Growing up, Camilla spent a significant amount of time in Mozambique’s Bazaruto Archipelago, where she was exposed to beautiful and diverse coral reefs, but also saw firsthand the impact of the increasing pressure of human use on these fragile and valuable ecosystems. These experiences shaped Camilla’s passion for the ocean and sparked her ambition to become a marine biologist and promote coral reef conservation.
Camilla completed her BSc in Zoology at the University of Cape Town in 1998 and went on to finish her Honours in marine biology at Rhodes University the following year. Wanting to focus her studies on coral reefs, Camilla enrolled at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where she completed her MSc on coral bleaching at Sodwana Bay. After finishing her Masters, Camilla travelled aboard and spent four years in Taiwan, which provided the ideal base for her to explore corals reef in South-East Asia, the epicentre of coral reef diversity.
Wanting to continue her studies, Camilla returned to South Africa to complete her PhD through the Oceanographic Research Institute (ORI), assessing the impacts of diving and fishing on fishing communities within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. On completion of her PhD, she spent 10 years at ORI, continuing her research on fishing communities, which included telemetry work to track key reef fish species and investigate whether the network of Marine Protected Areas within iSimangaliso provides adequate protection.
After ORI, Camilla joined TRAFFIC International – the wildlife trade monitoring specialists – as project leader for a large multi-regional programme that focussed on reducing trade threats to Africa’s wild species from Africa to Asia. She spent three and a half years at TRAFFIC, working on a range of terrestrial and marine trade issues to stop the illegal wildlife trade and promote sustainable trade, before joining Africa Foundation as the Marine Programme Manager and Principal Scientist for Oceans Without Borders.
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