Johan Enqvist

Expertise: Civic engagement, environmental stewardship, human–nature relationships, inter- and transdisciplinary research, natural resource management, network analysis, sense of place, urban social-ecological systems, water governance

Johan Enqvist has worked with ACDI since February 2018. He is currently an Honorary Research Affiliate, leading the project Drought as a Leverage Point For Urban Climate Adaptation, funded by the Swedish Research Council (VR) through Stockholm Resilience Centre. The project aims to explore in what ways Cape Town’s recent water crisis impacted residents’ water saving attitudes and behaviours, and what happens to this impact after the crisis is over. Johan’s first two years at ACDI was as a postdoctoral fellow in the AXA-funded project Urban Governance for Resilience in the Global South. This project explored the governance of urban resilience and water security in Cape Town, and characterized what priorities the City and various other actors and stakeholders have regarding resilience-building and social justice.

Johan is interested in how people living in cities relate to nature and the ecosystems that support them, especially understanding what enables and encourages more sustainable behaviour. He completed his PhD in Sustainability Science in 2017 at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Sweden. His doctoral project focused on the notion of stewardship, as expressed through civic engagement for protecting urban ecosystems. Johan holds an MSc in Ecosystems, Governance, and Resilience from Stockholm University and a BSc in Environment and Development from Södertörn University. Throughout his training, he has focused on people's efforts collaborate to manage and protect green (and blue) areas close to where they live. He has conducted fieldwork in Cape Town (2019), New York, USA (2016), in Bengaluru, India (2011-2012 and in 2013), in Zanzibar, Tanzania (2011), and in Babati, Tanzania (2010).