Dr Harriet Davies‐Mostert is currently Head of Conservation at the Endangered Wildlife Trust, providing strategic scientific oversight to conservation projects across southern Africa, and promoting practical evidence‐based research as the basis for effective strategies to conserve southern Africa’s rich biodiversity. Council Member of the South African Wildlife Management Association, Harriet is also the Africa/Madagascar representative on the Alliance for Zero Extinction, and the EWT's representative on the National Red List Alliance Coordinating Body. She sits on various national committees, is Chair of the IUCN South Africa National Committee, and was recently elected as Chair of the IUCN Regional Committee for East and Southern Africa. Harriet is an active member of the Cat, Canid and Conservation Breeding specialist groups of the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission. She is an Extraordinary Lecturer at University of Pretoria’s Centre for Wildlife Management, where her main interests are large carnivore conservation and management, the data-science-policy interface, and the contribution of the wildlife economy to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.

Dr. James G. Njogu has over twenty year’s professional experience in the field of biodiversity and natural resource management/Wildlife Management and with a PhD degree in the same filed. Work experience includes in government and non-governmental organization under different capacities. The specific work experience include research, policy analysis, proposal development and reviews, project management and implementation among other including administrative work.

He is a member of several important committees. In particular, he is the Chair of IUCN National Committee of Kenya and Vice Chair for Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO) Regional Committee. He is Vice Chair, UNESCO-MAB National Committee and currently the Kenya Representative in the UNESCO Executive Board (2015-2019).  He is also a member of Standing Committees and Working Group of various Multilateral Environmental Agreements.

Currently, Dr.Njogu is working at Kenya Wildlife Service as the Head of Multilateral Environmental Agreements and Research Authorization. Specifically, he coordinates all Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) that Kenya has ratified and that relates to wildlife conservation and protected areas in Kenya. These include, Ramsar Convention, CITES, CMS and AEWA, International Whaling Commission (IWC) and World Heritage Convention (WHC). He is also involved in Rio-Conventions among other environmental initiatives.

Isaiah Dambudzo Nyakusendwa is the current President and Acting Director of the Wildlife and Environment Zimbabwe (WEZ), seeking to encourage all Zimbabweans especially the young to take an active interest in their environmental heritage, championing environmental conservation oriented education and research projects. Promoting the establishment of wildlife areas and sustainable community projects. Isaiah has 19 years involvement and experience in conservation work. He Chairs the Zimbabwe IUCN National Committee and was recently elected to the IUCN Regional Committee for East and Southern Africa. A member of the Zimbabwe UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve Committee, Council member of the Mukuvisi Woodlands Nature Reserve and Education Centre. Isaiah is also the Chair for the Renewable Energy Association of Zimbabwe an umbrella association, supporting and enabling the sustainable growth of the Renewable Energy sector throughout Zimbabwe and beyond. He sits on various steering committees for renewable energy policy formulation and the rural electrification master plan. In addition he has over 30 years’ experience in commercial, industrial, manufacturing, insurance, banking and agriculture operations. Has sat on various listed and unlisted company boards. He is also a qualified Chartered Accountant having trained with KPMG amongst other qualifications.

Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of a thirteen-year-old award winning US registered non-profit and Ugandan NGO called Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) that promotes biodiversity conservation by enabling people, wildlife and livestock to coexist through improving their health and livelihoods in and around Africa’s protected areas.

After completing her first degree at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, in 1996, she established Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA)’s first veterinary department.  In 2000, she did a Zoological Medicine Residency and Master in Specialized Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina Zoological Park and North Carolina State University.

Gladys has won awards and international recognition including interviews on BBC World Service, CNN African Voices, CCTV Faces of Africa, PBS Frontline World, Urban TV Ecozone, WWF Education for Nature Scholarship, Ashoka Fellowship, San Diego Zoo Conservation in Action Award, Whitley Gold Award, Wings World Quest Women of Discovery Humanity Award, CEO Communications Africa’s Most Influential Women in Medical and Veterinary; E4 Impact MBA in Social Entrepreneurship Finalist Awards. CTPH won a Global Development Network Japanese Most Innovative Development Project Award.

She is a Board Member of Uganda Wildlife Education Centre, The Gorilla Organization; and Board Chairperson of Wildlife Clubs of Uganda and Buganda Kingdom’s first Heritage and Tourism Board. She served on the Board of Uganda Wildlife Authority; She serves on the Primate Education Network’s advisory board.

Mr. Baboloki Autlwetse is currently working for Kalahari Conservation Society as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer. He has over ten years’ of experience of working with communities in various areas of environmental education and awareness, capacity building, policy influencing and advocacy, as well as water resources management and sanitation improvement with various communities in Botswana and across the region. Mr. Autlwetse has also mentored community trusts and resource-user groups in governance, conservation and business development, including through the preparation of project proposals for submission to donor institutions such as the Barclays Bank of Botswana.

Mr. Autlwetse has a proven track record in dealing with a network of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) across the Southern African region on issues that pertains water resources management and sanitation, improvement of livelihoods and poverty alleviation/eradication. He has worked with different NGOs across the SADC region on Policy Influencing and advocacy on water, sanitation, poverty issues and even natural resources management. He is also the Secretariat for Botswana Country Water Partnership (BWP), Country Focal Point for Network for Advocacy on Water Issues in Southern Africa (NAWISA) and a Member of Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA).

Mr. Baboloki Autlwetse holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science and a Master’s Degree in Integrated Water Resources Management. He is currently studying for Masters in Science Degree in Project Management with University of Bolton.

      Photo: IUCN ESARO

Mr Serge Rajaobelina
President, FANAMBY, Madagascar

Born in Washington, Mr. Serge Rajaobelina is committed to alleviating poverty while improving biodiversity conservation in Madagascar. In 1997, with a multidisciplinary team, he established the association Fanamby. It aims to manage protected areas with and for local communities.

Understanding that social development and environmental protection go hand in hand with the development of sustainable economic alternatives for rural communities; Serge Rajaobelina is involved in conservation as the National Office of Environment administrator he also became administrator of the Economic interest Group “Sahanala” in 2011 and president of the Malagasy Union of organic farming (Syndicat Malgache de l’Agriculture Biologique) from 2015 to 2017. In 2016, with the vanilla situation in the country, he joined the National platform for vanilla from Madagascar as a Deputy Secretary General.

Serge Rajaobelina is a member of the Administration Board of the organization of Tourism Operators in Madagascar (GOTO Madagascar) to represent the interests of sustainable tourism in isolated areas with high endemism. He is also president of the sustainable development committee within GEM (group of enterprises in Madagascar) and administrator representing MIARY within Solidis guarantee, a guarantee fund supported by the Central Bank of Madagascar.