Contact Details

Phone: +27-046-603-7001
E-mail: c.shackleton@ru.ac.za

Biography

Charlie Shackleton currently occupies a fulltime SARChI funded research Chair in “Interdisciplinary Science in Land and Natural Resource Use for Sustainable Livelihoods” within the department. This is a nationally funded Chair whose objective is to develop interdisciplinary understandings of and methods to reveal the role, value and importance of natural resources in rural and urban livelihoods for poverty alleviation (see Research Projects page for more details).

Charlie's research interests centre of the links between landscapes, biological resources and peoples’ uses thereof. Trained as a plant ecologist he soon broadened his perspective (prompted by his spouse, Sheona) to include social and resource valuation perspectives on how biological resources are used or abused, and how in turn resource supply enhances or constrains local livelihoods options and peoples’ wellbeing. Charlie has extensive field research experience in interdisciplinary projects in rural areas of South Africa, and over the past few years has begun to apply these models and lessons to urban systems as well, which is underpinning his growing interest in urban forestry. He continues work on the ecology of individual plant species, typically those used by local people, including fuelwood, wild fruits, weaving fibres and vegetable species, and includes both indigenous and alien species. Charlie has supervised or co-supervised 28 PhD and 63 Masters students. He has over 280 peer-reviewed journal papers to his name, 11 books and 50 book chapters.

Journal publications 

Adeyemi, O. & Shackleton, C.M. 2023. Understanding foraging practices in Lagos metropolis to redesign urban greenspaces in support of human-nature interactions. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 79, 127805.

Sardeshpande, M. & Shackleton C.M. 2023. Fruits in the city: the nature, nurture, and future of urban foraging. People & Nature. DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10428.

Sinasson, K.G & Shackleton C.M. 2023. The concurrent impacts of drought and leaf harvesting on two traditional African vegetable non-timber forest product species. PLoS One, 18(4): e0283900. DOI: 10.1371/journal. pone.0283900.

Shackleton, C.M. & Ntshudu, M. 2023. Declines in livestock numbers accompanying cropping deagrarianisation processes in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Land, 12, 1735. doi.org/10.3390/land12091735

Yapi, T., Shackleton, C.M., le Maitre, D. & Dziba, L. 2023. Farmers’ knowledge and perceptions of ecosystem services and disservices from invasive Australian wattle (Acacia) species in grassland landscapes, South Africa. Ecosystems & People, 19: 2177495. DOI: 10.1080/26395916.2023.2177495.

Seath, J. & Shackleton, C.M. 2022. Avifaunal richness and diversity in invasive Acacia dealbata patches and adjacent montane grasslands. African Zoology, 1-8: DOI: 10.1080/15627020.2022.2047104.

Ngulani, T. & Shackleton, C.M. 2022. Fuelwood production and carbon sequestration in public urban green space in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Forests, 13; 741. DOI: 10.3390/f13050741.

Martins, A.R.O. & Shackleton, C.M. 2022. The contribution of wild palms to the livelihoods and diversification of rural households in southern Mozambique. Forest Policy & Economics, 142: 102793. DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2022.102793.

Hutchings, P., Willcock, S., Lynch, K., Bundhoo, D., Brewer, T., Cooper, S., Keech, D., Mekala, S., Mishra, P.P., Shackleton, C.M., Venkatesh, K., Vicario, D.R. & Welivita, I. 2022. Understanding rural-urban transitions in the Global South through peri-urban turbulence. Nature Sustainability. DOI:  10.1038/s41893-022-00920-w

Esperon-Rodriguez, M., Rymer^, P.D., Power, S.A., Barton, D., Cari?anos, P., Dobbs, C., Eleuterio, A.A., Escobedo, F., Hauer, R., Hermy, M., Jahani, A., Onyekwelu, J.C., ?stberg, J., Pataki, D., Randrup. T., Rasmussen, T., Roman, L.A., Russo, A., Shackleton, C., Solfjeld, I., Van Doorn, N.S., Wells, M.J., Wistr?m, B., Yan, P., Yang, J. & Tjoelker, M.G. 2022. Assessing climate risk to support urban forests in a changing climate. Plants, People & Planet, 1-13. DOI: 10.1002/ppp3.10240.

