Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg
Bupe Mwambingu is a molecular biologist (Forensics) and a current PhD scholar at the Department of Environmental & Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town. Her research, “From Policy to Practice: Exploring the Enablers and Barriers to Science Equity and Equitable Partnerships in Global Biodiversity Research,” focuses on understanding the structural, institutional, legal, and relational factors that either support or hinder the realisation of science equity and equitable partnerships
Currently, she is employed as the Biodiversity Partnerships Manager at Basecamp Research, a UK- and USA-based biotechnology company with a proprietary private DSI database fully aligned with bilateral Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) commercial agreements under national legislation and international agreements, including the Nagoya Protocol, the BBNJ Treaty, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Bupe also serves as a volunteer Scientific Advisor to SynBio Africa, a pan-African network that brings together scientists, researchers, policymakers, students, and industry professionals to champion the responsible development of synthetic biology across the continent. Founded in 2018 as an evolution of an East African-based iGEM team, it has rapidly grown to include over 400 members from 30+ countries.
Originally from Tanzania, East Africa, Bupe remains deeply connected to the continent’s needs and opportunities. Her PhD research is of particular significance and interest as it facilitates engagement with diverse communities across national, cultural, and geopolitical contexts, whose livelihoods are deeply interconnected with scientific inquiry and its transformative potential. By examining how science can operate as a vehicle for inclusion and cross-border equity, her work critically investigates the structures that enable or constrain participation in global research and innovation.
In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, travelling, walking her dog, and relaxing with music.
Brittany Kesselman is a researcher with the Bioeconomy Chair at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where she coordinates the Research for Agroecology Network Southern Africa (RAENS). The project involves 8 implementing partners in 5 Southern African countries (Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and Europe. It builds national- as well as regional-level agroecology knowledge networks and focuses on research, curriculum, knowledge dissemination and advocacy in support of agroecological transitions in the region. Her current research focuses on the intersections of agroecology and indigenous food and farming knowledge and practices. Previous work has focused on the impact of colonialism on indigenous foodways in South Africa, challenges of urban food injustice, migration and dietary change, community food institutions, urban agriculture and food sovereignty.
Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg and Dr Jessica Lavelle
My background is in Development Studies, and I graduated with a Master of Development Studies from the University of the Western Cape in 2020. The focus of my dissertation was on the organisational sustainability of social enterprises. On my journey of reconnecting with my cultural heritage I was inspired to pivot my career trajectory from the field of corporate social responsibility and innovation, to focus my energies on biocultural heritage scholarship and practice. In 2025 I enrolled as an MPhil Environment, Sustainability and Society student at the Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences. Through my studies I have gravitated towards transdisciplinary and pluriversal research to explore multispecies relationality that encompasses Indigenous research and creative methodologies. My research is situated within the Bio-economy Chair and my project is titled “Sikh’iyeza: Unearthing the cultural significance of human-plant relationality in Cape Town traditional medicine networks”, supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg and Dr Jessica Lavelle. In my spare time I enjoy quiet time in the mountains and discovering new ways of Being through travel.
Philip A. Samura is a Sierra Leonean pursuing an MPhil in Environment, Society, and Sustainability at the University of Cape Town. He holds a B.A. (Honours) in Global Challenges from the African Leadership University (ALU).
He is passionate about forest management, and his research interest lies in the interactions between humans and their environment. His undergraduate project focused on forest dependency and its implications for sustainable forest management. Philip’s MPhil thesis is on Colonial Legacies and Forest Management in the Gola Rainforest: A Pathway for Decolonial Reforms. He is supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg and Dr Sthembile Ndwandwe.
Philip has a track record of achievements in youth leadership and environmental protection. In 2020, he was awarded the MAVA Scholarship for Young Conservation Leaders to study at ALU. He served as the secretary-general for the ALU Fellows of Conservation Club. He helped plan and implement the club’s first World Environment Day celebration in June 2023, Opportunities for Youths in Conservation, among many other events. These events mobilised over 150 students and contributed to conservation skills and knowledge development. In April 2023, he served on the 25-person technical committee for the 7th General Assembly of the African Man and Biosphere Reserves Network in Rwanda, organised by UNESCO.
He has had the pleasure of interning at the Global Initiative for Environment and Reconciliation as a communications intern, at the Capitals Coalition as an environmental impact analyst, at the ALU School of Wildlife Conservation as a wildlife economy research intern and graduate research assistant, and at the Rwanda National Commission for UNESCO as a research and development intern, among many other internships.
Philip enjoys playing and watching soccer and taking nature walks when he is not working, reading, or studying.
I am a Masters student with a background in Environmental Management. I previously studied at the University of KwaZulu-Natal where I obtained my undergraduate degree in Geography and Environmental Management. Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg and Dr Maya Marshak, my MSc research project focuses on understanding livestock disease management and antimicrobial resistance amongst communal livestock farmers. This directly links to my employment history working with rural livestock farmers and non-profit companies and organisations to improve rangeland management, herd health and production. My research interests include rangeland management, livestock health, carbon and biodiversity offsetting.
If I am not working or studying, I enjoy reading, outdoor adventures, and taking care of my plants.
Supervised by Jaci van Niekerk
I’m Thando Nompumelelo Mafolo, I am a highly inquisitive and energetic individual with a burning desire to have a successful career in industrial research and to finally see Southern Africa attain the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
It is undeniable that we are already in 2025, meaning we have only half a decade to reach these goals. That is being too ambitious, because most regions don’t have the research, resources, or high enough levels of education to achieve this. It seems the United Nations did not clearly think when setting these goals. How can they set the same goals for underdeveloped, developing and developed countries with the same time frame?
For my Honours project I want to investigate the feasibility of two sustainable materials for the packaging and textile industries that address environmental and socio-economic challenges in South Africa. These materials are water hyacinth and seaweed.
In my free time I love to read financial books, my favourite author is Robert Kiyosaki. Moreover, I love to volunteer by helping people with their education or offering advice. I love doing environmental cleanups and I also enjoy playing tennis.
Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg
I am Hleni TN Heita, a plant conservation enthusiast from Okalongo in the north-central parts of Namibia. I hold two Master’s degrees: an MSc in Forestry and Wood Science (Stellenbosch University, 2018), where I researched seed propagation of indigenous trees using tissue culture technique; and a Master’s in Sustainable Agriculture (University of the Free State, 2020), focused on the adoption of sustainable farming practices in rural areas.
For the past five years, I have worked at Namibia’s National Genebank, where my passion for plant conservation grew – and my fascination with seed systems truly took root.
For my PhD, my research will dive into Namibia’s seed systems through the lens of pearl millet, a staple and highly utilised crop. I aim to bridge traditional knowledge with formal policy. My work champions inclusive farmer-led and formal seed systems for greater food and seed sovereignty.
Beyond work and academia, I enjoy music, shopping, and walks with my boys.
Hello, my name is Ashleigh Roode, and I did my undergraduate degree at UCT majoring in Environmental and Geographical Science, Sociology and Gender Studies. Currently I am doing my Honours at UCT in Environmental and Geographical Science with Jaci van Niekerk as my supervisor.
My research study looks at how ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems affect the adoption of circular economy principles in waste management procedures by Cape Town construction companies. My keen interest in ISO 14001 EMS stems from a recent personal endeavour – in 2023, I completed a comprehensive short course on ISO 14001: 2015 EMS through Udemy, further solidifying my knowledge and commitment to sustainable environmental practices. I am also part of the ISO Environmental Management Youth Leadership Group which will further enrich my understanding of ISO as well as the role of standards in scaling and accelerating the net zero transition.
When I am not working or studying, I like to spend my time with family, go to gym or you will find me in the kitchen making something delicious.
Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg
My PhD is an investigation into the political ecology of farming in Lesotho, unraveling the power relations, and determining the drivers of detrimental impacts on local traditional agriculture. I will analyse the historical policy development and outlook in Lesotho, survey the spatial and temporal scope of government and NGO-led agricultural development projects, and attempt to understand different farmer typologies and their attendant local farming practices. The gap this study seeks to address is to explore the disjuncture(s), if any, which exist between policy and reality for farmers, and how can this be ameliorated and remedied. It also seeks to understand the structural or systemic reasons behind the frequent failure of agricultural development initiatives.
