Research focus
In my research, I aim to paint a holistic picture of wastewater (micro)pollution from the tourism sector on small tropical islands in Indonesia, Tanzania, and Colombia. With an interdisciplinary source-to-sink approach, I identify the origins and drivers of wastewater (micro)pollution in the tourism sector. I track (micro)pollutants such as nutrients or estrogenically active agents transfer from hotel septic tanks to groundwater, coastal waters, and marine organisms. Finally, I investigate their impact on marine invertebrates using histological and endocrine biomarkers. Eventually, I am interested in evaluating the performance of social, environmental, and biological indicators for all steps along this risk assessment pathway.
Current Project
TransTourism - Transdisciplinary Science for Sustainable Tourism
The project TransTourismus aims to support tourism communities in solving the challenges of wastewater management in a transdisciplinary framework, together with various stakeholders from coastal tourism communities in the tropics. The ultimate aim is to support decision-making and suggest solutions for wastewater management through a deliberative and participatory process.