Dr Philile Mbatha
Women in the Environment and Sustainability
Nominee's Province:
Western Cape
Project Name/Description:
Lecturer: Environmental and Geographical Science Department; Convener: Geography, Development and Environment; Convener: MSc/MPhil Environment, Society and Sustainability
For 34-year-old Dr Philile Mbatha, it is important to conduct research that bridges the gap between policymakers to understand environmental sustainability and rural economically poor and marginalized communities. Before joining the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Environmental and Geographical Science Department, where she was the youngest lecturer when she first joined the faculty in 2016, Mbatha had spent a year at Yale School of Forestry on a Fox International Fellowship, where she conducted research on understanding ways for improving the governance of natural resources on the coast, and the linkages between global governance regimes and livelihoods of people in developing countries such as South Africa. Through her academic achievements, Mbatha hopes to demonstrate, especially to young black women who desire to join academia, that anything is possible. Paraphrasing the words of foremost Indian-American biomedical scientist Shyamala Gopalan, she says: “I may be the first to do many things, but I want to make sure I am not the last.” This environmental and social justice warrior has participated in various environmental and sustainability international conferences, supervises a number of postgraduate students and is currently a mentor to black South African students at UCT.
