Conservationist.
Animal Geographer.
Political Ecologist.
Arzucan is a United World College alumna, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers (RGS-IBG) and the newly appointed 2021 European Rolex Scholar of the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society®. She holds an MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management from the University of Oxford, where her research focused on anthropogenic disturbance of migratory sharks in small island developing nations in Dr Lisa Wedding’s Seascape Ecology Lab. She was part of the Barba.no Arctic Sense crew that circumnavigated Svalbard by sailboat in search for blue whales.
Driven by a love for wind-powered field work at sea, she co-founded and led the Oxford University Anthroposea Sailing Expedition, a research and storytelling project that commemorates the start of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the centenary of women’s admission to the university.
Her previous work has concentrated on coastal climate change resilience and marine plastics as part of the World Bank’s West Africa Coastal Areas (WACA) Program, supported by a joint fellowship from the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Academic Exchange Service and the Mercator Foundation for International Affairs.
She has led and participated in research expeditions on land and at sea across Europe, Latin America and Asia. She was the founder and expedition leader of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) Marine Social Science Expedition, an innovative sailing voyage in collaboration with Sail Britain to advocate for the integration of the social sciences into marine research. Arzucan is also the founder and expedition leader of Mujeres Tarea Vida, a multi-disciplinary research project on gender and the environment in Cuba supported by the RGS-IBG, the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, as well as the Department of Geography and Environment at the LSE. As former environment editor of the jfa journal, and multi-media editor for the Anthroposphere: Oxford Climate Review, she enjoys writing on environmental justice issues, such as conservation refugees, climate change migration and human rights abuses at sea.
Arzucan is a sailor, freediver and PADI Divemaster, deeply passionate about scientific exploration, marine conservation and underwater cultural heritage. With a lifelong dedication to the protection of the world’s oceans, she has assisted in the monitoring of coral reef health in Hong Kong, the tracking of illegal fishing activities in Malaysia and ghost gear removal in Turkey. Selected to be one of the 14 global members of the Coral Gardeners Collective, she supports coral reef restoration in Tahiti, French Polynesia. She is a 2019 UNLEASH Innovation Lab Talent for SDG 13 (Climate Action) and has been shortlisted as one of the 12 “Women and the Ocean Changemakers” by the Economist Group’s World Ocean Summit 2020.
She is the proud daughter of Turkish immigrants to Germany and can be found dancing Argentine Tango, adventuring with her rescue dog or baking lemon cakes whenever she is not at sea.
Research Interests
With a background in both environmental governance and conservation biology, Arzucan is dedicated to intersectional, inclusive and interdisciplinary conservation research and storytelling that bridge the natural and social sciences in the field.
Equipped with scientific literacy across the marine and terrestrial world, a never-ending curiosity for the exploration of our beautiful planet and a passion for innovation, her focus is on developing transformative solutions for the protection of biodiversity and the livelihoods that depend on it. She is equally as passionate about the exploration of our natural world as she is about human cultures and their relationship with it and is committed to tackling the socio-environmental challenges we face in the Anthropocene.
She is deeply captivated by the complex issues arising where the oceans meet society; primarily the epistemologies, practices and politics of marine biodiversity conservation and human-animal relationships in post-colonial contexts. Her wider focus areas include multi-species geographies and ontologies of extinction, non-human charisma, illegal wildlife trafficking and human-wildlife conflict. At the nexus of these issues, she is currently examining anthropogenic disturbance on migratory shark species in small island developing nations with Dr Lisa Wedding’s Seascape Ecology Lab at the University of Oxford.
Further research interests range across the conservation and environmental justice implications of underwater cultural heritage, questions around cognition and sentience in oceanic species, as well as as the ethics of marine biomedical research and biomimicry.
Hailing from a family of Turkish immigrants, poets and musicians, intercultural thinking, and a love for the arts are practically distilled in her drinking water. She frequently employs creative approaches in her field research, and loves bringing together empirical science and different forms of storytelling to catalyse positive change.
