Assistant Professor Heather Randell co-authored the paper, “Protected areas and Indigenous diets in Southeast Asia: Does proximity and level of protection matter?” published in the British Ecological Society’s journal People and Nature.

Using three secondary datasets, the study investigates the relationship between rural children's dietary diversity, distance from protected areas, the level of protection, and indigeneity in Myanmar and Cambodia. The researchers found that while protected areas of defined geographic zones can slow biodiversity loss and bolster conservation efforts, they may have unintended impacts on the diets of children who live nearby.