Estrela Matilde (She/Her)

Conservation Leader and Non-profit Director, 244825572

About Estrela Matilde

I am currently working as Executive Director at the Fundação Príncipe, a well established conservation NGO working on the research and protection of Príncipe's biodiversity, with a high focus on the social and economic development of the communities. I work for 10 years on one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the world, with the goal of achieving the sustainable development of the UNESCO Príncipe Island Biosphere Reserve. My mission is to change the world, an island at a time.

Which category below best describes the type of organisation you currently work for/or run?

Charity/Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)

Areas of expertise

Behaviour change campaigns Communication and marketing Education & training Funding Fundraising Human resources Information technology Legal & Policy Frameworks Livelihood, Economic & Moral Incentive Monitoring and evaluation Partnerships and collaboration development Project/programme management Research Species Management

Would you be willing to be approached and share your lessons learned in your area(s) of expertise with our community?

Yes

Influencer Of

Topics

Rooms participated in:

Let's welcome new members! Job opportunities

Recent Comments

Mar 17, 2023
Replying to Ross Rowe

Hi Estrela, what a wonderful looking place to live and work! I love your mission to change the world one island at a time - that's awesome!

Dear @Ross Rowe , thank you so much for your kind words! You have to visit us some time! Cheers! 

Estrea

Mar 17, 2023
Replying to Lara Reden

Welcome to WildHub!

Thank you @Lara Reden !

Mar 16, 2023
Replying to Thirza Loffeld

Wonderful opportunity! Thanks for sharing @Ross Rowe 

@Estrela Matilde : Perhaps this would be a useful opportunity for your team based on what you shared in your introduction post that one of your priorities is the capacity building or our team? 

@Grace Alawa : perhaps you or someone you know would be interested in this opportunity as well? 

Dear @Thirza Loffeld , thank you for raising this with us! It is indeed a fantastic opportunity. The language is always a problem for our team - they only speak Portuguese, which means we cannot use the majority of these courses and training. But we will keen an eye on future opportunities!

Feb 13, 2023
Replying to Thirza Loffeld

A warm welcome to WildHub, Estrela! We are happy to have you join us! 

Is there any conservation work challenge that the community could perhaps help you with at the moment? 

HI Thirza!

As a small insulate state, the invasive and introduce species are a big problem and is something hard to find funds for it. We are looking for grants to support the understanding and control of the introduced species, but have been hard to find funds for it. Our island is really small (140 km2), and the endemic species only exists here... the human pressure and climate change are reducing and threatening these species every day...

As a local organization, one of our priorities is the capacity building or our team, specially in writing of proposals, project management, etc. however, due to the English dependency, have been something hard to do, to ensure the autonomy and grown of our organization and local team, putting them less dependent of international staff.

All hard things to fund! But we are working on them and we are optimist about the future!

All the best,
Estrela

Feb 13, 2023
Replying to Grace Alawa

Welcome to WildHub Estrela, great work you're doing at Principe's. What are some of the endemic species found in Principe's Islands? What are the different areas you're training the 64 future conservation leaders in?

Hi Grace! Thank you so much for your kind words! The list of endemic species on the island is huge and I often jokingly say that every rock we kick we find a new specie! We have a Terrestrial team, who works with the terrestrial biodiversity, specially the Príncipe Thrush (Turdus xanthorhynchus), the Giant Land Snail (Archachatina bicarinata) and  the Principe scops owl (Otus bikegila). The three species of frogs we have are endemic, we also have endemic snakes, bats and a little Shrew. And in our terrestrial program we also have a botanical team and we found out so far 10 new species of trees. We also have a marine team, working with the Sea Turtles (not endemic but threatened) and on the establishment of the first network of MPA in the country. Check out our projects at www.fundacaoprincipe.org!