Abulele has been working as an environmental assessment practitioner at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) since January 2014. She holds a Master of Science in Geography from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (now Nelson Mandela University) in Port Elizabeth. Her undergraduate degree was a BSc in environmental science with Honors in Geographic Information Systems. She also completed a year of courses in the Sustainability Economics and Management Masters programmes at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Germany.

Abulele has worked on the National Strategic Infrastructure Projects including the Phase 1 and Phase 2 National Wind & Solar PV Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), Electricity Grid Infrastructure SEA as well as the Square Kilometre Array SEA which were commissioned by the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE). Abulele is a past president of the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) South Africa as well as the International Association for Impact Assessment Students and Young Professionals Section Co-Chair Committee. She is also the recipient of the Mail and Guardian 200 Young South Africans list that celebrates young people who are making strides in their chosen fields, and charting the way for the many other South Africans.

Abigail Bahindwa is the Specialist Advisor: Environmental Management for the Biodiversity and Land Use (BLU) Project within the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). She holds a Master’s of Science degree in Botany from the University of Port Elizabeth and has been working in biodiversity mainstreaming for approximately 16 years at a municipal, provincial and now at a national scale.

Fahiema Daniels is the conservation planner for South African National Parks. She holds a Master of Science degree in Conservation Biology from the University of Cape Town and has over 14 years’ experience in the biodiversity sector, working specifically as a biodiversity planning specialist for the South African National Biodiversity Institute for10 years.
Fahiema worked on National Biodiversity Assessment 2011, the listing of threatened ecosystems and prioritisation of interventions for the DFFEs Natural Resource Management. She lead the technical analysis for the environmental assessment for the Electricity Grid Infrastructure Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), Phased Gas Pipeline SEA and Phase 2 National Wind & Solar PV Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and was a contributing author to the biodiversity chapter of the Shale Gas Strategic Environmental Assessment which were commissioned by the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE). Fahiema has contributed to the drafting of the terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity protocol and the data within the screening tool.

Nancy Job leads the South African National Biodiversity Institute Freshwater Biodiversity Programme to undertake and collate research and develop evidence to support freshwater decision-making, management and conservation in South Africa. Her specific research interest is on understanding catchment and local processes controlling hydrological and functional diversity of wetland ecosystems, and the relationships connecting wetlands, rivers and their landscapes.

Mthobisi Nzimande is the Assistant Director: Biodiversity Planning and Implementation within the South African National Biodiversity Institute. He has 9 years of environmental management experience, as a EIA reviewer, environmental planning & municipal support at provincial scale and now biodiversity mainstreaming into environmental management processes at a national scale.

Warrick Stewart is a Principal Environmental Advisor and the Managing Director of Resilience Environmental Advice based in South Africa. Warrick holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Botany and Zoology, a BSc Honours degree in ecology and environmental management, a Master’s Degree in Botany (systematic biodiversity planning), and is a registered Professional Natural Scientist (400010/09). Warrick is a qualified Bonsucro, AWS, GEO, IRMA and ISO 14001:2015 Lead Auditor. He is also a qualified High Conservation Value (HCV) Lead Assessor.

For more than 20 years he has led or acted as the reviewer for: numerous sustainability certification audits; sustainability standard review; due diligence; environmental and social impact and risk assessment and management; water management; policy, strategy, and planning; biodiversity assessment and management; climate change adaptation; coastal zone management; and training and capacity building projects and programmes. His experience has been gained in Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Greece, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Romania, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, Turkey, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Warrick has worked extensively in the agriculture, water, biodiversity conservation, energy, mining, land use planning, infrastructure and industrial sectors for and in consultation with public, private and non-profit clients, partners and various stakeholders at local, regional, national and international levels.

Key assignments have included: Technical lead for content review of IRMA Standard and Mine Self-Assessment Tool, development of means of verification for the Standard, and co-developer of IRMA’s training materials for auditors during 2019; Lead auditor for the first certification audit internationally against the IRMA Standard in 2019; Leading the first country-level assessment and delineation of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in the world for South Africa during 2019 and 2020; Co-developer of a customised integrated mine closure framework plan for Alcoa and Suralco for their 80,000 ha concessions in Suriname that was formally adopted by the Government of Suriname, including numerous subsequent conceptual and site-specific closure plans based on the framework and a world-first forest rehabilitation index and associated restoration trajectories.