My interest in ecological farming systems stems from my childhood, growing up in a small rural village in Lesotho. As I pursued my studies, mainly in Chemistry, I grew frustrated with the lack of food security among the farmers back home. Finding sustainable solutions suited to our environment, and independent of external chemical inputs which are harmful to our health and environment, has become an overwhelming passion. In 2017 I decided to leave my studies in Chemistry and pursue this passion as my career, participating in finding solutions applicable and appropriate to communities like mine.
After completing my PhD in the EGS Department, I joined the Bio-economy Chair as Post-doctoral Fellow in 2019. My research interests span two broad areas, the first being the governance of natural resources, with a specific focus on the interface between statutory and customary forms of governance and how these influence livelihood and ecological outcomes. The second area of enquiry is the sustainability of small-holder agricultural production systems. These interests were partly forged through the long-standing connection I have with the rural areas in Zimbabwe where I grew up and have worked in rural development for more than twenty years.
My brief as Post-doctoral Fellow includes conducting research, supervising post-graduate students, and lecturing on the Critical Perspectives on the Bio economy course. I am currently actively involved in two research initiatives, namely, various projects linked to the Seed and Knowledge Initiative (SKI) and a multi-university research project examining the impacts of Cyclone Idai on Chimanimani District in southeast Zimbabwe. This collaborative project involves seven universities – based both in Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, and a local NGO. Its dual aims are to understand the impact of the cyclone on rural livelihoods and to identify recovery pathways. I belong to the thematic group which focusses on agroecology and landscape management. This group intends to undertake a comparative investigation into the potential of agroecological systems for managing disaster impacts and reducing vulnerabilities to disaster risks.
Also in Chimanimani, I am involved in a collaborative research project the between FAO and the National Genebank of Zimbabwe. I am guiding the research component of the project, which focusses on local seed restoration initiatives in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai.
In 2019 I participated in two Inter-Governmental Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) conferences on the assessment of the sustainable use of wild species. At each of these meetings I was one of two African representatives of Indigenous and Local Communities.
During my spare time I play Monopoly with my kids, go sight-seeing, and occasionally jog to keep in shape.
jessicadfortes@gmail.com
I am an EGS Masters student from Cape Town with a background in Environmental Science studies and Philosophy. Last year I completed my Honours in EGS where I looked at the potential pavements have for social transformation through the planting of edible indigenous vegetation. My current interest lies in how contemporary and past phenomena influence food systems today and the outcome this has on individual’s identity, culture, and roots to nature.
Outside of academia I love plants, art, and food. In my free time you will find me walking my dog on the mountain or doing pottery in the garden
Witness Kozanayi’s Doctoral study was titled: “Influences of customary and statutory governance on sustainable livelihoods: The case of baobab, Chimanimani District, Zimbabwe”.
Follow his research on:
ross.eva92@gmail.com
Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg
From Berlin, Germany, my academic journey brought me to Cape Town, South Africa, where I earned my MPhil degree in 2022 under Prof. Rachel Wynberg. My research in the Cederberg region focused on local breadmaking culture and changes in foodways, which ignited my interest in further exploring local food systems, traditional knowledge about veldkos (local wild foods), as well as, pathways for a just and sustainable food system transformation.
For my PhD, I’m exploring local food systems in rural communities of the Cederberg and the enduring impacts of colonialism on these food systems. My research approach is rooted in decolonial, creative, and participatory methodologies that center on the agency and voices of the community. The objective of my study is to collaborate with local communities to envision and establish a food system that is locally-controlled, culturally-appropriate, resilient and nutritious. My work also seeks to contribute to decolonial, engaged scholarship through methodologies that enhance community engagement.
Outside of academia, I find solace and inspiration in nature, yoga and the joy of movement. My intellectual curiosity is grounded in a holistic and relational perception of the world as a collective system, where interconnectedness and reciprocity shape our existence.
I am from Berlin, Germany but I currently live in Cape Town, South Africa. I have a B.A. in Tourism Management from the University of Applied Sciences in Munich. During my studies I developed a burning fascination for critical environmental and societal issues. I have always been interested in learning more about the way Indigenous communities adapt to the challenges of modern society and globalisation, particularly in the context of anti-colonial struggle. For my dissertation I undertook field-research with Indigenous communities in Uganda who were involved in community-based tourism as an instrument for poverty alleviation. I am continuously amazed by the manner in which those communities not only live, but thrive, in harmony and accordance with nature, making use of the rich natural resources that we have been granted and living in a much stronger sense of cohesion. This research sparked my interest in exploring Indigenous unique ways of knowing, being and doing.
Combining my passion for yoga with my interest in participatory community development, I spent three months teaching mindfulness and yoga in under-privileged schools in Khayelitsha with the NPO Earthchild Project after my graduation. Since 2020 I have been working with 12Tree, a company that seeks to transform conventional large-scale agriculture in the tropics with a particular focus on cocoa agroforestry systems that seek to strengthen the resilience and livelihoods of rural communities while maintaining the well-being of local ecosystems.
My main research interests include Indigenous food sovereignty and decolonising food systems as well as decolonising research methodologies and methods. Next to my research interests and work, I am passionate about mindfulness, yoga, and nature. I love spending my free time outdoors, doing sports or reading a good book with a cup of (chai) tea. I see myself as a life-long learner, my research approach is based on humility, empathy, and creativity.
V.Mxo@saiab.nrf.ac.za
Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg
Vuyolwethu Mxo studied BSc Biological Sciences at Walter Sisulu University, BSc Hons Zoology at Nelson Mandela University and MSc in Ichthyology at Rhodes University. She is currently doing a PhD with the Nelson Mandela University. As she pursues her PhD, she aims to delve into scientific research that holds personal significance. As a result, she has taken on an interdisciplinary study that combines Botany, Marine and Social Science. With her research she hopes to bridge the gap between academia and indigenous knowledge holders, and assist economically disadvantaged communities by bringing in skills that people can use to generate income and also restore heritage and making it accessible to everyone.
lisebomotjotji@yahoo.co.uk
Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg
I am a passionate environmental manager and biodiversity conservation expert with vast experience in dealing with conservation issues of national importance, as well as those that transcend regional and international boundaries. I have gained this experience and expertise from working in the environmental management and conservation sector for 17 years, as well as through formal and informal training. I have two Masters qualifications: a Master of Science in Ecology and a Master of Environmental Management. I am a specialist in the sustainable utilisation of biological and genetic resources, with a particular interest in indigenous medicinal plants, traditional medicine, traditional knowledge associated with these resources and access and benefit sharing (ABS). The current focus in my career path and PhD is to interrogate biodiversity policy-making and governance in order to influence effective implementation, particularly in the Global South. I advocate for conservation priorities that are cognisant of ecological sustainability and the importance of natural resources for socio-economic development and the livelihoods of communities, particularly the rural poor. I emphasise a conservation approach that is fair and equitable, participatory, and inclusive of community needs and vulnerabilities, and acknowledges that communities are the primary custodians of biodiversity resources. I hold the following personal, spiritual, and ethical values which I believe should inform how human beings interact with nature, ecosystems, and biodiversity: Protection, Care, Respect, Mercy, Sustainability, Equality, Equity, Wellbeing and Co-existence.
I joined the Bio-economy Research Chair at UCT as a postdoctoral research fellow in 2023. My project, “The Place of Agroecology in a Decolonised Food System,” seeks to explore the similarities, differences, and complementarities between agroecology (as science, practice and movement) and traditional/indigenous food and farming knowledge and practices, in order to better understand how they can be brought together to contribute to a more sustainable, agroecological, decolonised food system in South Africa.
My PhD at UKZN focused on the contribution of urban community food gardens to food sovereignty in Johannesburg. Since then, I have undertaken research on urban food justice, in particular the food environment, knowledge and practices of low-income residents (predominantly migrants) in Johannesburg. I have also explored the impact of colonialism on food and health, looking at precolonial foodways, the violent disruption caused by colonialism, and how the ongoing coloniality of the food system continues to cause negative effects on the health of people and the land. My work uses feminist, participatory, decolonial research methodologies to contribute to food system transformation.