Biggs R., Clements, H.S., Cumming, G.S., Cundill, G.,  de Vos, A., Hamann, M., Luvuno, L., Roux, D.J., Selomane, O., Blanchard, R., Cockburn, J., Dziba, L., Esler, K.J., Fabricius, C., Henriksson, R., Kotschy, K., Lindborg, R., Masterson, V.A., Nel, J.L., O’Farrell, P., Palmer,C.G., Pereira, L., Pollard, S., Preiser, R., Scholes, R.J., Shackleton, C., Shackleton, S., Sitas, N., Slingsby, J.A., Spierenburg, M., Teng? M. & Reyers, B. 2022. Social-ecological change: insights from the Southern African Program on Ecosystem Change and Society. Ecosystems and People, 18:1, 447-468, DOI: 10.1080/26395916.2022.2097478

Venter, Z., Shackleton, C.M., Faull, A., Lancaster, L., Breetzke, G. & Edelstein, I. 2022. Is green space associated with reduced crime? A national-scale study from the Global South. Science of the Total Environment, 825: 154005 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154005.

Gwedla, N., Shackleton, C. Olvitt, L. 2022. Tree stocks in domestic gardens and willingness to participate in tree planting initiatives in low-cost housing ares of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 68, 127484.

Thondhlana, G., Yose, P., Cockburn, J. & Shackleton, C. 2022. Livestock ecosystem services and disservices in a medium-sized South African town. Ecosystems & People, 18(1): 31-43.

Garekae, H. & Shackleton, C.M. 2021. Knowledge of formal and informal regulations affecting wild plant foraging practices in urban spaces in South Africa. Society & Natural Resources, DOI: 10.1080/08941920.2021.1977446

Shackleton, C.M., Cilliers, S.S., Davoren, E. & du Toit, M. 2021. The need for an urban ecology of the Global South. In: Shackleton, C.M., Cilliers, S.S., Davoren, E. & du Toit, M. 2021. Urban ecology in the Global South. Springer, Cham.  pp. 1-26.

Manyani, A., Shackleton, C.M. & Cocks, M.L. 2021. Attitudes and preferences towards elements of formal and informal public green spaces in two South African towns. Landscape & Urban Planning. 214: 104147.

Mabusela, A., Shackleton, C.M. & Gwedla, N. 2021. The distribution of selected woody invasive alien species in small towns in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. South African Journal of Botany, 141: 290-295.

King, A. & Shackleton, C.M. 2021. Working in poverty: informal employment of household gardeners in Eastern Cape towns, South Africa. Development southern Africa. DOI: 10.1080/0376835X.2021.1940867.

Shackleton, C.M. 2021. Urban green infrastructure for poverty alleviation: evidence synthesis and conceptual considerations. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 3: 710549. DOI: 10.3389/frsc.2021.710549

Arnoldi, M. & Shackleton, C.M. 2021. The potential influence of commercial plant nurseries in shaping the urban forest in South Africa. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 64, 127254/ DOI; 10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127254.

Zimmerer, K.S., Bell, M.G., Chirisa, I., Duvall, C., Egerer, M., Hung, P-Y., Lerner, A.M., Shackleton, C.M., Ward, J.D. & Ochooa, C.Y. 2021. Grand challenges in urban agriculture: ecological and social approaches to transformative sustainability. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5: 668561. DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2021.668561.

Sinasson, G., Shackleton, C.M., Teka, O. & Sinsin, B. 2021. Ecological patterns and effectiveness of protected areas in the preservation of Mimusops species’ habitats under climate change. Global Ecology & Conservation, 27: e01527. DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01527.

Book publications

Shackleton, C.M. 2024. Urban green infrastructure, biodiversity, poverty and equity. In: Nilon, C.H. & Aronson, M.J. (eds). Routledge Handbook of Biodiversity. Earthscan, London. pp. 307-319. DOI: 104324/9781003016120-25.

Shackleton, C.M., Gwedla, N. & Davoren, E. 2022. The legacy of colonial and apartheid eras on the distribution, composition, and representation of street trees in South Africa. In: Woudstra, J. & Allen, C. (eds). The politics of street trees. Routledge, Abingdon. pp. 307-319. DOI: 10.4324/9781003054672-27.

