Cherié Forbes

Cherié is a Research Officer in the People in Nature & Climate Lab (PiNC) at ACDI and works on co-creation and testing of climate-responsive nature-based solutions (NbS) research. Her previous leadership role on NASA’s BioSCape project was to enhance and document the decision-making-relevance of biodiversity-remote sensing data products. Cherié acts as a knowledge broker between the scientists and data users and decision-/policy-makers. Previously, she was a Postdoc at the ACDI studying equitable and sustainable NbS in SA and multi-stakeholder engagement in resilient African landscapes. She has a BSc in Marine Biology and Ecology, BSc honours in Botany (Phycology and Ecophysiology), MSc in Palaeoecology, and PhD in Biological Sciences specialising in applied palaeoecology and participatory system dynamics modelling to investigate changes in ecosystem services in response to climate and social-ecological drivers at three sites within the Middle Berg River Catchment, SA. Cherié has experience in ecosystem-based adaptation, policy development, implementation, and monitoring (SouthSouthNorth) and programme management (NASA BioSCape). She is passionate about carrying out research that is contextually grounded in legislation and policies, and considers a multi-stakeholder perspective. With a passion for celebrating underrepresented voices in STEM, Cherie’s leadership experience in various outreach initiatives and science communication, and a background in diverse social-ecological research, she embodies the spirit of “It is only science when it is shared".