Beyond research on food, I engage in activism through the food justice collective, We Will All Eat. I also serve on the board of The People’s Pantry, a food justice organisation. My interest in healthy and sustainable foods has a more hands-on dimension, as the founder of the plant-based food company, Jozi Uncooked.
Before making food the focus of my work, I spent over 10 years doing policy research, analysis and advocacy in the fields of development and peace and security.
In my free time, you will usually find me doing experiments in the kitchen. Otherwise, I am likely to be out for a walk, gathering “weeds” to use as food or medicine, or curled up with a good book.
Sthembile Ndwandwe is a post-Doctoral research fellow at the University of Cape Town. Her work centres on uncovering (in)equities and (in)justices within the biodiversity economy of Southern Africa. As a geographer, her interests span engaged scholarship, access and benefit sharing (ABS), Black ecologies, and addressing epistemic power issues in the bio-economy.
Before she undertook her Doctoral studies, she implemented a Department of Science and Innovation pilot project on the documentation of indigenous knowledge in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Sthembile serves on the Global Environment Facilities (GEF) Small Grants Programme National steering committee, where she contributes to the program’s decision-making, oversight, and guidance at the national level. Additionally, she plays a pivotal role in the transformation and development of Southern Africa’s honeybush industry, and she serves on the Rethinking Biodiversity-based Economies steering committee, a programme that is co-led by the University of Cape Town and People and Plants International.
She has actively participated in various youth and young professionals’ initiatives, including the Environmental Leaders Programme at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the prestigious Charles R. Wall Policy Fellowship. This fellowship, organised by the African Wildlife Foundation and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), equips young African professionals to lead international biodiversity negotiations and governance.
I am a postdoctoral researcher, artist and beginner farmer. I am currently based in Eswatini where I co-run an agroecological farm. I have been involved in a wide range of food systems research and have worked on projects in the areas of food security, urban and rural food systems, knowledge and agriculture, agroecology, agriculture and climate change, seed systems, and agricultural change.
In recent years my focus has been on agricultural knowledge and research in Southern Africa and the impacts of industrial technologies and the corporatisation of research. I am passionate about finding ways to mobilise alternative agricultural research through interdisciplinary collaborations between farmers and scientists.
I am currently a DSI/NRF SARChI: Environmental and Social Dimensions of the Bio-economy Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town.
In addition to my academic work, I have explored ways to combine my passion for research and interdisciplinary collaboration with my visual art practice. I feel art and research have the ability to support and enliven each other.
I completed my PhD in the Environmental Humanities South where the focus was interdisciplinary research methods. My PhD thesis, titled: The Impact of Industrial Agrarian Policies on Soils: The Experiences of Small-Scale Farmers in the Rural Eastern Cape, investigated agricultural and soil management practices of small-scale farmers in post-apartheid South Africa.
During my Post-doctoral Fellowship my research interests will include soil – mainly social science of soil and emotional geography – relationships between emotions and geographic spaces. I am part of the growing movement of African scholars who are giving soil a voice in the Humanities and social sciences. My main concern is the rate at which soils are being contaminated by activities of big corporations and due to human negligence. Under the theme of eco-remediation, I focus on nature-based remediation techniques to clean up soils contaminated with toxins. I will also consult with rural small-scale farmers to explore indigenous and local practices of soil care.
The Bio-economy team collaborated with members of the Department of Archaeology at UCT in a community-engagement project, Co-creating Wild Food Livelihoods in the Cederberg Mountains (Co-create Project), from 2017- 2020. Embedded in engaged scholarship, the Co-create project team worked closely with local participants from the Agter-Pakhuys area and Heuningvlei. The aim was to jointly research, develop and document a co-creation process and thus interrogate the different ways in which knowledge is produced and used across the academic-community spectrum, and the interplay between research and practice.
The three-year initiative was funded by the Community Engagement Programme of the National Research Foundation. Its interdisciplinary team included Professor John Parkington from the Department of Archaeology, Bio-economy Chair Professor Rachel Wynberg, botanist Rupert Koopman (then based at Cape Nature), wild foods innovator Loubie Rusch, post-doctoral fellow Katherine Kyriacou, researcher Jaci van Niekerk, and post-graduate students from the Department of Archaeology, Elzanne Singels and Vuyiswa Lupuwana. Community linkages were facilitated by local resident, Tracy du Plessis.
Research has shown an intimate connection between community identity, the concept of landscape and plant use. The Co-create team explored these links and developed food usages embedded in community memory. Local wild edible plants most appropriate for further investigation were identified; and ways for local communities to secure sustainable and equitable benefits were explored. Through this engaged scholarship process participatory methodologies such as cook-shops were developed; ingredient sharing and visual mapping facilitated; and insights brought by conservationists, academics, practitioners as well as local knowledge holders in co-creating appropriate wild food livelihood strategies.
Research outputs are still under development, and include:
Our connections to this community remain as part of an ongoing process of engagement. The research also continues in a number of ways, linked in particular to our work on Foodways, that on Voices for BioJustice and PhD work conducted by Eva Ross.
When the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) came into being in 1992, access and benefit sharing (ABS) was seen as an important part of the conservation toolkit. Originally featured prominently within ABS policy discussions, over the decades conservation’s role grew smaller as ABS partnerships and policies focused more attention on the equity aspects of the CBD objectives. The alarming loss of biodiversity in recent decades, highlighted by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) 2019 Global Assessment, has brought attention back to the critical need for conservation and sustainable use, and the need to address it more effectively within ABS.
This realisation informed two projects in which we have been integrally involved. The first project (known as “Connecting the Dots”), aimed to identify linkages between conservation and ABS, in order to support governments and others as they work to implement ABS measures. It looked at such links in Cameroon, South Africa, Madagascar and Namibia, and was led by Dr Sarah Laird of the NGO People and Plants International and the Bio-economy Chair, Professor Rachel Wynberg. The resulting report, Connecting the Dots… Biodiversity Conservation, Sustainable Use and Access and Benefit Sharing – With a focus on Cameroon, Madagascar, Namibia, and South Africa, was released in 2021 and focuses on the following main points:
A book chapter on this topic was also published.
The second project, known as the Benefit Sharing for Conservation and Sustainable Use Project (BS4CSU) (2021 – 2022) culminated in a set of guidelines which aim to enhance understanding of the many direct and indirect ways that research and commercial activities related to biotrade and bioprospecting may affect and promote biodiversity conservation.
Several postgraduate students within the Chair assisted with drafting the guidelines and the work was grounded in a field trip to the Southern Cape to engage honeybush (Cyclopia spp) harvesters and other community-based members involved in the trade. The team from UCT included Professor Rachel Wynberg, Dr Jessica Lavelle, Jaci van Niekerk, and Sthembile Nwandwe with support from Lisebo Motjotji and Cynthia Baard. The UCT team worked closely with Professor Neil Crouch from the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), officials from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), and the representatives from the German Development and Cooperation Agency (GIZ).
The guidelines were developed after recognising that despite policy commitments, the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity have received little attention in ABS arrangements, both globally and in South Africa.
The guidelines explore the range of approaches that could be adopted by different actors within the South African biodiversity economy and are intended to support these actors, including:
Providing advice about the kinds of conservation and sustainable use benefits that can be built into agreements, the guidelines are a tool for those who may be applying for bioprospecting or biotrade permits. They also help those who are issuing permits or regulating ABS to build better bridges between ABS processes and the conservation and sustainable use of South African biodiversity. For those providing biodiversity and/or traditional knowledge, suggestions are given about ways to support their own conservation efforts.
Photo: Harvesting buchu (GIZ-ABioSA, Louisa Feiter)
Having completed my PhD on environmental governance in the Bio-economy Chair in 2019, I returned in 2021 for a three-year Postdoctoral Research Fellowship.
