Van Niekerk has a PhD in Philosophy with more than two decades experience at the CSIR. She led the team of specialists that assessed the health and ecosystem condition of all of South Africa’s estuaries as part of the National Biodiversity Assessment 2018 and 2011. She has played a leading role in defining and delineating the ‘Estuary Functional Zone’ and incorporating it into South African legislation, as well as developing an ‘Estuarine Ecosystem Classification’ for 290 estuaries and 42 micro-estuaries.

In collaboration with other scientists, she has played a key role in the development and presentation of the South African Estuaries Estuarine Management Training Course (accredited through Nelson Mandela University), that resulted in the training of over 250 practitioners in government and civil society. She also helped develop and present the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) Estuarine Monitoring Course aimed at particle improvement of South Africa measurement capabilities.

Expertise: Estuarine systems