AWEI research chair in African wildlife economies
With growing recognition that we face a global biodiversity crisis, international agreements such as the Global Biodiversity Framework place significant responsibility on nations to conserve and restore biodiversity. African countries are tasked with meeting these responsibilities while also fostering much-needed development. A unique opportunity exists to align development and conservation through wildlife economies across Africa’s working lands. Wildlife economies use marine and terrestrial wildlife as an economic asset to create value that aligns with conservation objectives and delivers sustainable growth and economic development. African governments, non-governmental organisations and the private sector continue to call for information on how overcome the barriers to unlocking equitable and thriving wildlife economies.
Dr Hayley Clements
The AWEI Research Chair in African Wildlife Economies, held by senior researcher at Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Dr Hayley Clements, works with the African Wildlife Economy Institute at Stellenbosch University to develop and implement its strategic research programme of unlocking inclusive, diversified, and flourishing wildlife economies across the African continent. Key research areas include:
- Wildlife enterprise: the viability and impact of diverse wildlife revenue streams, business models and value chains, within multi-functional landscapes across different contexts.
- Wildlife finance: investment options for scaling wildlife economies.
- Wildlife governance: institutions for sustaining viable and just wildlife enterprises and value chains, and who captures the value in these chains.
- Wildlife significance: the contribution of biodiversity and risks of biodiversity loss to national economies.
