Hi,

I am currently working as an investigative environmental journalist. The last few years, I have primarily been looking into the impact of the increasing European demand for biomass on biomass producing countries like Zambia and Sweden. Though I am originally Dutch, I have lived and loved (in) Zambia for long, and have set up a small base in Muchinga (Mpika), where I run a small community centre and try to set up some forest farms.

As I studied Interdisciplinary Social Sciences/Development Studies with a focus on environmental management and rural-urban relations in southern Africa, I once prepared research on the impact of kitchen gardens and wild (fruit) trees on women in northern Namibia. For sad, practical reasons I had to change the topic of my thesis, but the love for trees and the stories and species that protect them has stayed. I learned how local knowledge can be used to protect the environment, but also how such systems are threatened by urbanisation and monetization.

I am currently materialising this interest with efforts to start and preserve forests in urban and urbanising areas like Zoetermeer (Randstad, the Netherlands) and Mpika (Muchinga, Zambia). Both areas come with a number of research questions I would like to see answered. As I am aware I am not qualified to join as a researcher, I offer them as research locations. However, if there is a (paid) opportunity to join as a researcher (/PhD) myself, I would be interested to hear more about that.

Anthropology and ethnology
Behavioral Biology
Botanics
Demography
Environmental Psychology
Ethics
Ethnobiology
Forestry and forest sciences
History and civilisations
Languages and literature
Mycology
Other Biological Sciences
Plant Protection
Religious Studies
Sociology of the Environment
Urban Ecology

I would like to offer 3 research locations, where different projects could be done.

I am one of the initiators of GeuzeGroen, a 2.5 ha public community food forest in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands (former agricultural land, heavy clay), managed by stichting Voedselbuurtbos. In this starting forest (planted in 2021), we hope to find out what ways of food forestry works best for both biodiversity and harvest: a permaculture set up with relatively more human intervention (also adding herbs etc), or a set up in which we plant trees and scrubs and roughly leave the rest to nature. The food forest is divided in two plots, which we hope to compare in order to answer this question.
We would also like to see how various trees are doing in various conditions. To do this, we have planted many old fruit varieties and numbered each tree for monitoring on various aspects.

In addition, I also have two potential research locations in Zambia: 4 hectares of grassy miombo woodland as a biodiversity island in between some commercial farms, and 50 hectares of miombo-woodland a little more uphill, including two streams. Both are near Chilonga, Zambia. In these locations, I would like to see if we can generate enough income out of (mostly non-wood) forest produce to save the forest from being cut. The plot in between commercial farms would also be an interesting location to see how such a biodiversity island can benefit the neighbouring farms, and how this could benefit foresters.

local knowledge, miombo, muchinga, ecosystem services, gender, biodiversity preservation, income generation, food forestry, nitrogen transition, congo basin

Not anything on short term agenda for now (apart from meetings with science & environmental investigative journalists), but I like to join LandAc and CIFOR events, plus lectures at the Africa Studies Centre in Leiden. Please feel free to contact me to see where we can meet.