IUCN SSC Bustard Specialist Group

Nigel Collar is a Leventis Fellow in Conservation Biology with BirdLife International, where he has worked for 45 years in a variety of roles, including the compilation of the International Bird Red Data Book. He served as Chairman of the ICBP Bustard Group 1978-1982, and became chair (now co-chair) of the group when it was reconstituted under the aegis of IUCN SSC in 2012.

Mimi Kessler is a PhD biologist who has worked on the ecology and conservation of bustards for over twenty years. Her experience includes over seven cumulative years in countries of Eurasia, largely in rural areas on community-based conservation and research programs, and four years in southwest Asia directing policy and research on bustard species. Major scientific accomplishments of her research team include the first telemetry to identify the Great Bustard’s long-distance migratory route in Asia, and the first analyses to describe the genetic divergence of the eastern subspecies of the Great Bustard. With her collaborators, Dr Kessler has developed and advanced a series of successful conservation proposals for bustard species under the Convention on Migratory Species, and serves on the IUCN delegation at CMS COPs. She is a founder and member of the Coordination Unit of the Bustards Without Borders initiative. As a consultant, she has developed conservation recommendations for two Critically Endangered bustard species, as well as guidance for the reduction and mitigation of harm to bustards from energy developments.

Christel Griffioen is an international conservation practitioner with more than 20 years of experience designing and leading species conservation programmes across Europe, the Middle East, Madagascar, and Cambodia. She began her career in zoological and conservation breeding settings in the Middle East and Europe, before expanding her work over the past decade into field-based conservation in Madagascar and Cambodia. She specialises in the development and delivery of integrated conservation strategies that combine science-based field action, conservation breeding, and community engagement to achieve measurable outcomes for threatened species.

Her primary focus is on bird and chelonian conservation, with extensive experience working on critically endangered species including the Bengal Florican, White-shouldered Ibis, Giant Ibis, Elongated Tortoise, Radiated Tortoise, and Southern River Terrapin. She has played a key role in developing and supporting conservation breeding and population recovery programmes, alongside coordinated field-based conservation actions for highly threatened species.

Christel is committed to strengthening linkages between in situ and ex situ conservation, applying the One Plan Approach to ensure cohesive and collaborative species recovery efforts. Throughout her career, she has built and led multidisciplinary teams, secured international funding, and developed strong partnerships with governments, NGOs, conservation breeding centres, and zoological institutions.

Recognized for her collaborative leadership, technical expertise, and delivery under challenging field conditions, she works to advance evidence-based conservation solutions that generate tangible and lasting impact for biodiversity and the people working to protect it.