Shackleton, C.M., Schreckenberg, K., Shackleton, S.E. & Luckert, M. 2021. Livelihood and vulnerability analysis. In: Biggs, R., de Vos, A., Preiser, R., Clemtents, H., Maciejewski, K. & Schlüter F. (eds). The Routledge handbook of research methods for social-ecological systems: for guide to navigating methods for studying social-ecological systems. Routledge, London. pp. 440-450. DOI: 10.4324/9781003021339-32. (*)

Shackleton, C.M., Cilliers, S.S., Davoren, E. & du Toit, M. 2021. Urban ecology in the Global South. Springer, Cham. 461 pp. (ISBN: 978-3-030-67649-0).

Shackleton, C.M., Cilliers, S.S., Davoren, E. & du Toit, M. 2021. The need for an urban ecology of the Global South. In: Shackleton, C.M., Cilliers, S.S., Davoren, E. & du Toit, M. 2021. Urban ecology in the Global South. Springer, Cham.  pp. 1-26.

Shackleton, C.M. 2021. Provisioning services in Global South cities. In: Shackleton, C.M., Cilliers, S.S., Davoren, E. & du Toit, M. 2021. Urban ecology in the Global South. Springer, Cham.  pp. 203-226.

Davoren, E. & Shackleton, C.M. 2021. Ecosystem disservices in Global South cities. In: Shackleton, C.M., Cilliers, S.S., Davoren, E. & du Toit, M. 2021. Urban ecology in the Global South. Springer, Cham.  pp. 265-292.

Du Toit, M., Shackleton, C.M., Cilliers, S.S. & Davoren, E. 2021. Advancing urban ecology in the Global South: emerging themes and future research agenda. In: Shackleton, C.M., Cilliers, S.S., Davoren, E. & du Toit, M. 2021. Urban ecology in the Global South. Springer, Cham.  pp. 422-461.

Cocks, M.L. & Shackleton, C.M. 2021. Diversities of nature in cities: enriching belonging, wellbeing and bioculture. Earthscan/Routledge, London. 268 pp. (ISBN: 978-0-367-42757-3).

Cocks, M., Shackleton, C.M., Walsh, L., Haynes, D., Manyani, A. & Radebe, D. 2021. Decolonisation of nature in towns and cities of South Africa: Incorporation of biocultural values. In: Cocks, M.L. & Shackleton C.M. (eds). Diversities of nature in cities: enriching belonging, wellbeing and bioculture. Earthscan/Routledge. pp. 104-125.

Cocks, M.L. & Shackleton, C.M. 2021. Situating biocultural relations in city and townscapes: conclusion and recommendations. In: Cocks, M.L. & Shackleton C.M. (eds). Diversities of nature in cities: enriching belonging, wellbeing and bioculture. Earthscan/Routledge. pp. 241-268.

Shackleton, C.M. & Cocks, M.L. 2021. Urban nature and biocultural realities. In: Cocks, M.L. & Shackleton C.M. (eds). Diversities of nature in cities: enriching belonging, wellbeing and bioculture. Earthscan/Routledge. pp. 1-24.

Shackleton, R.T., Novoa, A., Shackleton, C. & Kull, C.A. 2020. The social dimensions of biological invasions in South Africa. Chapter 24. In van Wilgen, B.W. et al. (eds.), Biological Invasions in South Africa, Invading Nature – Springer Series in Invasion Ecology, 14. Nature - Springer Series in Invasion Ecology 14, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32394-3_24.

Pullanikkatil, D & Shackleton, C (Eds.). 2019. Poverty reduction through non-timber forest products. Sustainable Development Goals Series, Springer Nature.

Pullanikkatil, D & Shackleton, C. 2019. Poverty reduction strategies and non-timber forest products. In Pullanikkatil, D & Shackleton, C (Eds.), Poverty reduction through non-timber forest products (pp 3-14). Sustainable Development Goals Series, Springer Nature.

Pullanikkatil, D & Shackleton, C. 2019. Considering the links between non-timber forest products and poverty alleviation. In Pullanikkatil, D & Shackleton, C (Eds.), Poverty reduction through non-timber forest products (pp 3-14). Sustainable Development Goals Series, Springer Nature.

Pullanikkatil, D & Shackleton, C. 2019. Listening to the stories. In Pullanikkatil, D & Shackleton, C (Eds.), Poverty reduction through non-timber forest products (pp 153-158). Sustainable Development Goals Series, Springer Nature. 

Last Modified: Tue, 28 Nov 2023 15:46:06 SAST