Level of Study: MSc

Name and Surname: Michael Klaver

 

Michael is a conservationist and geographer with interests in sustainability science, social-ecological systems, human-wildlife interactions, species interactions and their interactions with their biophysical environment, environmental change and its impact on species, conservation biology, open systems and conservation outside of protected areas. He is currently doing his MSc Nature Conservation with the Sustainable Research Unit (SRU) at the Nelson Mandela University, George campus. He is supervised by Dr Bianca Currie (SRU), Dr Kaera Coetzer (University of the Witwatersrand) and Dr James George Sekonya (Nelson Mandela University).

 

His MSc is part of a larger ongoing project with a team researching UNESCO biosphere reserves in South Africa, and their implementation of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme. More specifically, his research explores the implementation and evolution of the MAB programme (i.e. governance) within the Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve (CWBR) and Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve (KBR), while in these multi-functional landscapes also investigating collaborative initiatives (i.e. collaborations) and how they support Cape leopard conservation within the Boland Mountain Complex. The project is funded by the National Research Foundation.

 

Qualifications:

BA Development & Environmental (Stellenbosch University, 2017)

Dip Nature Conservation Cum Laude (Nelson Mandela University, 2020)

BSc Hons Geography Cum Laude (University of South Africa, 2021