In Namibia, I am deepening the political ecology approach adopted in my doctoral research on the local governance of wild products by further exploring governance processes in the bio-economy at a national level. As a new research avenue, I am undertaking a study on the historical and current multispecies entanglements of the Mayeyi people with the Kwando River. This research seeks to elevate alternative cultural ontologies of nature and under-recognised species and integrate Indigenous and local communities’ values, knowledge and practices into mainstream conservation policy and implementation.
Through the One Ocean Hub I am contributing to research focused on equitable and inclusive marine biodiscovery. This research is interdisciplinary – bringing together science, social science, law, and traditional knowledge to conceptualise equitable research and innovation through a multidimensional understanding of the opportunities and challenges in marine biodiscovery. Of particular interest are the challenges around regulating access to marine genetic resources and data and benefit-sharing mechanisms.
Outside of academia, I am the Director of the Post Growth Fellowship at the Post Growth Institute, a nine-month content collaboration with researchers, thought leaders, activists, artists, and entrepreneurs from a range of backgrounds, cultures, histories, and geographies united by their work in post-capitalist fields and alternative approaches beyond economic growth. I also serve on the Board of the Environmental Monitoring Group, an environmental and social justice organisation.
In Nature is where I am happiest. When I am not busy with research you will find me hiking, camping, and exploring far from the city with my camera in hand.
I am an artist, writer and researcher focused on the intersection of food sovereignty, environmental justice, and art. My work takes a variety of forms including visual harvesting, animation, craft, academic research, and poetry. I have a BA in Journalism and Drama from the University Currently Known as Rhodes (2004), an MA in Photography from Sunderland University (2008) and have lectured in design and visual studies at the Universities of Johannesburg and WITS (2010-2017).
From 2020-2022 I co-managed a vegetable box and farmer support project in Johannesburg called Straight from the Ground. I am enrolled in an MPhil in Environmental Humanities at UCT and my research is based within the Bio-economy Chair. My research looks at the relationships within Straight from the Ground and what these might say about the potential for effective alternative initiatives to impact broader food system discussions.
Follow this link to view my portfolio.
My name is Azzara Makan and I am an Honours student in the Environmental and Geographical Science Department. I completed my undergraduate degree at UCT last year, majoring in EGS and African Feminist studies. My research this year is looking at multi-species relationships with a focus on flora-human relationships in post-Apartheid Cape Town and processes of collective healing.
I am extremely excited and honoured to be exploring this topic; I am passionate about reimagining urban landscapes and healing our relationship as humans with plants. I am very fortunate to be guided by Dr Jessica Lavelle and to be researching within the Bio-economy research chair.
Molweni, hello, I am Lilitha Buti, an Environmental and Geographical Sciences (EGS) and Sociology graduate currently pursuing my honours in EGS. I am supervised and guided by Dr Jessica Lavelle.
My thesis looks at understanding and decolonising the ideologies and practices of conservation through the lens of Umgxina (assegai tree) bark stripping in the Newlands Forest, Cape Town.
This work is about healing with my People, community of amagqirha ezityalo (plant doctors and harvesters) and Izinyana yam (my Ancestors) who were and continue to be severed from our cultural/medicinal/spiritual/traditional connections to the land, each other and all living beings on our planet. It is an attempt to work towards kinder ways of doing conservation. Enkosi kakhulu, thank you.
Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg
I completed my undergraduate and Honours Degree in Environmental Science at Rhodes University, with my Honours research project focusing on the barriers and enablers of conservation agriculture for smallholder farmers in southern Africa. From this sprang a passion for sustainable agriculture and agroecology.
I began my Master’s Degree in the Environmental and Geographical Science Department at UCT in 2021. The research looked at the use of agrichemicals in commercial wheat crops and revealed intricate socio-technical lock-in mechanisms contributing to sustained agrichemical use. I have since upgraded my Master’s Degree to a PhD where I will be looking at social and technological transitions in South Africa’s grain sector (conservation agriculture in wheat crops and genetically modified seeds in maize crops) to better understand the South African agricultural socio-technical regime and how its mechanisms contribute to agrichemical lock-in.
Outside of academia, I like to spend my time reading a good fantasy novel with a cup of tea, tending to my veggie garden, and at my local dog park (admiring all the dogs I wish could be mine).
Supervised by Jaci van Niekerk and Shari Daya
I completed my undergraduate degree at UCT, majoring in Environmental and Geographical Science and Psychology. I am currently doing my Honours in EGS at UCT, where I am supervised by Jaci van Niekerk and Shari Daya. My Honours project is focused on competing discourses in the uptake of regenerative wool farming in the Karoo. This project is guided by an interest in how demands for sustainable alternatives in the fashion industry are playing out at a local scale. It focuses on how this alternative method of fibre production unfurls in a complex historical, political, social and ecological context. On a personal level, I am interested in alternatives to fast fashion and have been engaging in slow practices of making, mending, knitting, and sewing my own clothes for the past few years.
Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg
I am currently a PhD candidate in the EGS Department at UCT. I hold an MPhil in Development Studies, an Honours in Archaeology and a Bachelors in Anthropology.
My MPhil work assessed the conflict arising out of differing interpretations on the required levels of public participation within South African law and policy documents with specific reference to the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA). I used the case study of the recent court judgements (2021 -2022) emanating from the Wild Coast Community vs Shell and two Government ministers to illustrate this conflict in action.
My PhD work is a continuation and expansion on the themes uncovered in the MPhil. I am interested in assessing community resistance strategies to imposed extractivist development, specifically mining activities. Sites have been chosen due to their intersection of environmental damage, loss of traditional land and practices and evidence of community resistance. Various categories of communities are included such as, small-scale fisher, subsistence farmer, scientific, civil society, and environmental law communities. Resistance strategies include litigation, civil disobedience, conservation, and organisational approaches.
On a personal note, I am a mother to three delightful humans and I live in Kommetjie on the South Peninsula. I am a fan of mountains, fynbos and a cold glass of Chardonnay, preferably drunk with a view of mountains and fynbos.
Between 2013 and 2016 the Bio-economy Chair formed part of an international consortium of institutions contributing to the PROGRESS (Promoting Global Responsible Research and Social and Scientific Innovation) Project. Co-ordinated by Professor Doris Schroeder from the UK-based University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) and funded by the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission, the three-year project aimed to establish a global network on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI).
PROGRESS defines RRI as research and innovation which is:
The project linked international networks of RRI from all continents with European partners and policy-makers, policy-advisors, funders, industry and non-governmental organisations.
As one of the South African contributors, we prepared reviews of South Africa’s policy frameworks for innovation; analysed science funding strategies; and partnered with the South African San Institute (SASI) and European project collaborators to explore ways in which marginalised communities can contribute to and benefit from responsible research and innovation.
I am currently a PhD Candidate in Environmental and Geographical Science at UCT. I received my Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Skidmore College and Masters in Science and Technology Policy from Arizona State University. My PhD research involves the ocean economy, small-scale fishers, and mining conflicts, while my Masters thesis was on present-day health and environmental consequences of Cold War-era uranium mining, unethical human experimentation, and radon exposure on indigenous communities. Before I began my PhD, I worked as an economist for the United States federal government on technology and innovation policy, and for the private sector on emerging technology such as AI (Artificial Intelligence), blockchain, and IoT (Internet of Things). Outside of work, I enjoy hiking, surfing, and traveling.
I completed my MPhil in 2018 through the African Centre for Cities at UCT, focusing on the role of discourse and stories in a participatory urban development process.
And after about 8 years of working with NGOs on climate and development projects, I decided to pursue my PhD in 2022 with a focus on knowledge brokering and climate justice. My research interest is in understanding the approaches of actors and organisations who broker knowledge across diverse knowledge systems and their contribution to epistemic justice in the context of the climate crisis. I’m particularly interested in drawing on the experiences of brokers in the global South who engage with indigenous and local knowledge, and how this shapes our understanding of what roles brokers can or should have and the capabilities they need to support locally-led, fair and sustainable action.
I currently also work on the Amplifying Voices for Just Climate Action program which aims to amplify local voices for locally-led climate action, with an intersectional feminist approach.
