Welcome back to Ocean InSight! For this third episode, we had the opportunity to chat with three extraordinary scientists from South Africa and Germany! Linda, Kira and Myriam are all part of the Coastwise project and work in spatial planning efforts at the land-sea interface.
Dr. Linda Harris has a background in terrestrial and marine ecology and is an expert in sandy beach systems, spatial ecology, and spatial prioritisation. Dr. Kira Gee has contributed to developing the concept of “culturally significant areas”, designed to assess and mainstream cultural ecosystem services into coastal and marine planning, while Myriam Perschke (Nelson Mandela University) who is currently pursuing her PhD at Nelson Mandela University, is mainstreaming ecosystem services into coastal planning and management.
We had an interesting talk about their experience working in such a large team with a variety of stakeholders, as well as the intricacies and advantages of co-designing research projects that want to influence political decisions. The COVID-19 pandemic was of course also a topic, as it strongly affects the planned work in local communities.
In the end, they all shared their vision on what impact they are hoping to make in the spatial prioritisation landscape. So dive in with us!
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