My background is mainly in species conservation, education and capacity development. I researched mother-young interactions in gorillas and chimpanzees, in captivity and the wild. After that, I worked for three years in Indonesia, where I developed and implemented youth ambassador and community engagement programmes on local and regional scales. I obtained a PhD on capacity development for conservation and work as Community Manager at WildHub and as Head of Community at Zapnito.
Independent Wildlife Consultant (Former Senior Veterinary Officer, AHD, UK Govt.), EY, WII,GIZ, Member, Wildlife SAB, Morris Animal Foundation, Colorado Member, WiNN Global Mentoring Committee
This is Aditi Sharma and I am a Veterinarian. I completed my Masters in Veterinary Surgery & Radiology in 2004. I did a PG Diploma in Advanced Wildlife Management from the Wildlife Institute of India in 2015 & PG Diploma in One Health from COHORT, Kerela in 2023. I served the Department of Animal Husbandry in Uttarakhand State Government as Senior Veterinary Officer for 20 years and retired voluntarily on 31st January 2023 to continue as a Freelancer Wildlife Consultant. Currently, I am working on three projects related to Wildlife Health, One Health & Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation. I served in Rajaji Tiger Reserve in Northern India for 5 years from 2015-2020. I am the Founder of two public charitable Trusts, one works for women's empowerment & safety and the other works for environment conservation.
I am a third-year student at African Leadership University pursuing a Bachelor of Global Challenges degree, graduating in June 2024. I'm passionate about working in the environmental and wildlife conservation industry to use skills gained from my tertiary education and make a difference as a research professional.
I previously worked as a research intern on Land use activities at ALU School of wildlife conservation. And I gained hands-on experience working with writing case studies, analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, and working and communicating professionally.
I am an Ecologist by training. My research interests have focused on : Relations between protected areas and local communities; Wildlife conservation; Community Building; Environmental governance ; Conflict management ; Climate change.
I am excited to have joined the Wild Hub platform as it provides a platform for me to engage with like-minded individuals who are passionate about environmental conservation. As a final year student at African Leadership University, majoring in Global Challenges with a focus on environmental conservation, I am committed to ensuring the protection of endangered plant species and the promotion of sustainable conservation practices.
My interest in environmental conservation has led me to work on various research projects, including assessing the impacts of exotic plant species on the ecology of one of the National Parks in Rwanda. Through this project, I was able to gain insights into the complexities involved in managing invasive species and the need for a sustainable approach to conservation.
I also had the privilege of working on pre-impact assessments for the expansion of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. This experience allowed me to understand the importance of incorporating the perspectives of local communities in conservation initiatives.
Recently, I worked on a project with the Capitals Coalition on sustainable and impact analysis, where I was involved in a case study. This experience enabled me to develop a deeper understanding of the need to integrate economic, social, and environmental considerations in conservation efforts.
Additionally, I had the opportunity to work with the National Geographic Society and he Nature Conservancy on a freshwater and community conservation externship. This experience allowed me to gain valuable insights into the complexities of freshwater management and the importance of engaging with local communities in conservation efforts.
Assistant Communication and Governance Officer, Honeyguide Foundation
I am Loiruku, a young person born into the Maasai community. I enjoy working with the pastoralist and farming communities because that is where my life began, and I love working with the community and I love wildlife.
I am a conservation enthusiast with a bias for wildlife fauna. I intend to specialize in project management. I am also looking for more opportunities in conservation all over the world, especially in the UK, USA, Canada, South Africa, Namibia, and Tanzania.
With experience in Marine Animal Rehab., Rescue and Research coupled with a nerdy love of data, data science and all things technology, my data collection software company, WatchSpotter is the cumulation of my life’s work. From the hallways of the Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center at the University of New England, my affinity for caring for marine animals was fostered and grew. Being tasked with the center’s life support systems and flow thru animal pools further opened my eyes to water quality, fecal coliforms, and bio-loads. I was the primary research technician in a multiphase study: Protecting the Saco River: Tracking non-point fecal pollution to its species source. Upon leaving UNE, I traveled to the Southern Great Barrier Reef Australia to work on an international research team focusing on population dynamics for three cetacean species. Once back stateside, I sharpened my Software UX skills working as a software consultant for Centersoft Technologies. After a brief stint volunteering for the Dolphin Photo ID program at Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, I was hired to join the team. I split time the first years at FAU HBOI between the Harmful Algal Bloom lab and the Dolphin Population and Assessment Lab. Settling in as a Research Assistant for the latter as well as a first responder for the Marine Mammal Rescue Team. In working with the Dolphin Population and Assessment Primary Researcher, along with other industry collaborators, I soon became the PIs data analyst and was paramount in the creation and development of the programs state of the art cloud-based SQL database platform. I worked as a liaison between the research program and software architects to assure ease of use, maximum data output and advanced analytics. The software is still used by the newly formed team today. At the end of 2019 it was time for me to branch out on my own. In the spring of 2022, WatchSpotter was born. My idea was to create a customizable SaaS application that could be used by researchers worldwide. Data is data- scientific questions need to be answered. My contingency was that no matter what the research topic- if the research brings people into the field-whether scientists, volunteers, or citizens, they are there to gather data-to answer questions. I knew that the two biggest challenges facing many environmental research groups were time and money. It would not be feasible for most nonprofits or other environmental institutions to pay for custom software- which often runs in excess of $150K nor do they have the time to wait for such programs to be complete. These known challenges fueled the customization and simple UX that make up the WatchSpotter platform. When I’m working with Environmental Science or software, I enjoy being outside in the woods or at the beach, volunteering and hanging with family and friends.
I work with Indigenous communities in all the practical and strategic processes that support their territorial autonomy and self-determined developmental agendas. In a beautifully complex world, that can mean anything from technical GIS support, monitoring biodiversity in territory, analyzing invasions and threats to territory, strategizing and obtaining the necessary data to fill gaps to support legal cases against threats and support informed decision-making. I am an interdisciplinary academic-activist working with Indigenous nationalities and representative organisations in pursuit and actualization of their autonomy and collectively self-determined vision. I have worked on the intersection between international law, national judicial systems, international environmental commitments, extractive industries and the plural visions of Indigenous Peoples and other historically minoritized groups. My focus has been on human rights-based approaches to conservation and what they imply in current law, traditional/local ecological knowledge, and Indigenous leadership in navigating an encroaching world (community-based monitoring and mapping of territory (for biodiversity, threats, culture, etc.)). I have worked across South America and both South and Southeast Asia and have now returned to the Amazonian region as the monitoring field coordinator for Amazon Frontlines. For my work things feel free to skim my LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/tomatitoperdido
Conservation economist
Wildlife biologist with cross-cutting interests in wildlife conservation technologies, wildlife and ecological research, climate change.