Our Team
African researchers addressing nature-based solutions for Africa and beyond.
The PiNC Lab is made up of talented inter- and transdisciplinary researchers based in Africa. Our highly collaborative approach to working together and with partners advances nature-based solutions for societal challenges locally and globally.
Dr Petra Holden
Lab lead & Senior Researcher
NbS science to support climate, people and nature interactions that positively shape local to continental scale changes in water and food.
Researchers
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Dr Glynis Humphrey
Research officer
Fire ecology and management, community-based natural resource management and sustainable grazing with a focus on southern Africa. -
Dr Cherié Forbes
Research officer
Transdisciplinary science and applied palaeoecology and systems dynamics for interrogating NbS benchmarks and reference states. -
Dr Assumpta Onyeagoziri
Research officer
Mathematical ecology and land surface modelling with a focus on improving models for southern African ecosystems. -
Dr Chipo Mungenge
Postdoc
Freshwater aquatic ecology with a focus on macrophytes and freshwater ecosystem NbS strategies in natural to transformed environments. -
Dr Tsikai Chinembiri
Postdoc
Geostatistical modeling of climate change impacts focusing on carbon ecosystem services in natural forests and managed plantations. -
Dr Gerald Ngoma
Postdoc
Constraints to achieving social equity in nature-based solutions for challenges like climate change, food and water security, and poverty in Southern Africa. -
Prof Mark New
Professor
Climate change risk, including impacts, adaptation, climate processes and projections, and attribution, with a focus on the African continent. -
Prof Gina Ziervogel
Professor
Climate change adaptation & development through lens of water and governance with focus on engaged scholarship and transdisciplinarity.
Research Associates
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Professor Martine Visser
EPRU, NatCap, UCT
Behavioral economic applications to climate change, natural resource use, health and poverty alleviation. -
Dr Vernon Visser
SEEC, UCT
Climate change impacts on seasonality, biodiversity and ecosystems to inform adaptation of human livelihoods. -
Dr Piotr Wolski
CSAG, UCT
Climate model outputs for hydrological analyses for climate change impact assessment, attribution and forecasting.
Research operations
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Ruwani Walawege
Research coordinator & manager
Climate change and adaptation, and understanding how climate services can help local communities. -
Tebogo Manyekwane
Research administrator
Finance professional at the lab with a background in government administration, as well as public finance and accounting.
Students and research support
MSc
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Attribution of anthropogenic climate change influence on the severity of fire weather during the 2023/2024 SW Cape fire season
Supervisor: Mark New, Tiro Nkemelang
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Gendered climate change impacts on Agroforestry
Supervisors: Petra Holden, Vernon Visser
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Practices and perceptions of fire use and its influence on the dynamics of the forests of Moxico: A case study in the Lisima area
Supervisor: Henriques Miguel Pereira, Glynis Humphrey
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Financing NbS in water sources areas
Supervisors: Petra Holden, Mark New, Gina Ziervogel
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PhD
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Modelling ecosystem service resilience in African landscapes
Supervisors: Andy Cunliffe, Anna Harper, Karina Williams, Tom Powel, Petra Holden
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NbS impact on children wellbeing and poverty
Supervisors: Martine Visser, Petra Holden
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Future infrastructure impacts on biodiversity in a changing climate
Supervisors: Mark New, Petra Holden
Honours
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GenAI for synthesising literature on nature-based solutions
Supervisors: Petra Holden, Tsikai Chinembiri
Honours
Alumni
Research Officers
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Sustainable and inclusive approaches to biodiversity conservation, including restoration and climate change adaptation.
Read more here
MSc
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Values and uses of river ecosystem services
Supervisors: Petra Holden, Sheona Shackleton
Join our lab
The People in Nature and Climate (PiNC) Lab is always seeking talented students, postdocs, and researchers. If you’re interested in exploring new opportunities, please review our current openings.