Claire Cave

Dr. Claire Cave is an Assistant Professor in the School of Archaeology at University College Dublin. She holds a BSc and PhD from UCD, with her doctoral research focusing on the conservation of the endangered Rodrigues fruit bat. Her work emphasizes protected area management, governance frameworks, and the role of international conventions like the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. She co-developed UCD's innovative interdisciplinary World Heritage Management master's program, the first of its kind globally combining cultural and natural heritage conservation.

Her research interests span World Heritage conservation as an interdisciplinary field, sustainable protection strategies for natural heritage, human-heritage interactions, and participatory governance models for protected areas. Recent work addresses urbanization pressures on UNESCO Biospheres and climate change impacts on World Heritage sites. She actively contributes to UNESCO’s global training initiatives and has advised Saudi Arabia’s tourism heritage management capacity-building programs.

Teaching responsibilities include coordinating modules such as Conservation Strategies, Heritage Management Challenges, and Sustainable Development frameworks. Professional activities include committee roles in UNESCO tentative list advisory groups and membership in organizations like the Society for Conservation Biology and Forum UNESCO.

Her publications focus on heritage governance, urban biodiversity, and international conservation strategies, with notable contributions to understanding the interface between urban development and protected areas in Europe.