As a wildlife and environmental scientist, Prof. Hauptfleisch’s interests lie in both research as well as conservation management and environmental protection. His research is therefore highly applied in nature in order to enhance environmental protection and nature conservation in Namibia and across the African continent.

Prof. Hauptfleisch is active in the field of environmental impact assessment and management. To this end he has been involved in the capacity assessment and development of Environmental Impact Assessment in Africa. He has provided capacity development for the World Bank, African Development Bank and others in Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zanzibar. Together with the GIZ (Namibia and Germany) he has developed and implemented training in Ecosystem Assessment and Valuation and its integration into environmental and conservation disciplines in Namibia. He further collaborates with institutions such as the Namibian Chamber of Environment, World Wildlife Fund, and universities from around the globe. Of his other research interests are wildlife movements across different land-use types, human-wildlife conflict and Futures Thinking in conservation.

Prof. Hauptfleisch has served on the Board of the International Association for Impact Assessment, and currently serves on the board of the Southern African Institute for Environmental Assessment, as well as the IUCN Giraffe and Okapi Working Group, the Black-footed cat working group and the Namibian Pangolin Working Group.

He has published over 50 scientific articles and book chapters and is a regular contributor to Namibia’s broadcast media scene.