In my spare time, I’m an ocean swimmer and avid amateur free-diver, working on my breath-hold and exploring the great African sea forest.
I am currently completing my MPhil in Environment, Society and Sustainability after obtaining my Honours at UCT in 2016 and then taking a few years off from academia. My research interest lies in the drivers and application of international policy agendas in the global South and what implications and trade-offs this has in the local context. Specifically, this relates to the balance between national policy or legal requirements and multinational business interests and the impacts or trade-offs this has on environmental and social realms in the commercial agriculture sector.
In my free time, you can find me on the beach or up on the mountain.
For my undergraduate degree at UCT I majored in Environmental and Geographical Sciences, and Philosophy. I have always been interested in the natural environment and human relationships with nature. I have a particular interest in how feelings of connection to nature foster an ethics of care, and what possibilities there are for this to be tapped into for the wellbeing of both people and the planet. Under the supervision of Dr Jessica Lavelle, my Honours research project focuses on exploring the relationships of the “Sakmanne” (so-called “Sackcloth People” who eschew Western lifestyles and harvest and trade indigenous plants) to some of the indigenous medicinal plants that they use, and their views on formal conservation of these plants.
Outside of academia I spend most of my time either being in nature, or making music, or both.
Supervised by Jaci van Niekerk
I completed my undergraduate degree at UCT, majoring in Media and Writing, Film and Television, as well as Environmental and Geographical Sciences. I have always been interested in agriculture, our natural environment, biodiversity, and researching the development of genetically modified organisms. During my school years, I was involved in the Eco-club, where my interest and involvement in horticulture grew. Additionally, I partook in creating awareness in school and attending environmental conferences which drove my passion further to pursue Environmental and Geographical Science in my Honours year. This excitement to learn more about agriculture has guided me into exploring the concept of agroecology through the Bio-economy course with Professor Wynberg. My broader research interests lie in Water Resource Management, Physical Geography, Environmental Management, GIS, and conserving the environment through sustainable means. My Honours research project is supervised by Jaci van Niekerk and focuses on investigating whether agroecology is being implemented effectively at the eThekwini Municipality.
Furthermore, I am interested in putting theory into practice by bringing these concepts to life in the work I intend to do and innovating in this space. I believe a solution should address the core root of the problem by approaching it holistically and ensuring that it is sustainable.
Outside of academia, I aim to be a changemaker by creating impact and adding value within my community. I regularly take part in local clean-up missions as well as attend talks to better my understanding and fuel my passion in this field. In my spare time, I enjoy cooking up a storm, baking, going for walks and researching interesting arts and crafts ideas. I have also started an organic vegetable garden in my backyard, which has been a tiring yet fulfilling experience.
Supervised by Jessica Lavelle
My name is Humayra Battey. I am currently an Honours student in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science. For my undergraduate degree I studied a Bachelor of Social Sciences in EGS and English. My research interests lie in climate change adaptation and environmental policy. My thesis is titled “The role of local government in climate change adaptation in peri- urban agriculture: A case study of the Philippi Horticultural Area.” I have an interest in understanding how the agricultural sector has been impacted by climate change and how they have been adapting to it. I am originally from Zimbabwe and in my free time I enjoy exploring Cape Town, going for runs and reading novels.
Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg and Dr Fern Wickson
I am a food researcher/artist. I am passionate about the role that transforming the food system can play in the future and working towards social and environmental justice. I am especially interested in social-ecological relationships between humans and the more-than-human world in the context of food and sustainability.
My PhD study is connected to both the Seed and Knowledge Initiative and the GenØk Agri/cultures Project in Norway. The Agri/Cultures Project is focused on developing novel concepts, methods, and empirical knowledge for understanding and assessing the complex relational networks embodied in and performed by agricultural biotechnologies.
The PhD is interdisciplinary in nature and brings together qualitative social-science research methodologies with visual and sensory modes of engagement and data collection. Drawing conceptually and methodologically on posthumanist theory, it investigates the changing nature of social-ecological relationships of and between smallholder farmers and scientists and the agroecological systems in which they work. Within colonial histories and industrial capitalism and the continued coloniality embedded in the food system the relational knowledge of smallholder farmers has been displaced and devalued for centuries. I am interested in the past and present relationships of knowledge and practice between farmers and scientists and how these can be shifted away from the hegemonic place of science.
Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg
While I grew up in Pietermaritzburg and Durban, my family roots are deeply connected to a small rural valley in southern KwaZulu-Natal known as Wansbeck. I have long been interested in issues of politics and development in sub-Saharan Africa, and therefore undertook a Masters Degree in International Relations at UCT. Over the past few years, I have been working in the field of rural development and organic agriculture, conducting impact assessments, and managing the operations of various programmes.
My research interests are broad and interdisciplinary in nature and I am particularly interested in the political ecology of the food systems of sub-Saharan Africa. I would like to understand how small-scale farmers can be assisted to adopt ecologically and socially sustainable farming practices and wish to explore the barriers that prevent such adoption. As such, my PhD research is seeking to critically explore the relationship between extension services and small-scale farmers and understand the nature of knowledge dissemination and power relations between these entities.
Outside of my research and development work, I spend a lot of time outdoors, going on multi-day hikes in beautiful areas of our country and spending lots of time in the indigenous forests of KwaZulu-Natal (Shinrin-Yoku) as well as near the ocean.
I completed my undergraduate studies and Honours Degree in Environmental Science at Rhodes University, with my Honours research project focusing on the barriers and enablers of conservation agriculture for smallholder farmers in southern Africa. From this sprang a passion for sustainable agriculture and agroecology. My broader research interests lie in integrated landscape management, environmental justice, geographic information science (GIS) and earth observation.
My Masters research, by dissertation, will look at the social and environmental dimensions of pesticide use and spray drift. I aim to use GIS to track pesticide spray drift and map the extent of its social and environmental health consequences.
Outside of academia, I like to spend my time reading a good fantasy novel with a cup of tea, tending to my veggie garden, and at my local dog park, admiring all the dogs I wish could be mine.
I am currently enrolled in the MPhil Programme Environment, Society and Sustainability in the Environmental and Geographical Science department at UCT. My main research interests centre around issues of environmental governance and environmental justice, the nexus between climate change and conflict, the search for alternative economic models, and the interactions between humans and nature in the Anthropocene. I hold an MA Degree in Art History and Philosophy which I obtained from the Goethe-Universität in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The past few years I have worked as a curator of contemporary art in different museums and art institutions across Europe. In this role I organised several projects which focused on the artistic exploration of environmental issues such as the exhibitions There Will Come Soft Rains (2016) (Kunstverein basis e.V., Frankfurt am Main) and Towards a Sentimental Cartography of Water (2018) (Greatmore Art Studios, Cape Town). As part of my recent curatorial and academic activities I edited the publication Anatomy of a Fairy Tale – Andreas Greiner (2016) and contributed essays and interviews to a number of exhibition catalogues, monographs and magazines. In my free time I love to explore cultural events and enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking and surfing. More recently, I have also started to discover the joy of community gardening.
My Masters research aims to answer the question of the role of community in the wild harvesting and conservation of buchu amidst commercialisation in South Africa. My research interests include biodiversity management, conservation amongst livelihood provision, particularly the interplay between conservation and ecosystem services amongst rural and peri-urban communities living next to and within biodiversity conservation areas.
I have a Masters Degree in Public Health with a specialisation in Epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Bachelors Degree in Economics from Connecticut College.
With a background in health sciences, my past research has been focused on public health and infectious diseases. In particular, I have supported studies in Uganda to determine HIV prevalence rates in at-risk communities, conducted quality of health research in the field of gastrointestinal health in the US with war veterans, conducted malaria surveillance in Southeast Asia, conducted clinical trial pneumonia research in healthy pre-term and term infants and managed tuberculosis diagnostics studies in South African children.
I am an avid trail runner and hiker, and spend my free time in the mountains, forests, and veld exploring nature with my husband, our son, and our Australian Shepherd.
