This project feeds into the SMART Zone Project and the uThukela Ecosystem Based Adaptation Project, conducted in collaboration with the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) and the WILD Trust NGO. Title: Understanding the impacts of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on the Commercial Linefishing sector in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) as a first step towards sustainable MPA governance and ManagementThis MSc looks at providing a baseline from which to measure the impacts of the MPA in KZN on a small-scale fishing sector, from an ecological and social perspective. To measure ecological effectiveness, I used Baited Remote Underwater Stereo-Video (stereo-BRUVs) footage to compare commercially important fish populations inside and outside five MPAs. However, indicators of ecological progress in conservation projects are no longer enough: in the Anthropocene, we must consider humans as part of the systems we manage. MPAs are a case in point: compliance plays a disproportionate role in determining their effectiveness, and the perceptions of communities living adjacent to MPAs are strongly linked to their willingness to support and abide by their rules. Therefore, the perceptions of commercial linefishers regarding the ecological and social impacts of MPAs and their management were gathered by means of open-ended, face-to-face interviews. Initial results indicate that most MPAs are ecologically effective, with no-take areas containing more and bigger linefish species than exploited areas. However, fishers´ expert knowledge indicates that the sustainability and overall effectiveness of the MPA network are compromised by insufficient and ineffective enforcement, as well as insufficiently diverse sources of information for decision-making processes. The future management of MPAs in KZN would benefit from greater stakeholder inclusion and better adaptive management planning.Expected completion by December 2024

The Avaclim Project was a collaboration between 8 countries (South Africa, France, India, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Brazil, Morocco, and Ethiopia) with the aim of creating necessary conditions for the widespread uptake of agroecology in arid areas. As the research assistant for the South African collaborators at EMG, I was responsible for collecting, analysing, and reporting on socio-economic and biophysical data in the multidimensional assessment of two Agroecological initiatives: A Rooibos cooperative and a Participatory Guarantee System. My role focussed on generating robust scientific knowledge on the effects of agroecology from social, economic, and environmental perspectives, the results of which are now being used to advocate for the national and international adoption of agroecology in policy.I worked with a high degree of independence, planning my own fieldwork and project implementation agenda, with support from a team of two experts with whom I worked closely. This project taught me about international collaborations, project management and planning, and the complexity of the pragmatic side of such large projects. I often worked remotely, sometimes without electricity, cellphone signal, or running water, to ensure that all data was collected to a high standard. I also regularly liaised with the media team and communicated in plain language with farmers for this project, which broadened my public science communication skills.

This was a short term job that I took to allow me to save for my travels and volunteering in 2015.