Prof Johanes Belle holds a PhD in Environmental Management, with a focus on the nexus between the Environment, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Climate Change Adaptation; master’s degree in Disaster Management, Advanced University Diploma in Disaster Management, BA Honours in Geography, BA + Ed, Diploma in Marketing, and other qualifications.

Prof Belle has been working for 33 years in three different countries in Africa (Cameroon, Lesotho, and South Africa). He is currently employed as an Associate Professor and was the Director of the University of the Free State-Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa (UFS-DIMTEC) from January 2019 to February 2022. Prof Belle is an experienced disaster management professional and environmentalist, with special interest in ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation for systems and community resilience (Eco-DRR/CCA4R) under the broad theme of nature-based solutions (NBS).

Prof Belle is a councillor and board member of the Disaster Management Institute of Southern Africa (DMISA) and was the DMISA-FS Regional Chairperson from 2013-2020. Prof Belle is also a member of the Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR), the Regional Advisory Group (RAG), and the National Focal Point (NFP) for South Africa. He holds the ‘Disaster Management Professional’ designation from DMISA and is an affiliated/member of many academic, research, and professional bodies. He has published many articles in international peer-reviewed journals and has presented at many international and national conferences. Prof Belle has also graduated many master’s and PhD students. He is a reviewer of many journals. Prof Belle speaks two international languages (English and French).