I am originally from Mumbai, India, though I currently reside in Cape Town, South Africa. I completed my undergraduate education at The College of Idaho, USA, majoring in International Political Economy and English Literature. I am currently pursuing my Master’s (by dissertation and coursework) in Climate Change and Development with the African Climate and Development Initiative at UCT. My dissertation, supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg, will focus on studying perceptions of the value of kelp as an ecosystem in South Africa.
Between my years in academia, I worked as a content creator and Divemaster, travelling around various parts of India and immersing myself into the blue world. I am passionate about the ocean and coastal zones and have a keen interest in the impact of climate change on these systems. I am especially interested in the human dimension of ocean and coastal ecosystems; with this in mind, my dissertation will take a transdisciplinary approach, attempting to integrate both human and natural dimensions related to kelp as an ecosystem.
Outside of academics, you’ll find me lazing around with a good book in hand, exploring tidal pools, or experimenting with eclectic recipes in the kitchen!
Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg
I completed my MPhil in the EGS department in 2018 where I explored the potential of a feminist ethics of care approach to the risk assessment of GMOs in South Africa. I then took a break from academia to work with youth charities in London, focusing on issues around food, cooking, and eating. I have since felt the pull back to Cape Town for my PhD. My current research interests lie in exploring the intersections of different knowledge systems and ways of knowing within the marine/ocean space through a postcolonial science and technology studies lens. What really excites me is grappling with these ontological challenges in order to harness the potential of where knowledge systems meet and asking how we can incorporate this learning into the way environmental research is done. I take a keen interest in bringing the ethics of ‘doing’ research, researcher positionally, and wider ethical engagement to the issues that I study and am also involved in bringing these perspectives to the research activities of the South African branch of the One Ocean Hub.
Research aside, I love cooking and baking bread and I look forward to being in Cape Town long enough to start a veggie patch.
Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg and Dr Gareth Haysom
The short title of my PhD is “Cederberg Foodways”. Co-supervised by Professor Rachel Wynberg and Dr Gareth Haysom, I am hoping to uncover the social and cultural dimensions of the food systems of marginalised peoples resident in the Cederberg. The main method I am using is oral history interviews, which is proving to be a useful way for interrogating changes in the eating and drinking patterns of local residents, many of whom self-identify as having San or Khoi ancestry. The interviews are shedding light on participants’ usage of indigenous plant and animal resources for subsistence purposes and reveals the social impact of conservation measures aimed at protecting the high levels of endemism of the area.
In parallel with the oral history interviews I have rolled out a survey which captures the current eating habits of Cederberg residents, across a spectrum from the very remote, such as the satellite mission stations of Heuningvlei and Kleinvlei, to the suburbs of Hopland and Sederville in the largest town in the district, Clanwilliam. Once complete, I hope that my PhD research will contribute new conceptual framings of foodways and its relation to wider food systems by recounting the experiences of rural communities in the biodiverse global South.
Apart from my PhD studies I continue to work, providing administrative and technical support to the Bio-economy Chair. Outside of work and studies I love spending time with my three rescued dogs, hiking, clearing alien vegetation, watching documentaries, and gardening.
Laura is currently a research fellow at the Centre for Food Policy, working on the Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems (SHEFS) project in South Africa where she leads the governance for food system transformation in South Africa component. She is also a senior researcher working on the Programme on Climate Smart Livestock in East Africa (PCSL) at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University where she is also the co-PI of the CCAFS scenarios project together with Dr Joost Vervoort. Having completed her DPhil in Geography at Oxford University in 2012, she undertook post-docs in sustainability science at Harvard’s Kennedy School and under the Bioeconomy chair at the University of Cape Town before moving to Stellenbosch University to research development in the Anthropocene. She is interested in the interface between traditional knowledge and innovation, the role of futures techniques in transformative change and developing innovative methods for knowledge co-production in developing country contexts. Her work uses the food system to unpack broader challenges and solutions to the complexity of governance for sustainability transformations.
As well as her focus on food systems, she was a Co-ordinating Lead Author for UN Environment’s GEO-6, a Lead Author for the IPBES Regional Assessment for Africa and is part of the IPBES Task Force on scenarios and models. She currently sits on the board of Health-e, South Africa, and is on the FACCE-JPI Scientific Advisory Board. Laura has an extraordinary appointment at the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition at Stellenbosch University and is affiliated with the Stockholm Resilience Centre.
ngaya.munuo@uct.ac.za
Dr Ngaya Munuo held a Post-doctoral Fellowship with the Bio-economy Chair from 2017-2018.
Jessica Lavelle’s Doctoral study was titled: “Institutional arrangements for non-timber forest product commercialization in Namibia”
Follow her research on:
Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg and Prof Michael Bollig
I am from KwaXimba, a rural town in KwaZulu-Natal Province. I completed my Masters in Agricultural Extension and Rural Resource Management at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, focusing on the contribution of indigenous knowledge practices to food security. Subsequently I joined the Environmental Leaders Programme at the World-Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF-SA), after which I coordinated the implementation of the National Recordal System in the Western Cape, a government-led initiative which documents indigenous knowledge held by communities for its protection, utilisation, preservation, and promotion. I am passionate about peoples’ interaction with the environment, especially within the contexts of economic production and rural development.
My PhD research focuses on the upscaling of biodiversity commercialisation in South Africa, and I am investigating how marginalised groups have been positioned in the honeybush trade between the local industry of the 1930s to the emergence of export-oriented biodiversity-based economic development by the state in 2010. I am taking a transdisciplinary approach which has allowed me to interact with a wide range of practitioners in the field of biodiversity commercialisation and an integration of research methods from different disciplines.
Outside my PhD, you will find me in social justice dialogues or Netflixing.
A forester and ethnobiologist by training, my interests cover a range of inter-related issues, including forest-based traditional knowledge, livelihoods, conservation and governance, as well as the commercial use of biodiversity. My work has a local dimension focused on the conservation of bio-cultural diversity and knowledge exchange, and thus necessarily small-scale and long-term, and an international dimension focused on issues of governance and larger-scale impact. Much of my work has revolved around Mt Cameroon, one of the most biologically-diverse places on earth, and home to numerous indigenous groups as well as migrants. Since the mid-1990s, I have collaborated with local communities, NGOs, the Limbe Botanic Garden, and other institutions on ethnobiological research and knowledge exchange programs. Currently, my efforts are largely directed at conserving the threatened cultural forests of the region through research, outreach and education. As part of the Mt Cameroon Cultural Forests Project, for example, our team is producing manuals, school programs, radio, workshops, and celebrations of traditional knowledge associated with wild foods, medicinal plants, games, dance, musical instrument-making, and other areas.
My work on forest products extends to both the local and international level. On the one hand, I am very interested in the critical yet undervalued role of these resources in local well-being (subsistence, nutritional diversity, food security) and trade, aspects which are sometimes overshadowed by the greater attention paid to internationally-traded species. I also work on issues relating to the international trade of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), including governance, markets, and sustainability. I have collaborated with the Rainforest Alliance on the potential for cocoa certification in the Central/West African region, and for NTFP certification globally. As part of a multi-year project with WWF-Cameroon I conducted research on species exported from Cameroon and neighboring countries for use in international botanical, food, and cosmetic markets, evaluating the impact of policies on sustainability and trade.
A third line of work relates to the commercial use of biodiversity, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the impact of emerging biotechnologies. At the international level, I have undertaken biodiversity policy research and developed policy recommendations for the CBD Secretariat, the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies, the Australian Government, GIZ, and the European Commission. I have also provided access and benefit-sharing policy advice to governments, research institutions, NGOs, and others at the national level, including in Cameroon, Madagascar, Malaysia, Nigeria, and South Africa. My work in this area today focuses on addressing two pressing policy challenges: the disconnect between transformative scientific and technological advances on the one hand, and conservation policy on the other; and the way conservation and sustainable development policy crafted with the best intentions can produce unintended negative consequences for indigenous people and rural communities. I have served on the boards and as an advisor to small non-profits, professional societies, and companies, including the boards of the International Society of Ethnobiology (where I also co-founded the Darrel Posey Fellowship for Ethno-ecology and Traditional Resource Rights) and Music for the Earth; advising M&M Mars on their sustainability program, and Tom’s of Maine on new sustainable and ethical natural product ingredients; and serving as a nominator for the Goldman Environmental Prize, and as a member of the IUCN/Species Survival Commission Medicinal Plants Specialist Group. I am currently Co-director of People and Plants International, a network-based organisation dedicated to conserving bio-cultural diversity.