Research Expeditions / Fieldwork
Svalbard, Norway
Arctic Sense Expedition 2021
Barba.no / Supported by the European Rolex Scholarship of the Our World Underwater Scholarship Society
Cornwall, United Kingdom
Applying the Marine Social Sciences in the Field
Oxford University Anthroposea Expedition / Oxford University Expedition Council / Sail Britain
Pulau Gaya, Borneo, Malaysia
Socio-Economic Factors Contributing to Illegal Blast Fishing Activities in Tunku Abdulrahman National Park
Downbelow Wildlife Adventures / Tunku Abdulrahman National Park
Havana, Cuba
Project “Mujeres Tarea Vida”: Gendered Experiences of Climate Change
Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers / Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment / London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Geography and Environment
Crinan, United Kingdom
Marine Social Science Expedition: Marine Microplastics, Blue Economy and Geopolitical Implications of Underwater Cultural Heritage
London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Geography and Environment / Sail Britain / LSE Sustainable Futures Fund
Bethlehem, Palestine
Climate Change and the Securitisation of Water
German Academic Scholarship Foundation / GIZ
Sultanate of Oman
Spatial Distribution of Desert Settlements in the A’Sharqiya Sands
Independent fieldwork
Bodrum, Turkey
Artificial Reef Evaluation at Pinar 1 Ship Wreck
Turkuaz Diving Centre
New York, USA
Changes in Urban land use: Gentrification in Harlem
London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Geography and Environment
Kusadasi, Turkey
Artificial Reef Evaluation of an Airbus A300 Wreck
Active Blue Diving Centre
Hong Kong, SAR
Reef Ecology and Species Diversity in Hoi Ha Wan Marine Reserve
Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong / Reef Check / Coral Watch / Hong Kong Agriculture and Fisheries Department / World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Sipadan, Borneo, Malaysia
Species ID and Impact of Blast Fishing on Coral Reefs in Sipadan Marine Reserve
Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong / Reef Check / Coral Watch / Hong Kong Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
Batang Kali, Malaysia
Sustainable Forest Resource Management Practices of the Orang Asli
South East Asian Leadership Network (SEALNet) / EPIC Homes
Speaking Engagements
Deco Divers: Exploring the Deep South of Egypt (October 2021)
OWUSS European Rolex Scholarship: A Year at Sea
Royal Geographical Society Explore Conference (November 2020)
Project Mujeres Tarea Vida: Lessons in Gendered Climate Change Resilience from a Socialist Small Island Developing Nation
UNLEASH Innovation Lab - SDG 13: Climate Action (November 2019)
Integrating Nature-Based Indicators into Flood Prediction Mechanisms in Malawi
London School of Economics and Political Science (June 2019)
Stories from the Sea: The Human Side of Reef Decline in Malaysia
TEDx LSE ( March 2019)
Using the Power of Dance to Address Climate Change
German Academic Scholarship Foundation Sustainability Academy (May 2018)
Ocean Health: Human Dependence on our Global Seas
Fellowships / Academic Memberships
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers
The Royal Geographical Society (RGS) is the United Kingdom's learned society and professional body for geography, founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences. Today, it is the leading centre for geographers and geographical learning.
Fellow of the Zoological Society London
Founded in 1826 the Zoological Society is the world’s oldest international conservation charity. Devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats it brings together a distinguished network of scientists in the fields of biology, zoology and the life sciences.
Member of the British Ecological Society
The British Ecological Society is a learned society in the field of ecology that was founded in 1913. It is the oldest ecological society in the world. The Society's original objective was "to promote and foster the study of Ecology in its widest sense" and this remains the central theme guiding its activities today.
Student Member of the Explorer’s Club
The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as an important meeting point for explorers and scientists worldwide ever since.
Student Associate of the Linnean Society
Founded in 1788, Society of London is the world’s oldest active biological society. As it moves into its third century the Society provides a continuous forum for the discussion and advancement of the life sciences. It was at a meeting of the Society in 1858 that papers from Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace outlining the theory of evolution by natural selection were first presented.
Member of the Marine Social Science Network
Launched at the 2nd Society and the Sea Conference, the Marine Social Science Network brings together an international and interdisciplinary community of researchers, practitioners, policy makers and other interested stakeholders to further the discussions around better connecting marine social sciences with existing natural and physical science expertise, supporting the effective marine and coastal management and governance globally.
Member of the Women’s Aquatic Network
The Women’s Aquatic Network is a private, non-profit organization incorporated in 1985 in the District of Columbia. Its mission is to bring together professionals with interests in marine, coastal and aquatic policy, research, management, legislation, and other areas.
