Staff Profiles

DPhil Natural Resources Management(Chinhoyi University of Technology,Zimbabwe);MSc in Tropical Resource Ecology(University of Zimbabwe);BSc Biological Sciences and Geography - Double Major(University of Zimbabwe;Graduate Diploma in Education(University of Zimbabwe);Certificate Exploring GIS (UNISA)

Olga is a Natural Resources Conservationist and a UNFCCC registered Climate Change Adaptation expert. She is a task oriented, result focused conservationist with over a decade of experience of research, teaching, professional and community service in the higher and tertiary education sector. She recently joined the Okavango Research Institute and is currently working on research projects on investigating present and past socio-economic responses to externally forced change to improve our understanding of social resilience in the Okavango basin; assessing effects of climate change across the Okavango basin and in southern Africa at both the regional and local scales on livelihoods and economy; identifying potential response trajectories to Climate Change (CC) in basin subsistence livelihoods and industry (with particular focus on ecotourism, agriculture and mining). She has experience leading and working with multidisciplinary teams, currently leading the Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation (OGRC) project on climate change and ecosystem services at Shangani Holistic, Zimbabwe and FEFA collaborator. Olga is a registered UNESCO Earth Network Expert where she provides volunteer services on climate change and biodiversity conservation to the Ecology and Biodiversity Section, Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences, Natural Sciences Sector. She is also leading the Natural Resources Governance and Institutions (NRGI) petal under the PCP platform. 

Climate Change, Society and the Environment

Climate Change and Protected Area Management

Climate and natural Resources Governance 

Qualitative Research Methods

Natural Resources Governance

Society and Natural Resources

Ethnobiology

Mammalogy

Plant Ecology

Plant Form and Function

Animal Anatomy and Physiology

Invertebrate Biology

Climate change adaptation, Heritage Sites and IKS

Nature based solutions to climate change

Climate Change and biodiversity conservation

Climate Change and Human wildlife interactions

Climate change and CBNRM

Dendroclimatology

Climate Change and ecosystem services

Climate change and ethnobiology

Education for sustainable development

Social and environmental standards assessments

Natural resources policy analysis

Safeguarding tangible and intangible heritage

Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Governance

Climate Change and Ecosystem Services

Climate Change, Green Economy and Biodiversity Conservation

Climate Change, and IKS

Climate Change and Human Wildlife Interactions

Climate Change and Natural Resources Policy

Community Based Natural Resources Management

Climate Change and Sustainable Livelihoods

Climate Change and Ethnobotany

Climate Change and One Health

Climate Change and Plant Ecology

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• Kupika, O.L., and Dube K (2023). : "A Resilient Tourism Future for Developing Countries: Conclusions and Recommendations" In, Dube K., Chapungu L and Kupika O.L (2023) (eds) COVID-19, Tourist Destinations and Prospects for Recovery; Book Subtitle: Volume Three A South African and Zimbabwean Perspective; ISBN: 978-3-031-28339-0; Springer Nature
• MUKAMURI, B., GARINE, E., WICHATITSKY, E. G., Perrotton, A., Kupika, O. L., & Monin, L. (2023). 1· African Buffalo and the Human Societies in Africa: Social Values and Interaction Outcomes. Ecology and Management of the African Buffalo,
• Al-Zu’bi, M., Dejene, S. W., Hounkpè, J., Kupika, O. L., Lwasa, S., Mbenge, M., ... & Touré, N. D. E. (2022). African perspectives on climate change research, Nature Climate Change
• Kupika, O. L., Gandiwa, E., Ayuk, J., Bandeira, S., & Kunedzimwe, F. (2021). Evidence of the Impact of Cyclones and Floods on Biodiversity and Wildlife Resources in Southern Africa. Cyclones in Southern Africa