Andrea Marais-Potgieter is a Conservation Psychologist who recently completed post-doctoral fellowships at the School of Human and Community Development, Department of Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand with Prof. Andrew Thatcher, and at the Global Change Institute with Prof. Laura Pereira.
Her research explores the role of the human psyche in transformation, sustainability, conservation, and futures thinking, as well as how nature and biodiversity contribute to mental well-being and social-ecological connectedness. Andrea is particularly passionate about multi-species justice and trans-species accompaniment and their roles in endangered species conservation in South Africa.
Her work spans terrestrial, marine, and urban environments, and she enjoys developing psychological typologies to make sense of complex environmental problems, applying them to conservation strategies and behaviour change. She is committed to communicating academic research to the public, helping people understand findings from their own perspective and translating them into practical, real-world actions.
Andrea’s Recent Work Includes:
• Namaqualand communities and climate change resilience: a project for Conservation South Africa
• Carte Blanche interview on Ecopsychology: The Power of Nature
• Interviewed by Cape Talk live radio on the healing power of the great outdoors: The Healing Power of the Great Outdoors
• Tcheton, S., Marais-Potgieter, A., Worlanyo, D. & Pereira, L. (2025, in press). Advancing the Understanding of Indigenous and Local Knowledge Practices in Mangrove Ecosystem Sustainability in the Mono Transboundary Biosphere Reserve in West Africa (Benin Republic–Togo). Frontiers in Ocean Sustainability.
• Juri, S., Marais-Potgieter, A. (2025). Transforming towards what? A review of futures-thinking applied in the quest for navigating sustainability transformations. Environmental Research Letters.
• A collective project on climate-change driven migrations in 2050: OneDay2050: ClimMigrants
• Marais-Potgieter, A., Thatcher, A. & Siemers, I. (2024). Modelling associations between mortality salience, environmental concerns, and climate change risk perception in the context of the pandemic. Heliyon, 10(17).
Andrea’s Call to Action for the Transformations Community:
After co-curating the Arts & Wellbeing component of TC/ESG 2025, Andrea hopes to explore deeper integration of research and art through documentary films, theatre, and storytelling. She is seeking opportunities to collaborate on projects where research and creativity combine to create meaningful impact for people and nature — especially with a focus on multi-species considerations and justice.