My doctoral training was in political economy and I have also practiced as an environmental sociologist. I have taught at UCT and Wits Universities, and engaged in training programmes in a number of southern African countries. My area of research includes southern Africa and Latin America, specifically looking at energy, biodiversity, food and agriculture, extractivism, corporate behaviour, environmental policy and South-South relations.
I am currently a Fellow of the Transnational Institute, a global think-tank linking scholarship and activism, based in Amsterdam. I also have research links with the Society, Work and Development Institute’s Nature and Society Cluster and the School of Public Health, both of which are at the University of the Witwatersrand. In the past I have worked, amongst others, with the Department of Environmental Affairs, Greenpeace, Wits School of Environment, Southern Africa Resource Watch, International Social Science Council, African Biodiversity Network, and the Southern Africa Catholic Bishops’ Conference Justice and Peace Programme.
I am chair of the Board of Biowatch South Africa, a pioneering NGO concerned with agro-ecology, food sovereignty and biosafety. I have also served on the Boards of South African National Parks, LEAD Southern Africa, the International Sociology Association Research Committee on Environment and Society, and the African Uranium Alliance. My publications include books, monographs, book chapters and journal articles, some of which have appeared in French, Portuguese, Spanish and German.
My passions include nature, travel, fine arts, literature and cinema. My heroines/heros include Vandana Shiva, Bob Marley, Desmond Tutu and Catherine Deneuve.
Upon completing my Masters Degree in the Department in 2009, I accepted a position with Prof Rachel Wynberg, initially as a research assistant, then researcher, and since 2015, Junior Research Fellow. I have been involved in a number of past projects and currently participate in two of the long-term collaborations which the Chair is affiliated with, SKI and Voices for BioJustice. My duties range from coordinating meetings, seminars, workshops, and field trips, to doing translations, supervising post-graduate students, and conducting research on issues related to the three bio-economy themes.
Between my BSc in Zoology and Genetics at Stellenbosch University and my Masters at UCT, I set off with my best friend to travel the world, funding ourselves by working along the way. It was while teaching English in South Korea that I realised I wanted to pursue one of my passions which is the protection of the natural environment from the harm brought about by humanity’s seemingly limitless thirst for ‘development’ and betterment. I did not believe however, that conservation of nature should happen at the expense of local and indigenous peoples. The MPhil in Environmental Management proved to be an excellent foundation for better understanding the complexities of balancing community rights, sustainable resource use and legislation aimed at biodiversity conservation. I attempted to apply this knowledge in my Masters dissertation which examined the contribution of the international trade in an endemic medicinal plant – Pelargonium sidoides, to rural livelihoods in South Africa and Lesotho.
Aside from work I like to spend as much time as possible with my three rescued dogs, either hiking around the Southern Peninsula or lounging on the couch with a good book.
The Bio-economy team was part of a global consortium working towards achieving equity in international research from 2015 to 2018. Known as ‘TRUST’ (short for: creating and enhancing TRUSTworthy, responsible and equitable partnerships in international research), the three-year project aimed to foster adherence to high ethical standards in research globally and to counteract the practice of ‘ethics dumping’ or the application of double standards in research. It did this by developing tools and mechanisms for the improvement of research governance structures.
The goal of the TRUST Project was to catalyse a global collaborative effort to improve adherence to high ethical standards around the world.
TRUST was an interdisciplinary collaboration between multi-level ethics bodies, policy advisors/makers, civil society organisations, funding organisations, industry and academic scholars from a range of disciplines. It combined long-standing, highly respected efforts to build international governance structures with network opportunities in Europe, India, Sub-Saharan Africa, China and Russia.
The guiding vision of TRUST was three-fold:
The TRUST objectives were to:
The Bio-economy team led the work package on developing a sustainability roadmap for the project’s deliverables and brought a special focus to the project, by contributing cases of ethics dumping in agricultural research. Professor Rachel Wynberg also played an instrumental role in UCT’s formal adoption of the project’s leading output, the Global Code of Conduct for Research in Resource-Poor Settings, the first university in the world to do so. The TRUST Project played a key role in facilitating the development and launch of the San Code of Research Ethics, the first of its kind to be developed by an indigenous group in Africa. Read more about the TRUST Project here.
Yoliswa Molefe’s Honours thesis was titled “The role of traditional food crops in peri-urban farming communities: A study of Umgababa, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa”.
Alex Weiss’ Honours thesis was titled “Towards sustainable management and ecotourism: Understanding perceptions of bouldering in Rocklands”.
Amy Murray’s Masters thesis was titled “A socio-ecological analysis of environmental change in the Kannaland Municipality of the Klein Karoo, South Africa, over the last 100 years”.
Andrew Reid’s Masters thesis was titled “Rastas on the road to healing: Plant-human mobilities in Cape Town, South Africa”.
Bonnie Galloway’s Masters thesis was titled “Impacts of commercialising Commiphora wildii in two conservancies in North Western Namibia”.
Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg and Dr Shawn McGuire
My doctoral research focuses on the linkages between farmers’ seed systems and household seed and food security in Zimbabwe, using Chimanimani District as a case study. High seed and food insecurity have been noted among smallholders in the southern African region, particularly in rural Zimbabwe. Smallholder farmers’ farming practices, a limited asset base, uncertain livelihoods and climate variability further aggravate this situation. My hypothesis is that smallholders’ informal seed systems have a positive contribution to make towards enhancing seed and food security of farming households.
In 2015, I completed my MPhil in Land and Agrarian Studies at the University of the Western Cape. My research there explored production, livelihoods and social differentiation among smallholder farmers engaged in an irrigation scheme in South Africa’s Mpumalanga Province.
My work experience has focused on food aid, agriculture, seed systems, food security and disaster risk reduction across the southern African region. My non-academic interests include singing, swimming, and playing games with my family, both indoors and outdoors.
Claudette Muller’s Masters thesis was titled “The role of buchu (Agathosma betulina and Agathosma crenulata) cultivation in livelihoods and conservation”.
I have been a member of the EGS team since 2005, initially as a Senior Secretary for the Environmental Evaluation Unit and then as an administrative and personal assistant to Professors Merle Sowman, the Head of the Department, and Rachel Wynberg, the Bio-economy Chair holder.
My responsibilities include departmental administration, student support and logistical support on various training courses, workshops and conferences. These include the Leadership in Sustainable Development Course, Environmental Management Short Course, the Marine Protected Areas Training Course, four Access and Benefit-Sharing Training Courses held between 2010-2015, and more recently the Agroecology for the 21st Century Conference held in January 2019 in Cape Town.
Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg and Associate Prof Frank Matose
I had a very typical rural upbringing in which the harvesting and use of wild foods was a strong feature. In hindsight, this was to become an inspiration for my research interest in the socio-economic implications of different modes of management, use and informal trade of non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Before enrolling in Doctoral studies, I completed an MPhil at UCT and obtained my Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Venda.
My PhD research, under the co-supervision of Professor Rachel Wynberg and Associate Professor Frank Matose, is focused on the regulatory mechanisms, actor politics and social networks in the mopane worm informal trade. I am excited about this research as it brings me closer to people of different nationalities, cultures and traditions whose livelihoods are connected by the movements and availability of mopane worms across national borders and social barriers.
By “following the worm” the research aims to offer stimulating approaches to look at mopane worm trade and livelihoods. Given that growing unemployment levels are encouraging rural people to reevaluate NTFPs as a potential source of income, I hope that my research will shed some light on the intricacies of the cross-border trade in mopane worms between Botswana and South Africa, and impart insight into the livelihoods of harvesters and traders.
Gina Hendrickse’s Honours thesis was titled “Pap Politics: Exploring contemporary representations of maize in the media and urban consumer relationships with this staple in Cape Town”.
