I've lived and worked in conservation in Belize for more than 30 years...and love it! I work with both government, non-government agencies and communities towards strengthening the national protected areas system and species conservation frameworks - lots of landscape and seascape planning, protected area management planning, national biodiversity and species conservation planning, and (in all my spare time) addressing wildlife crime. My work provides excellent opportunities to explore iconic protected areas across this amazing country - places like the Blue Hole (known globally as a 'must-do' dive site) and Cockscomb Basin (protected for its high jaguar density) and to work with the inspiring management NGOs and local communities that protect areas such as these to improve their conservation outcomes. To make life even more interesting our organization, Wildtracks, also manages Belize's national manatee and primate rehabilitation centers, as part of our species conservation portfolio.
We are excited to be establishing a new programme in 2022 focused on capacity building and mentoring for the Belize conservation community in response to the limited number of in-country conservation practitioners, with skills transfer to the incoming generation of conservation leaders.
It is always inspiring to meet others who are as excited and motivated by conservation and conservation planning as I am...looking forward to being an active member of WildHub!
I'm a children's book author with a focus on creating books that ignite passion and curiosity for wildlife and wild places in young readers. "If we care about animals, we'll want to protect them." I'm looking to connect with professionals who are studying and/or are actively helping in advancing wildlife conservation efforts in general. I am also a beginning nature photographer with a passion for capturing the unique personalities of each animal I see. (That's the goal, anyhow!) I've had a lifelong passion for animals and want to learn all I can and share what I can with young readers, hopefully inspiring the next wave of conservationists, naturalists, scientists, etc.!
Alan J. Hesse
Senior Behaviour Change Specialist (TRAFFIC); also independent author-illustrator and climate educator.., TRAFFIC International
My conservation career started in 1992 when I helped set up and joined a University expedition to the Bolivian Amazon. What started out as a 3-month experience ended up being a life-changing inflection point that set my professional and personal course to the present day. My conservation experience was built bottom-up and hands-on, and includes field data collection and logistics, grassroots organization leadership and project management, community engagement and capacity building, M&E, training and behavior change, and lately climate education through authorship of graphic novels and other resources. My conservation career includes positions as a senior staff member and a principal investigator at the Bolivian BirdLife Partner Armonía, field investigator in the Gran Chaco with WCS Bolivia, field logistics officer for Conservation International's RAP expeditions, and Programme Manager and Senior Manager of M&E at Rare. I currently work as Senior Behaviour Change Specialist with TRAFFIC International, applying behavioural science approaches to support TRAFFIC's work across wildlife supply chains globally.
I am a wildlife film-maker and photographer from Kenya. Besides producing wildlife documentaries, we also publish coffee table books with Augmented Reality. I run a company in Kenya, and we are also fixers for foreign productions wanting to come and film in Kenya. Looking forward to networking and meeting new people, possibilities of working together and also find platforms to showcase our content. I am keen on sharing the little knowledge/ experience I have and also would like to learn from others.
Joined WCS 10 years ago, spent most of my time in the Congo Basin. Working on community development and social science, monitoring & evaluation, theories of change. Helping our teams to collect, manage & analyze data in the most efficient way. Member of the Conservation Measures Partnership and the Conservation Social Science Partnership.
MSc Marine Environmental Protection graduate with a creative background in green infrastructure, architecture and design. The natural world has always been a staple love of mine, feeding my curiosity and imagination. I spent much of my childhood pond-dipping, rock-pooling and searching for exciting new creatures…I admit, not a lot has changed! I aim to use my diverse range of skills to protect the marine environment and safeguard biodiversity for future generations.
Rosalind Bown
Exeter MSc student - Marine Vertebrate Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter
Research, Teacher, social worker, human right activist, Environmentalist, Ecology
I am postgraduate in biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of ecosystems; I hold a Ph.D. from the Nangui Abrogoua University of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. I am highly committed to works related to the field of Monitoring & Evaluation, Results-Based Management, Ecological Monitoring, GIS, Project/Program Management, Data management, and Analysis, etc. Since 2005, I have been doing conservation work and research in West Africa, working for conservation NGOs and research institutions, such as the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation where I worked as Biomonitoring Program Officer from 2005 to 2012; Action pour la Conservation de la Biodiversité en Côte d’Ivoire where I worked as General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary; Afrique Nature International (Côte d’Ivoire) and Conservation International (Liberia) where I did consultancy works; and the “Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire” where I worked as Master and Ph.D. researcher. I also attended training in GIS and Statistics in Côte d’Ivoire as well as in Germany (Max-Planck Institute for the Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig) and in the United Kingdom (Natural History Museum of London). I also provided several pieces of training on biodiversity conservation and survey methodologies, as well as Monitoring & Evaluation techniques in Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. By working in central Africa for WWF since 2014, I have acquired great experience in Monitoring & Evaluation; I have faced a lot of challenges and tested various Monitoring & Evaluation methods. I am used to designing and implementing applied ecological monitoring programs in various contexts. These abilities help me in understanding as quickly as possible, any program objective and expected results; and be able to develop adequate methodologies for its monitoring and evaluation. I have been always working with different partners in a multi-actor context, by at the same time dealing with, supervising technically, and providing support to many staffs and collaborators. I have the ability to adapt myself to new contexts and to work under pressure, to meet deadlines with reduced supervision. I have a good knowledge of the challenges faced by many existing programs for achieving their goals and objectives. I am currently working as the Regional Coordinator for the Ecological Monitoring Program in Central Africa; this consists mainly in supporting countries in monitoring and evaluating their conservation outcomes and impacts. For that to be completed, I have designed a Biomonitoring Strategy which is being implemented in the field and at the same time, adapted to country conservation strategies. The strategy is designed to support Forest, Wildlife, and Food Programs. The implementation of the Strategy requires a lot of training of field staff in GIS, survey methodologies, data processing, etc. in order to assess the indicators set for objectives and goals in their respective countries. Dr. K. Paul N'GORAN
I am a wildlife veterinarian specializing in great apes and monkeys but I also enjoy working with elephants, cobras and a variety of other endangered species. I traveled regularly between rescue and rehabilitation centers in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the United States. I mentor new veterinarians and teach at St. George's University of Veterinary Medicine in the Caribbean. I have a Masters in Veterinary Epidemiology from University College London with my thesis being done with ZSL regarding the endangered red squirrels of Great Britain.
