Ms. Julia Wood | Urban Planning | Best Researcher Award

University of Cape Town | South Africa

Ms. Julia Wood is an accomplished conservation and environmental management specialist whose career spans more than three decades, marked by leadership roles, extensive field expertise, and influential contributions to biodiversity planning and ecological governance in the Cape Floristic Region. With academic training through a BSc, BSc Honours, MSc, and ongoing PhD research in Environmental and Geographical Studies, she has built a professional trajectory rooted in terrestrial ecology, conservation planning, and ecosystem management. Her work with the National Botanical Institute and the City of Cape Town laid the foundation for her long-term impact on natural resource management, where she has overseen strategic planning, protected area expansion, ecological monitoring, environmental legislation implementation, and integrated catchment management. As Manager of Biodiversity Management for the City of Cape Town, she has been responsible for the stewardship of 20 protected areas and the implementation of the city’s Biodiversity Strategy, Action Plan, and fine-scale Biodiversity Network, coordinating cross-sectoral initiatives involving job creation, public works programmes, community engagement, environmental education, and climate-resilience planning. Her leadership extended to major collaborations with NGOs, academic institutions, and international partners through roles in WWF-SA’s Table Mountain Fund and various conservation forums and committees. Wood’s scholarly contributions include peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and numerous technical reports addressing urban biodiversity, climate adaptation, ecosystem restoration, and conservation governance, demonstrating sustained engagement with interdisciplinary science-to-policy processes. Her co-authored publications have contributed to understanding the ecological challenges of urban expansion, threatened vegetation systems, plant conservation protocols, and the management effectiveness of protected areas. Beyond formal research outputs, she has influenced conservation practice through specialist consulting, environmental impact assessments, public communication, and capacity-building initiatives. Julia Wood’s career reflects a commitment to safeguarding biodiversity in one of the world’s richest but most vulnerable ecological regions, integrating scientific rigour, collaborative leadership, and policy innovation to drive long-term societal and environmental impact.