Marja Spierenburg is Professor in the Anthropology of Sustainable Development and Livelihoods at Leiden University (the Netherlands), and Research Fellow at Stellenbosch University South Africa. Her research focuses on the role of the private sector in nature conservation and land reforms in Southern and East Africa, and the impacts on local communities’ access to land and livelihood strategies. She has also published on the inclusion of local and indigenous knowledge in biodiversity and sustainability assessments. Marja Spierenburg is a member of the Water, Energy and Food Nexus Knowledge Action Network of Future Earth, and a member of UNESCO’s International Advisory Committee for Biosphere Reserves.