IUCN SSC South Africa Species Specialist Group

Linda Harris a spatial ecologist working in coastal and marine systems. Although her interests span a broad range of topics, her primary expertise is in sandy beach ecology and systematic/spatial planning for place-based conservation and management. She's currently a Research Associate in the Institute for Coastal and Marine Research at Nelson Mandela University.

 I am a Red List senior scientist at the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and recently (2024) completed my PhD at the University of Stellenbosch, investigating the impacts of alien plants on threatened plants in South Africa. I contribute to conducting and coordinating Red List assessments for animal and plant species across South Africa. I make use of the data generated through the assessment processes to contribute to the National Biodiversity Assessment for South Africa and spend most days preparing data and engaging with taxon experts to obtain the information required to complete these assessments. I'm also involved with many other analyses linked to species conservation and data collation in supporting decision-making at the national level. I am enthusiastic about exploring the major drivers of threat to species, particularly for plants, and using this information to improve how we collect biodiversity data as well as engaging with citizen scientists to contribute to improving our understanding of impacts on species. I enjoy fieldwork and engaging with different people to understand how they connect with nature.