Meryl Burgess

Dr Meryl Burgess is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Chinese Studies. She obtained a Masters degree in International Studies (with distinction) in 2011 from Stellenbosch University and completed her PhD in Political Science at the same institution in 2017. Her PhD study assessed how the contrasting political systems of China (authoritarian) and South Africa (pluralist) shape the roles of environmental NGOs in conservation policy. Her current research at the CCS focuses on environmental protection and conservation issues within the China-Africa field; specifically looking at challenges to biodiversity in China as well as in China’s engagement in Africa; the regulation and policy of protected areas, and the role of civil society within the environmental sector.