Michelle Fourie


micfourie1@gmail.com

Supervisors: Prof. Karen Esler, Dr. Odirilwe Selomane, Prof. Reinette (Oonsie) Biggs

Field of research

  • Social-ecological system
  • Telecoupling
  • Sustainable food production

Profile

Michelle is currently working towards her Master’s degree in Conservation Ecology and Entomology with a research project that focuses on socioeconomic and environmental drivers and impacts of agricultural trade using the telecoupling framework. She completed her BSc undergraduate and BSc honours degrees at the University of Stellenbosch within the Biodiversity and Ecology department. She also gained three years of work experience doing business research for a medical software company. The exposure during her undergraduate, honours and work experience initiated her interest in higher level understanding of systems and sustainability within complex environments.

Her MSc project uses a telecoupling lens to study the booming blueberry industry in South Africa. Using the framework, her project will aim to identify the drivers behind the expanding industry as well as aim to quantify the socioeconomic and environmental impact.