Keneilwe Mathaba

Keneilwe is a PlanAdapt Fellow, based in Pretoria, South Africa.

She has 10 years of work experience in the environmental sector, with a particular focus on designing and implementing small to large-scale environmental and livelihoods projects in Botswana. The highlights of the projects she worked on include water provision for wildlife in major game reserves and national parks to curb human-wildlife conflict, provision of sustainable water for community horticultural initiatives through solarised boreholes as a climate change mitigation measure, outdoor environmental education for students and adults as well as the implementation of Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) initiatives with Community-Based Organisations. Previously held positions as Communities for Conservation Coordinator and Conservation Education Officer with Cheetah Conservation Botswana, Environment and Conservation Officer with Kalahari Conservation Society and currently a Learning Associate with Meat Naturally Africa.

Her interests are in the sustainable development of pro-nature enterprises, community-based and community-led resource management, holistic environmental management approaches, collaborative and participatory approaches, policy analysis, human-wildlife conflict mitigation, ecosystem-based adaptation, environmental education and outreach, and community engagement and development.

She holds a Master of Science in Natural Resource Assessment and Management from the University of Dar es Salaam. Her dissertation focused on the “Implications of ecotourism on rural livelihoods and natural resource governance: A case of Chobe Enclave”. She is currently pursuing PhD in Environmental Sustainability Education at Rhodes University. 

For more info, see Keneilwe’s Linkedin page.