Dr Justine Ewart-Smith is a freshwater ecologist with 24 years of experience in the assessment and evaluation of aquatic ecosystems.  Her experience ranges from specialist input into biomonitoring, environmental assessments and situation assessments, to EFlows studies in southern Africa and further afield.

Justine completed a PhD in periphyton communities on the effects of flow and nutrient changes in riverine ecosystems. Justine is a qualified SASS practitioner, and has undertaken numerous macroinvertebrate and benthic algae surveys of rivers throughout southern Africa. In particular, Justine was the macroinvertebrate specialist for the EFlows assessment of the Batoka Gorge on the Zambezi River. She was also part of the project team for EFlows assessments of the Luangwa Basin and Kafue Flats in Zambia for WWF, and the Pungwe River Basin in Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Justine was recently the macroinvertebrate and benthic algae specialist on the CIA team involved in the Eflows assessment of the Mpatamanga Hydropower Project on the lower Shire River in Malawi. Justine is currently involved as a specialist on the EFlows assessment of a hydropower project on the St Paul River in Liberia.  Besides her involvement in EFlows assessments, Justine was the project leader on a collaborative project commissioned by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) aimed at verification of the modelled ecological condition of wetlands and rivers in the National Wetland Map. Furthermore, Justine is the joint project leader for an ongoing monitoring project commissioned by the City of Cape Town aimed at investigating the potential effects of groundwater abstraction from the Table Mountain Group Aquifer (TMGA) on surface water ecosystems. 

Formal Education: 

PhD (Freshwater Ecology, University of Cape Town) 

MSc (Marine Biology, University of Cape Town) 

BSc Honours (Zoology, University of Cape Town) 

BSc (Zoology and Environmental and Geographical Science).  

Membership: 

Registered Professional Natural Scientist (SACNASP) (Reg. No: 400746/15) 

African Journal of Aquatic Sciences – associate editor 

South African Wetland Society – member 

email: Justine@freshwaterconsulting.co.za
Tel: +27(0)82-373-8380