About
Michael ‘t Sas-Rolfes is a researcher affiliated with the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford. With a background spanning three decades in commerce and conservation, he focuses on legal and illegal markets for wildlife products, particularly rhinos, elephants, and big cats. His academic journey includes a BSc in Commerce from the University of the Witwatersrand, MSc in Environmental Resource Economics from University College London, and MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management from Oxford.
His research interests are centered on wildlife trade dynamics, conservation economics, and policy frameworks. Key areas include scenario analysis, participatory modeling, and the ethical implications of wildlife trade. His recent work explores synthetic wildlife goods, consumer demand reduction, and the interplay between pandemic responses (e.g., COVID-19) and conservation strategies.
Michael’s publications (2016–2021) span journals like Conservation Letters, Ecological Economics, and Biological Conservation. Themes include illegal trade governance, demand-side interventions, synthetic product regulation, and ethical wildlife management. His work involves collaborations with researchers such as Dr. D.W.S. Challender, Dr. A. Hinsley, and Dr. E.J. Milner-Gulland.
Michael is supervised by Dr. Laurence Wainwright (University of Oxford) and Dr. Dustin Garrick (University of Waterloo) for his doctoral research. He contributes to global conservation discourse and is associated with the Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and Conservation research cluster at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment.
