Valerio Donfrancesco

Valerio Donfrancesco is a Researcher at the University of Cambridge's Conservation Research Institute and Department of Geography. His work investigates socio-political dimensions of conservation, specializing in human-carnivore conflicts, particularly wolf management in Italy. He collaborates with Dr. Chris Sandbrook under the Conservation Research Institute's themes of 'Knowledge and Expertise in Conservation' and 'Conservation Across Protected and Productive Landscapes'.

Research Focus: Valerio examines power dynamics in wildlife governance, ethical implications of lethal control, and agrarian transformations driven by predator reintroduction. His interdisciplinary approach integrates political ecology, environmental anthropology, and conservation policy to analyze human-wildlife coexistence. Key interests include:

• More-than-human political ecology of wolf impacts on Italian agriculture
• Socio-cultural perceptions of lethal wildlife management
• Hybridization conflicts (e.g., wolf-dog) in European conservation frameworks

Publication Trends: Recent articles (2019–2025) predominantly explore human-wolf relations through political ecology lenses, with emphases on:

• Capitalist/agrarian change drivers in conservation conflicts
• Biopolitical governance of controversial species
• Ethical debates around hybridization management

Geographically, Italy features prominently, though work extends to pan-European policies and Australian case studies.

Collaborations & Teams: Valerio operates within Cambridge's Conservation Research Institute network, focusing on interdisciplinary conservation challenges. His collaborations emphasize knowledge co-production and stakeholder engagement in contested wildlife landscapes.