Francis Masse

Francis Masse is an Assistant Professor in the Geography and Environmental Sciences Department at Northumbria University since January 2020. His research bridges political ecology and political geography, focusing on conservation, wildlife crime, and state security. Key themes include conservation law enforcement, securitization of conservation, gendered dynamics in poaching economies, and zoonotic disease linkages. He earned a PhD in Geography from York University Toronto (2017). His work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to environmental protection and sustainable development.

Research Interests:

• Political and socio-ecological dynamics of wildlife crime
• Securitization of conservation policies
• Ethnographic studies of rhino poaching in Mozambique-South Africa
• Zoonotic disease dynamics through political ecology frameworks

Articles Trends: Recent work emphasizes global health-environment linkages (e.g., zoonotic spillover) and conservation-security intersections. He critically examines militarized anti-poaching responses and gendered impacts in wildlife economies. Current projects include the CONLAB initiative on conservation labor theory (funded by the Norwegian Research Council, 2023-2026).

Grants/Advising: Active in guiding PhD students exploring themes like conservation enforcement and wildlife trade. Leads research on policy implications of wildlife crime and global health.