Dr Hayley Clements

Oppenheimer-Jamma Research Chair in African Wildlife Economies

Dr Hayley Clemens undertakes impact-oriented transdisciplinary research that explores how African biodiversity connects to human well-being, and the role of African wildlife economies in achieving just and sustainable development.

She holds an Oppenheimer-Jamma Research Chair in African Wildlife Economies at Stellenbosch University and is a senior researcher at the Centre for Sustainability Transitions. Her research program addresses knowledge gaps around wildlife enterprises and their social-ecological impacts, financing and governance to support the growth of inclusive wildlife across the region, working with both governments and the private sector. 

Hayley is an editor at the international journal Sustainability Science, on the steering committee for the African Wildlife Economy Community of Practice, and a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, the Society for Conservation Biology, and the Society for Social-Ecological  Systems.

Recent research:

• A place-based assessment of biodiversity intactness in sub-Saharan Africa, Nature 2026 (Research briefing here)
• Unlocking opportunities for meaningful participation of land reform beneficiaries in the wildlife economy, Land Use Policy 2025 (Policy brief here, Conversation article here)
• Importance of private and communal lands to sustainable conservation of Africa's rhinoceroses, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 2023 (AWEI post here; Conversation article here; Daily Maverick coverage here; Mongabay coverage here)
• Lessons from COVID-19 for wildlife ranching in a changing world, Nature Sustainability 2022 (AWEi post here; Conservation article here; Daily Maverick coverage here; Moneyweb coverage here).
• Consequences of recreational hunting for biodiversity conservation and livelihoods, One Earth 2021 (Conservation article here; interview on 702 radio here)
• Routledge Handbook of Research Methods for Social-Ecological Systems. Taylor and Francis 2021
• Hayley’s full list of research outputs can be viewed here.