About Me
Biography
Brief Biography
I have spent more than thirty years working in conservation; across Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. I initally trained as a zoologist in the UK, and then completed a PhD in veterinary science, with a focus on invertebrate neuroendocrinology. However, much of what I now know about conservation has been learned far beyond universities and academia – but in forests and savannas, lakes and seas, with communities and field teams, alongside local hunters, scientists, rangers, governments and conservation organisations. And through seeing first-hand what happens when good intentions meet complex realities.
Over the years, I have specialised in being a generalist, convinced that a broad understanding of ecology, politics, economics, communications and human behaviour are all essential to achieve conservation goals. Equally, an appreciation of cultural identity and diversity is fundamental. There is no place for neo-colonial attitudes in conservation either from an ethical or a pragmatic standpoint. Understanding Homo sapiens in all its glorious diversity, is essential to knowing what may be possible and, ultimately, successful.
I have had the privilege to lead people, continential and national programmes, conservation projects, students and teams of rangers, including in conflict zones. Together we have created new protected areas, planted millions of indigenous trees, developed education programmes reaching millions of people and discovered many new species to science, including the kipunji, a new genus of monkey and Matilda’s viper, a new species of snake. We have always aimed to protect species and landscapes, restore indigenous forests, expand our knowledge, and introduce as many people as possible to conservation. Some of that work has succeeded beyond what was imagined. Some less so. Both are important.
To support conservation, I have carried out applied research in primatology, biodiversity studies, carnivore/elephant biology, indigenous knowledge, herpetology, wildlife trade, proxy species, botany and priority setting to name a few. But science is useless unless communicated appropriately (see publication section). All of the projects I have designed and run over the years I have handed over to nationals, and training, mentorship, pragmatism, innovation and justice are important to me.
These decades have given me experience, but they have also left me with many questions. What actually creates lasting and genuine conservation change? How do we know when something has truly worked? What do our failures tell us that our success stories cannot? And how might conservation become better at learning honestly from both? These are a few of the questions that I will be exploring in the future.
Positions & Memberships
2026 - pres Chair of African Killifish Society
2023 - pres Member of IUCN Antelope Specialist Group.
2022 - pres Member of British Killifish Association
2022 - pres Member of British Cichlid Association
2022 - 2026 Member of Conservation Sub-committee, Primate Society Great Britain.
2021 - pres Species Co-ordinator, ZRC, Red Colobus Conservation Network, IUCN PSG.
2020 - pres Honorary Research Associate, Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London.
2019 - 2023 KBA Focal Point (Eastern/Central Africa). Key Biodiversity Areas Secretariat.
2018 - pres Member of IUCN Red Colobus Conservation Action Plan Working Group.
2012 - pres Member of IUCN Pangolin Specialist Group.
2009 - pres Member of IUCN Africa Primate Specialist Group.
2007 - pres Member of IUCN Africa Herpetology Specialist Group.
