Position
Research engineer CNRS, Associate researcher SRU, Co-director Hwange LTSER
Contact Information
Location
Nelson Mandela University (George Campus) Madiba Rd, Glenwood AH, George, 6529
Trained as an ecologist in France in the early 2000s, my research career evolved into an undisciplined, transdisciplinary learning journey in Southern Africa. After completing a PhD focused on the social-ecological dynamics shaping elephant–people interactions around Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, I moved to South Africa’s Garden Route for a postdoctoral position focusing on adaptation to global change in coastal areas.
These thematic gymnastics allowed me to develop the theoretical agility needed to navigate social-ecological systems and articulate sustainability transformations across a wide range of challenges. Furthermore, this journey led me to engage with several Indigenous communities, wild harvesters, and farmers with deep ancestral connections to the land, opening opportunities for transformative learning and weaving together scientific and local ecological knowledge systems.
My work has contributed to the theoretical foundations of several international research consortia, including the French Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) network (Réseau des Zones Ateliers) and the Research Platform “Production and Conservation in Partnership” in Zimbabwe.
This technical training and immersion in diverse contexts nurtured a strong desire to contribute to positive change through science and to develop and sustain transdisciplinary action-research practices. I have had the privilege of working with multiple communities across Zimbabwe and South Africa, and of playing coordinating roles in several research projects at the science–development interface, involving collaborations among French, South African, and Zimbabwean institutions.
Over the past 5–10 years, my focus has been on developing and leading transformative and regenerative research projects in partnership with local communities, mobilising diverse knowledge systems, expertise, and tools.
Research fields: Participatory Action-Research, Sustainability transformation, Social-ecology, Social-ecological system dynamics, Transdisciplinarity, Ecology, Conservation science and practices, Environmental psychology.
Key themes: Biodiversity conservation, Human-Wildlife Coexistence, Regenerative development, Climate Change Adaptations, Local Ecological Knowledge Systems, Natural resources and livelihoods, Governance of Conservation Areas, SDGs.
Methods: Facilitation of multi-cultural and multi-level stakeholders’ engagements, Collaborative designing and management of transdisciplinary action-research projects, Anticipatory participatory governance and Futures literacy, Social-ecological experiments, social-ecological system analyses, qualitative and quantitative data collection and analyses, GIS.
Study areas: Southern Africa – Long-term social-ecological research in KAZA TFCA / Hwange LTSER (Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe), Garden Route Biosphere reserve (Western Cape, South Africa), ‡Khomani San Cultural Landscape / Kgalagadi National Park (Northern Cape, South Africa)
I shared knowledge and experience through different platforms including seminars for postgraduates’ programmes, training workshops and summer / winter schools. I work in many communities and with whom I share my expertise through practices.
- Co-director of the Zone Atelier Hwange (Hwange LTSER)
- Co- lead of the SocSES working group on Human-Wildlife Coexistence
- Organisation committee of the Garden Route Interface Meeting, a scientific conference co-organised between CNRS, NMU, SOCSES and SANParks.
Cumming G., De Vos A., Hayley C., Dube B., Fritz H., Gandiwa E., Guerbois C., Mpapane N., Roux D. (2026) A synthesis of principles for building the social-ecological resilience and adaptive capacity of protected and conserved areas. Conservation Biology,
https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.70238
Bernard A., Guerbois C., Venter JA., Fritz H. (2024) Comparing local ecological knowledge with camera traps data to study mammal occurrence in anthropogenic landscapes of the Garden route Biosphere reserve. Conservation Science and Practice, Vol 6 (5), e13101,
https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.13101
Bernard A., Fritz H., Dufour AB., Venter J., Guerbois C. (2024). A local ecological knowledge-based assessment of anthropodependence for large mammals in anthropogenic landscapes. Biological Conservation, Vol 290, 110450,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110450
Kennedy Overton E., Bernard A., Renaud PC., Hall G., Guerbois C., Fritz H., Prugnolle F., Rougeron V. (2024) Land use influences the diet of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) in South Africa. Global Ecology and Conservation, 54, e03100,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e03100
Bernard, A., Guerbois, C., Moolman, L., De Morney, MA., Venter, JA. & Fritz H. (2024) Combining local ecological knowledge with camera traps to assess the link between African mammal life‐history traits and their occurrence in anthropogenic landscapes. Journal of Applied Ecology,
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14742