Helen Mahlase’s Masters thesis was titled “Exploring the uptake of genetically modified white maize by smallholder farmers: The case of Hlabisa, South Africa”.
Lila Kelly’s Honours thesis was titled “Veldkos and imifino: Assessing knowledge about wild edible plants in Gansbaai, Western Cape”.
Upon completing my Masters Degree in the Department in 2009, I accepted a position with Prof Rachel Wynberg, initially as a research assistant, then researcher, and since 2015, Junior Research Fellow. I have been involved in a number of past projects and currently participate in two of the long-term collaborations which the Chair is affiliated with, SKI and Voices for BioJustice. My duties range from coordinating meetings, seminars, workshops, and field trips, to doing translations, supervising post-graduate students, and conducting research on issues related to the three bio-economy themes.
Between my BSc in Zoology and Genetics at Stellenbosch University and my Masters at UCT, I set off with my best friend to travel the world, funding ourselves by working along the way. It was while teaching English in South Korea that I realised I wanted to pursue one of my passions which is the protection of the natural environment from the harm brought about by humanity’s seemingly limitless thirst for ‘development’ and betterment. I did not believe however, that conservation of nature should happen at the expense of local and indigenous peoples. The MPhil in Environmental Management proved to be an excellent foundation for better understanding the complexities of balancing community rights, sustainable resource use and legislation aimed at biodiversity conservation. I attempted to apply this knowledge in my Masters dissertation which examined the contribution of the international trade in an endemic medicinal plant – Pelargonium sidoides, to rural livelihoods in South Africa and Lesotho.
Aside from work I like to spend as much time as possible with my three rescued dogs, either hiking around the Southern Peninsula or lounging on the couch with a good book.
Jen Whittingham’s Masters thesis was titled “The ‘Silent Scream’ of ‘Pathetic Seeds’: Exploring a feminist ethics of care as a means to broaden the scope of current GM crop risk assessment practices in South Africa”.
I am a PhD student based at the School of International Studies in Trento, Italy. The focus of my research is civil society’s role in environmental justice, in particular, the way in which environmental NGOs shape their approaches towards the communities and movements they work with, taking into account internal dynamics as well as external factors. The focus is on NGOs which work on issues related to the environment and incorporate participatory approaches as a central tenet of their action. My interest in this topic derives from the relevance of NGOs as key actors in promoting environmental justice in both its distributive and procedural dimensions.
Prior to enrolling for my PhD I completed a Masters Degree in International Relations at the University of Bologna. In early 2020 I spent two months at UCT, investigating environmental NGOs active in the Western Cape, but I had to return to Italy when the Covid-19 crisis broke out.
Alongside my PhD I love hiking, learning new languages and travelling around the world.
John Wilson’s Masters thesis was titled “The benefits and burdens of living beside the Cederberg Wilderness Area”.
Kristen Kennedy’s Masters thesis was titled “A socio-ecological systems approach to understanding development in a dynamic world: A case study of traditional agriculture in Pondoland, South Africa”.
Supervised by Prof Rachel Wynberg and Dr Claid Mujaju
My PhD research, co-supervised by Prof Wynberg and Dr Claid Mujaju, attempts to answer the following question: Does the practice of saving seed ‘on-farm’ have the potential to address the seed security challenges facing smallholder farming communities in Zimbabwe?
Even though I am a resident of Harare, I hail from Chimanimani District in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe. My research interests span a wide range of topics related to seed systems, including plant species diversity studies, gene banking, seed technology, as well as policy linked to seed and agrobiodiversity. I attained a Masters Degree in Environmental Sciences, specialising in Biological Diversity Management, from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden; and I hold an Honours Degree, majoring in Crop Science, from the University of Zimbabwe.
Past research has investigated land use change and its effects on human-wildlife conflicts in the Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia Trans-boundary Natural Resource Management Area; and the effect of seed and pod position on germination of Cleome gynandra, a vegetable indigenous to Zimbabwe. Previously employed as an agrobiodiversity officer with the Community Technology Development Trust (CTDT) in Harare, I am now the curator of the National Gene Bank of Zimbabwe. In this position, I have facilitated geographic mapping of plant genetic resources within the national collection and contributed towards the formulation of an agrobiodiversity policy for Zimbabwe, as well as the development of the national biodiversity action plan. At present I represent the Africa region on the International Plant Treaty Ad hoc open-ended working group to enhance the functioning of the multilateral system on access and benefit sharing of plant genetic resources.
I am a father of three – one boy and two girls, and in my free time I love playing tennis and taking road trips.
Maia Nangle’s Honours thesis was titled “Perceptions about environmental sustainability in the rooibos industry”.
Malin Olofsson, from the University of Amsterdam, worked on her PhD investigating socio-economic differentiation among small-holder tree crop farmers in Limpopo Province while she shared a space with Bio-economy postgraduate students.
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Moira Shoobridge’s Honours thesis was titled “The sociality of seed: From Malawi to Masiphumelele”.
Mpho Kganyago’s submitted her Masters thesis titled “Understanding farmer seed systems in Sespond, North West Province” in 2020.
Nick McClure spent a year at UCT as part of his Fox Fellowship at Yale University. He studied the relationship between land governance regimes and the mopane worm harvest in Limpopo Province.
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Philile Mbatha’s Doctoral study was titled: “The influence of plural governance systems on rural coastal livelihoods: The case of Kosi Bay”. Upon graduation Philile accepted a post as junior lecturer in the EGS Department, read more about her research interests here.
Sariek Cohen’s Honours thesis was titled “Unpacking the ground-level agroecological interactions of urban farmers through a case study approach in Cape Town”.
Stephanie Joos-Vandewalle’s Masters thesis was titled “The effects of urbanisation on non-timber forest product dependencies: A case study of three settlements in the Chobe district of northern Botswana”.
Taryn de Beer’s Masters thesis was titled “Stakeholder involvement in the development of genetically modified (GM) food labelling policy in South Africa”.
Michelle Nott’s Masters thesis was titled “Benefit sharing and environmental sustainability in policy and practice: The commercialisation of the resurrection bush (Myrothamnus flabellifolius) in Southern Africa”.
The commercial use of genetic resources and the sharing of benefits arising from this use have received considerable attention over the past two decades. Not only is there increasing recognition of the interdependencies of nations on the world’s genetic resources, but so too is there greater awareness of the potential benefits that arise from the use of these resources for poverty alleviation, food security, biodiversity conservation, technology transfer, and the improvement of research and scientific capacity. Efforts have been made to increase knowledge and capacity around access and benefit sharing (ABS) but remain constrained by the complexity of ABS which gathers a wide range of scientific, conservation, trade and legal elements onto the same stage.
African countries face particularly acute capacity constraints in implementing ABS at the national and regional level. On the one hand, many have very diverse and unique biological resources and rich repositories of traditional knowledge, which attract high levels of bioprospecting. On the other hand, most African countries have spiralling levels of poverty, massive development needs and limited technical capacity to deal with these problems. Implementing and regulating ABS under such circumstances is clearly a substantial challenge.
Overcoming such limitations requires solutions which are cross-sectoral in nature, wide-ranging in scope and bring together a range of diverse understandings and stakeholders. Our group at the University of Cape Town (at the time established as the Environmental Evaluation Unit), in partnership with the ABS Capacity Building Initiative, directed the first Training Course to Build African Capacity in ABS in Cape Town in January 2010. This was followed by week-long courses held in Nairobi in 2011, Gaborone in 2013, Zanzibar in 2014, and Harare in 2015. Each course was attended by 40 participants from around the African continent, representing governmental departments, non-governmental organisations, as well as members of the research community. Presenters included international experts in different aspects of ABS, and local partners were involved in the formal hosting of the course as well as facilitating an ABS-related field excursion for participants.
Selected comments made by participants:
Kudos for the excellent training. I have learnt a lot!!
The program was well put together. The facilitators are just excellent.
Thanks for a well distributed selection of participants from each country. This supports further follow-up and collaboration and pushing forward for policies.
This is an excellent course. Should be continued.
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