Dr Liz Ota is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Tropical Forests and People Research Centre at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC). Liz's interests are around the ways in which forest restoration can improve the well-being of communities in the tropics. She is currently carrying out research on the ways in which local people's capacity shapes forest and landscape restoration in the Philippines and how restoration leads to sustainable livelihoods. Liz is also involved in the evaluation of financial viability and development of business models for agroforestry tree species in Vanuatu.