-ecological systems around coral reefs.
Tobia de Scisciolo is a PhD candidate jointly at the University of Aruba (UA) and Wageningen University & Research (WUR), working within the INREEF project on the socio-ecological drivers of coral reef resilience in the Dutch Caribbean. With a background in marine ecology and environmental sciences, his research focuses on the cumulative impacts of coastal development, tourism, and land-based pollution on coral reef health and on identifying leverage points for sustainable governance. He collaborates closely with local partners such as the Aruba Conservation Foundation and ScubbleBubbles, and he is involved in coral and mangrove restoration initiatives on Aruba. Tobia is passionate about bridging science and practice, integrating ecological monitoring with community-driven stewardship and education. He is also involved in teaching at the University of Aruba, mentoring students, and fostering local capacity for environmental research. Through this work, he promotes education for sustainable development, empowering young people to critically engage with local environmental challenges and to co-create solutions for a more resilient future. Ultimately, he aims to contribute to the design of context-sensitive restoration and management strategies that support both reef recovery and the well-being of coastal communities.