Thomas Addoah

I am a PhD student in the Conservation and Development Lab at the Department of Geography and the Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge. My PhD research explores the effective and equitable design and implementation of Forest-focused Supply Chain Policies (FSPs) in the cocoa sectors of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. I use a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative methods such as semi-structured and in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and field observations with quantitative methods like household surveys.

Before starting my PhD, I worked as a Field Research Coordinator at the Center for International Forestry Research in Ghana, contributing to a project that identified practices and policies to enhance the income and Food Security/Sovereignty of rural , Smallholder farmers through sustainable and socially equitable forest and tree management systems. I also served as a REDD+ Safeguards Advisor for the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) in Ghana, working with , Smallholder cocoa farmers and the Forestry Commission of Ghana to develop safeguard guidelines for Ghana's Cocoa and Forest REDD+ Programme.

I have also collaborated on several research papers that have been published in high impact journals. I hold a BA in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Ghana and an MSc in Environment and International Development from the University of East Anglia, UK.