Key skills and expertise.

Bringing over 30 years of experience in environmental management, the expert specializes in biodiversity conservation, forest restoration, and invasive species management. They have led international projects, providing technical assistance and capacity building. Their expertise includes ecosystem service evaluation, climate change mitigation, and GIS mapping. Career highlights include leadership roles in conservation planning and contributions to significant environmental assessments and strategic planning initiatives globally.

Project experience and donor exposure.

Worked across diverse projects involving collaboration with international donors such as the World Bank Group, European Union, United Nations Development Programme, and GIZ. Responsibilities have included project implementation, technical assistance, evaluations, and capacity building in sectors like natural resource management and biodiversity conservation. Projects have been regional and national in scope, with work conducted in countries including South Africa, Eswatini, and Turkey.

Sectors and geographic focus.

With a background in sectors including rural development, environment and natural resource management, food security, and monitoring and evaluation, the expert has held roles such as consultant, conservation planner, and biodiversity specialist. Their interdisciplinary expertise spans climate change mitigation, ecosystem service evaluation, and GIS mapping. The expert's work is regional, with significant contributions in Africa and Turkey.

The expert has extensive geographic experience in Southern and Eastern Africa, including South Africa, Eswatini, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, and Mozambique. They have also worked in Turkey. Their work often involves long-term assignments and deep engagement with local governance and regional development issues, particularly in natural resource management and conservation planning.

Languages and education.

Fluent in English and Afrikaans, with some proficiency in Swahili, these language skills have been utilized in various professional contexts, including international projects across Africa, facilitating communication in multilingual teams and conducting stakeholder consultations.

The expert holds a PhD in Botany with a focus on forest conservation planning from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. They also obtained an MSc in Botany, specializing in ecosystem management decision support systems modeling, from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. Additionally, they have a BSc Hons in Wildlife Management and a BSc in Agriculture with a focus on Livestock Science, both from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Their foundational education was completed at Pretoria Boys High, South Africa.