Dr. Marjanneke Vijge is Assistant Professor of Sustainability Governance in the Developing World at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University (the Netherlands). She has expertise in multilevel sustainability governance with a specific focus on developing countries. Her current research focuses on policy coherence around the Sustainable Development Goals and climate goals. She analyses the consequences for social justice, among others in the fields of climate and food security.

Together with Prof. Willemien du Plessis from North-West University, Dr. Vijge leads a research project on the water-energy-food nexus in South Africa, which is funded by South Africa’s National Research Fund (NRF) and the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The project analyses how water, energy and food resources are distributed and decided upon at the household and community level and what the challenges and opportunities are for equitable resource allocation in South Africa’s legal and governance frameworks. Ultimately, the aim is to understand how realities at the household and community levels relate to higher-level decision-making and legislation, with what consequences for social justice, and how may this be improved.