Flavia Manieri
WildHub Community Advocates Coordinator|Interdisciplinary Researcher, Uppsala University
- Member directory
- Sweden
About Flavia Manieri
Since July 2025, I have been serving as the Community Advocates Coordinator at WildHub, where I coordinate initiatives to engage, support, and empower our community advocates in advancing WH’s mission.
Beyond WildHub, I wear a few different hats. I work as a researcher and lecturer in Sweden, teaching courses on environmental law, political and historical ecology, and disaster risk management. I also mentor undergraduate and postgraduate students, collaborate with faculty members, and contribute to ongoing research projects.
I’m passionate about giving back through volunteer work. I support a few conservation and animal welfare organisations with research and advocacy to help drive positive change. When I’m not working, you’ll find me hiking forest trails with my dog or enjoying a good cup of coffee.
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Lessons learned
Balancing The Scales: WildHub Special - Event Recap
If you missed our WildHub Special earlier this month, here’s a recap of the key insights from the documentary, the main themes discussed during the Q&A session, and my key takeaways.📽️🦫🚧🐟➡️🌊
Influencer Of
Teresia Rimui
Natural Resources Management specialist , Diligent Environmental Consultancy Services
Chipasha Keran
Founder and Executive director , Musa Community Development and Sustainability Organization
Ssali Ogwal Ronald
Head of Community Health & Conservation Programs, Conservation Through Public Health
Suhail Bashir
Environmental Consultant, WildHub Community Advocate, ENS Environmnetal Consultancy Sharjah
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Training opportunities Conservation Education Let's welcome new members! Building our communityRecent Discussions
Turning an Invasive Species into Fashion. Can Ethics and Conservation Coexist?
I've recently come across an article on National Geographic about designer Elle Barbeito, who is transforming Burmese python skins from Florida’s Everglades into what the media calls "luxury fashion" items. I have to admit, I was taken aback. You can read the article here: What do you do with thousands of dead Everglades phytons? Wear them.
The problem with Burmese pythons in Florida is serious and well-documented. These snakes are an invasive species, reproducing rapidly with few natural predators, and their presence has devastated local wildlife, from birds and mammals to endangered species. The ecological consequences are significant, and it’s easy to understand why culling them seems like the most straightforward solution.
But here’s where I find myself conflicted: the idea of taking these animals and turning them into "fashion items" - and actually profiting from them! Bear in mind that humans caused this problem in the first place: now the snakes are the ones facing death, yet humans are the ones benefiting financially from the situation. The process is marketed as a form of circular economy or sustainable fashion, framed as a creative way to turn a problem into something of value. I can’t help but wonder - should this even be allowed? I understand that rescuing thousands of phytons isn't feasible but doesn't turning them into products still feel morally unsettling? I suppose letting the bodies decompose naturally, as most snake hunters do, is probably the “best” possible solution. At least decomposition returns nutrients to the soil.
This raises a broader ethical dilemma that goes far beyond this specific case. How do we balance urgent conservation needs with respect for the lives of the animals involved? When facing an invasive species problem, is it enough to focus purely on ecological outcomes, or do we also have an ethical responsibility towards the animals at stake? Can we find solutions that are both effective and ethically sound, or are we always going to face uncomfortable compromises?
I’m curious to hear your perspective:
Have you encountered similar situations where conservation and ethics seem at odds? Specifically, have you heard of other cases around the world where large-scale removal of invasive species has raised similar ethical and logistical dilemmas?
Do you think animal-based "fashion" marketed as circular economy can ever be reconciled with ethical conservation practices?
Ultimately, this story made me realise how complex conservation solutions can be. What may seem innovative or practical can also feel uncomfortable or even morally troubling. It’s a delicate balance, and one that likely doesn’t have a single “right” answer but that’s exactly why the conversation matters.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Where do we draw the line between ethical responsibility and practical conservation? Can ethics and conservation truly coexist, or do we have to pick one over the other?
Beavers and salmonids: an unexpected alliance?
Have you ever taken a close look at a beaver dam? Logs and branches are woven into a lattice extending from streambank to bank. Able to withstand the pressure of all the water they hold back, these dams are remarkably sturdy. But while we all know beavers are skilled builders, their relationship with fish is often misunderstood. This lack of understanding by humans can result in harm to both species.
Can beavers and salmonids coexist, and even thrive together?
We will be discussing this and more on Wednesday during our WildHub Special 👉 https://wildhub.community/events/wildhub-special-balancing-the-scales-film-screening-expert-q-a
with
Elliot McCandless, Communications Manager at Beaver Trust
Andy Thomas, Conservation Officer at Wild Trout Trust
Angelika Von Heimendahl, Beaver Reintroduction Manager at The Wildlife Trusts.
