Dr Ella-Kari Muhl is a researcher at the Centre for Sustainability Transitions (CST), at Stellenbosch University, where she collaborates with Dr Hayley Clements to explore the links between biodiversity and economic development in southern Africa. Her work supports the development of future scenarios to inform policy for more just and sustainable conservation and development.

An interdisciplinary marine scientist and political ecologist, Ella-Kari completed her PhD at the University of Waterloo, where she co-created future scenarios for the return of the sea otters in Haida Gwaii, Canada, and developed governance indicators for coastal community wellbeing. She previously held a postdoctoral fellowship with the Vulnerability to Viability (V2V) Global Partnership, leading a global synthesis of small-scale fisheries transitions and organising panels at international events, including the UN Oceans Conference and the International Marine Conservation Congress.

She is co-lead of the Ethical Place-Based Research working group for the Society of Social-Ecological Systems, co-principal investigator on the Blue Tenure Transitions project with WIOMSA, and contributes to international marine science as an expert for the International Science Council and the United Nations’ third World Oceans Assessment, focused on the marine environment and socioeconomic dimensions.