Lara van Niekerk Australian Marine Sciences Association 2026 Conference

Lara van Niekerk

I specialise in the physical dynamics of estuaries; estuarine condition/biodiversity assessments; environmental flow requirements; climate change responses; and estuarine management and policy. I am part of the core team that developed environmental flow requirements technologies for South Africa, and have been involved in over 50 freshwater flow requirement studies in Southern Africa as project leader or specialist. I led the team that assessed the health and ecosystem condition of all of South Africa’s estuaries as part of the National Biodiversity Assessment 2025, 2018 and 2011, including the pilot testing of the IUCN Red Listing of Ecosystems guidelines on South Africa’s estuaries. I was also part of the core team that wrote the ‘Guidelines for the Development and Implementation of Estuarine Management Plans’ in terms of the National Estuarine Management Protocol for South Africa. I am author / co-author of 65 papers in national or international peer-reviewed journals and more than 80 scientific reports.