Do you have any questions you'd like us to ask our speakers?
Decolonising conservation in Africa
Conservation efforts in Africa have typically been led by "parachute conservationists", outsiders who drop in thinking they have all the answers, hire locals to implement them and then disappear. But conservationist Resson Kantai Duff has a better way to save wildlife in Africa: let locals lead these efforts themselves. She calls for a major shift in how conservation in Africa works, showing why the people closest to the land are the ones best fit to care for it. https://www.ted.com/talks/resson_kantai_duff_why_africa_needs_community_led_conservation/transcript?subtitle=en
"In Africa, the approach to conserving wildlife has almost always involved a separation of people from nature, the involvement, but never leadership, from local people.
[...]
The story of conservation [in Africa] has almost always then involved only a foreign scientist with a clipboard or a guy in green with a gun, there to protect that wildlife from everyone else. The rest of us have never existed in this story. And those who came to save species came from the outside. And when they came, they were labeled heroes. They had to teach local people how to live alongside wildlife on the fringes of wild lands that they once owned.
[...]
Conservation is about people. I have learned that the people keeping lions roaming in Kenya today are warriors, women, children and elders. They are people educated by their culture; they are urbanites with respect for that culture. And as more Africans allow co-existence to happen in our spaces, we will turn back the clock on wildlife declines and really make life better for all of us. It is time for conservation to be broad. Broad enough not just to include a species in trouble, but our land and our cultures, our innovation, our story, us. Who we were, who we are and who we want to be."
- Resson Kantai Duff
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What has your experience been with community-led conservation in Africa?
I would love to hear your stories.
Recent Comments
Beautifully put, Tara 🌊💙
This is such a timely and needed initiative — bringing restorative ocean farms into a community-rooted, place-based framework feels like exactly the kind of systems thinking our coasts need right now.
Excited to see these ROC Working Groups take shape and support coastal communities to thrive.
I’ve also shared this post via the WildHub LinkedIn to help amplify the invitation and reach a wider community.
Welcome to the community 👋 - it’s great to have you here!
Definitely make sure to follow the Job Opportunities room so you get notified as soon as new roles are shared. There are frequent posts that align with research, monitoring, and project coordination work.
Looking forward to seeing your contributions here, and feel free to jump into discussions or share ideas anytime! Best of luck with your search!
Thank you for sharing Oliver! This sounds like a fantastic opportunity.
WildHub has become such a meaningful part of my life, and reading about its journey reminds me why this space matters so deeply.
I’m incredibly grateful that Thirza took on the responsibility of carrying WildHub forward 🙏 - I know this has taken a huge amount of her time and energy over the past year. Hands up for all that she has done to keep WildHub alive and thriving.
WildHub’s future feels secure in the right hands, and its past already speaks volumes. For so many of us, this space has felt incredibly inclusive and welcoming - especially for those who have struggled to find a genuine sense of belonging elsewhere.
Thank you, Thirza, for believing in people, for making space for voices that are often unheard, and for ensuring this community not only survives, but has the chance to grow on its own terms. 🌱
Thank you for sharing this. I found it deeply resonant.
As an interdisciplinary researcher with a background in environmental history, and living in Uppsala where Carl Linnaeus carried out much of his work and botanical drawing, I am especially moved by your reflection on illustration as an ethical act. Linnaeus himself relied profoundly on illustration, description, and imagination to make the natural world legible, memorable, and worthy of care. Long before conservation as a formal practice existed, presence was created through images and narratives. Botanical illustration is not merely documentation; it is a bridge between absence and attention, between scientific record and cultural memory.
I greatly appreciate how you frame illustration, art, and cultural engagement as integral to conservation ethics, not supplementary to it. Making absence visible may be one of the most urgent and overlooked responsibilities we carry, especially for species that survive only in archives and margins.
Thanks for sharing, Lucy!
This is so amazing and unique for conservationist especially Africans, I would like to see more on this platform and I wish to express my readiness and availability to this community for continuity service and Sustainability to ensure growth and see it's intended purpose achieved.
Thank you for your encouraging words and commitment. We’re glad you find WildHub valuable, especially for conservationists across Africa. We encourage you to use the platform actively by sharing insights, engaging in discussions, and collaborating with others. Your dedication to support ongoing efforts and promote sustainable growth is truly appreciated and will help the platform fulfil its mission.
Congrats to you all for an amazing achievement!!! We would not be here without you all and your support for us to gain knowledge for global conservation.
Massive thanks to you all and have a super Christmas and hope to be there in the New Year for a further study and sharing of knowledge.
Sushma
Thank you so much, Sushma, for your kind and encouraging words. We truly appreciate your support and enthusiasm for WildHub. Wishing you a very happy New Year, and we look forward to continuing to share and grow knowledge together.