Francine Barchett is an applied social sciences researcher, science communicator, and teacher. Based out of Cornell University’s Center for Conservation Social Sciences and the African Wildlife Economy Institute, her PhD research probes the intersections of conservation, community wellbeing, and sustainable enterprise across Southern Africa. She also is founder and program leader of the International Hunting Discussion Forum and sits on the steering committee of the African Wildlife Economy Working Group at African Leadership University.
Ms. Barchett’s interest in the hunting industry began with disgust. She found a picture online of obnoxious-looking old men posing with an endangered rhino they had just shot! This disgust turned to curiosity, then to learning how to hunt for herself, and now meeting a diverse cast of conservation stakeholders: the “human dimensions” of her PhD.
Prior to her hunting work, Ms. Barchett’s funded short-term projects had led her across 25 countries, from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Kenya to Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the Philippines, to the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India. Equally enthralled with Southeast Asia as Southern Africa, she has received numerous fellowships to study and translate Indonesian, Malay, and Vietnamese and has represented the US at official government functions across the Indonesian archipelago. However, she most enjoys teaching undergraduates and mentoring high schoolers through the World Prize Foundation’s programs. She holds a B.S. in International Agriculture and M.P.S.in Global Development.
Personal Links:
Samples of Work:
- Barchett, F. (2023, Oct). Women and the Future of Hunting in Africa: How can we make safari hunting more welcoming for 50% of us? Conference Presentation at African Wildlife Consultative Forum in Windhoek, Namibia. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kd–1kaN5DjB33BzZ0OnGiMGaj3eV8MN/view?usp=sharing.
- Barchett, F. (2023, May 23). She Learns To Hunt—American Insights, African Applications. African Wildlife Economy Institute at Stellenbosch University. https://www0.sun.ac.za/awei/posts/she-learns-to-hunt
- Barchett, F. (2022, July 28). About our international hunting discussion forum | African Wildlife Economy Institute. African Wildlife Economy Institute at Stellenbosch University. https://www0.sun.ac.za/awei/posts/intl-hunting-discussion-forum
- Barchett, F. (2021). Examining Sustainable Practices and Opportunities for a Sustainability Certification Scheme for Trophy Hunting in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cornell University Press, 77. https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/111064
- Barchett, F., Upton, J., Zulfiqar, R., Farooqui, R., & Hammonds, T. (2018, February 28). A Business Evaluation of the Sales and Distribution Model for Index-Based Livestock Insurance in Kenya. Economics That Really Matters. https://www.econthatmatters.com/2018/02/a-business-evaluation-of-the-sales-and-distribution-model-for-index-based-livestock-insurance-in-kenya/