Staff profile

I am a practising biosocial conservationist with a BA in Psychology and an M.Phil in Biological Sciences from the University of Wales. My PhD (awarded in 2014) was supervised by Professor Joanna (Jo) Setchell and Professor Sandra Bell. For my research, I collected and analysed ethnographic data to facilitate the development of a long-term conservation project Barbary Macaque Awareness & Conservation in Morocco. I continue to collaborate with Moroccan colleagues, raising awareness among the public to combat the illegal Barbary macaque pet trade and conducting survey work in the Rif Mountains of North Morocco.

My consultancy work focuses on the human dimension of conservation particularly human-wildlife relations, human-wildlife coexistence and I take every opportunity to expand the use of ethnographic data collection and analysis to foster conservation aims.

I am Vice Chair of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group Section for Human-Primate Interactions and an independent conservation consultant. I am also a core member of the IUCN Conservation Translocation Group for Human-Wildlife Interactions.

Related Links

Barbary Macaque Awareness & Conservation

IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group Section for Human-Primate Interactions

IUCN SSC CTSG Working Group for Human-Wildlife Interactions in Conservation Translocations.

Sian Waters Consulting

On-line publication

Waters Siân, Setchell Joanna M., Marechal Laetitia, Oram Felicity, Wallis Janette & Cheyne Susan M. (2021). IUCN Primate Specialist Group Section for Human Primate Interactions Best Practice Guidelines for Responsible Images of Non-Human Primates https://human-primate-interactions.org/resources/

Chapter in book

• Maldonado Angela M. & Waters Siân (2020). Ethnoprimatology of the Tikuna in the southern Colombian Amazon. In Neotropical Ethnoprimatology: Indigenous People’s Perceptions of and Interactions with Nonhuman Primates. B. Urbani & M. Lizarralde Springer. 89-107.

Journal Article

• Daniels, Charlotte, Cheyne, Susan. M., Waters, Siân & Svensson, Magdalena S. (2021). Professional primate keepers and online primate imagery: an assessment of knowledge and attitudes. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 9(4): 259-265.
• Norconk, Marilyn A., Atsalis, Sylvia, Tully, Gregg, Santillán, Ana Maria, Waters, Siân, Knott, Cheryl D., Ross, Stephen R., Shanee, Sam & Stiles, Daniel (2020). Reducing the primate pet trade: Actions for primatologists. American Journal of Primatology 82(1): e23079.
• Waters, Siân, El Harrad, Ahmed, Bell, Sandra & Setchell, Joanna M. (2019). Interpreting People’s Behaviour Toward Primates Using Qualitative Data: A Case Study from North Morocco. International Journal of Primatology 40(3): 316-330.
• Waters, Siân, Watson, Tamlin, Bell, Sandra & Setchell, Joanna M. (2018). Communicating for Conservation: Circumventing Conflict with Communities over Domestic Dog Ownership in North Morocco. European Journal of Wildlife Research 64(6): 69.
• Dore, Kerry M., Radford, Lucy, Alexander, Sherrie & Waters, Siân (2018). Ethnographic Approaches in Primatology. Folia Primatologica 89(1): 5-12.
• Radford, Lucy Alexander, Sherrie & Waters, Sian (2018). On the rocks: using discourse analysis to examine relationships between Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) and people on Gibraltar. Folia Primatologica 89(1): 30-44.
• Bergin, Daniel, Atoussi, Sadek & Waters, Siân (2018). Online trade of Barbary macaques Macaca sylvanus in Algeria and Morocco. Biodiversity and Conservation 27(2): 531-534.
• Setchell, J.M., Fairet, E., Shutt, K., Waters, S. & Bell, S. (2017). Biosocial conservation: integrating biological and ethnographic methods to study human-primate interactions. International Journal of Primatology 38(2): 401-426.
• Waters, Siân & El Harrad, Ahmed (2013). A note on the effective use of social media to raise awareness against the illegal trade in Barbary macaques. African Primates