My research lies at the intersection of (environmental) critical theory (particularly environmental justice), governance and biodiversity conservation, understood in its broadest sense (including biological conservation, management of ecosystem services, agrobiodiversity governance, land-use change, and access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources). I have conducted comparative, mixed-method research in Belgium, France, Germany, the United-Kingdom, and the Netherlands, and worked in collaboration with environmental scientists, lawyers, philosophers, geographers, anthropologists and economists.

My research findings have been published in top-tier scientific journals, including Nature Sustainability, Biological Conservation, Journal of Rural Studies, Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, and Global Environmental Politics. I have also (co)authored several research reports on environmental policy for the European Commission, the Belgian government, and the UK House of Commons (see publications section)

My latest research project (NERC funded; led by prof. Adrian Martin, UEA) focused on the impact of agricultural land use intensification on both ecosystem services and human wellbeing in low and middle-income countries.

Recently, I have increasingly been interested in non-Western political theory and decolonial thought, particularly in relation to enviromental justice theory and practice. In 2017, I co-organized a seminar series at the UCLouvain (Belgium) on how decolonial thought and action can provide tools to criticize and transform day-to-day activities related to the environment, agriculture, public spaces, gender, religion and migration (see http://decolonisations.wordpress.com/, in french).

Current research

  • A conceptual paper examining some of the concepts and ideas in the environmental justice literature using insights of decolonial theory (under review).
  • A Routledge textbook on environmental justice bringing together 25 leading environmental justice scholars and offering an accessible tool-kit for junior researchers, graduate students, upper-level undergraduates, and anyone in need of a comprehensive introductory textbook of environmental justice.
  • A study exploring the drivers and meanings behind the inclusion of justice-related wording in multilateral environmental agreements (UNFCCC and CBD).

Past research projects, grants and prizes