BIOGRAPHY
Naji Sulaiman is an Assistant Professor of Environmental and Applied Botany, specialising in ethnobotany and human-plant interactions within socio-ecological systems. His research investigates how local ecological knowledge, particularly related to wild food plants and foraging practices, shapes food systems, biocultural diversity, and adaptation under environmental and socio-economic change. A significant strand of his work addresses ethnobotany in conflict-affected and crisis contexts, analysing how traditional plant knowledge supports food security and resilience during periods of instability.
His research combines ethnographic fieldwork with quantitative ethnobotanical approaches, including the development of comparative indices for cross-cultural analysis. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles in international journals and serves as Associate Editor of People and Nature (British Ecological Society), as well as on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (BMC). He is also a guest editor of several special issues and a regular reviewer for more than 20 international journals.
He is the recipient of the International Doctoral Award of the Italian Botanical Society and the JEET Emerging Scientist Award in Ethnobiology, reflecting early recognition of his contributions to ethnobotanical research.
Institutional Positions
Teaching Activity
Main Interdisciplinary Research Area in UNISG
Specific Research Topics
- Ethnobiology of wild foods
- Human-plant interactions and local ecological knowledge systems
- Biocultural diversity, resilience, and knowledge change
- Traditional foraging practices and food heritage
- Quantitative ethnobotany and cross-cultural comparative analysis
- Socio-ecological dynamics of plant use under environmental and socio-economic change
- Ethnobotany in conflict-affected and crisis contexts