Roy Maconachie is Professor of Natural Resources and Development in the Department of Social and Policy Sciences at the University of Bath. His research in Sub-Saharan Africa explores the social, political and economic aspects of food production and natural resource management, and their relationships to wider societal change. Roy’s recent work has been concerned with the politics of natural resource management in West Africa, with a particular focus on the extractive industries, livelihood change and social conflict. He has been carrying out field-based research in West Africa for the past 20 years, and has spent much of this time working with artisanal gold and diamond miners.

Roy’s current work focuses on the role that artisanal mining plays in ‘green energy transitions’, exploring key governance challenges in critical mineral supply chains in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Roy’s disciplinary background is in human geography, but his work has largely been interdisciplinary in its approach, drawing principally upon anthropology, politics and political ecology. He holds a PhD in Geography and Masters degree in Rural Development from the University of Sussex.