IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

Dr Simon Stuart

Simon Stuart is the Chair of the SSC and has undergraduate and doctoral degrees from the University of Cambridge, with fieldwork in Tanzania and Cameroon. He has over 25 years of experience with the IUCN and the SSC. Simon started work on the African Bird Red Data Book in 1983. He joined the IUCN Secretariat in 1986, and was Head of the Species Programme (1990-2000), Acting Director General (2000-2001), Head of the Biodiversity Assessment Unit (2001-2005), and Senior Species Scientist (2005-2008). He was elected as Chair of the SSC at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona in October 2008. Read more

Jon Paul Rodríguez is at the Center for Ecology of the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Investigations (Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas ― IVIC), and he is a founder, past President (2001-2008), and current Board Member of Provita (a Venezuelan conservation NGO established in 1987). His undergraduate degree in biology is from the Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas (1991). He was then awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton University (1999). Read more

Professor Luigi Boitani

Luigi Boitani is Professor of Conservation Biology and Animal Ecology at the University of Rome, and Head of the Department of Animal and Human Biology. He is also Founder and Director of the Masters program “Conservation of animal biodiversity”. He is Affiliated Professor at the Department of Natural Resources, Idaho University, Moscow and member of the College of Graduate Studies. Read more

Dr Onnie Byers

Onnie Byers earned her Ph.D. in reproductive physiology from the University of Minnesota and completed a post doctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo in Washington D.C. She was a member of the National Zoological Park's Mobile Laboratory Research team, and participated in reproductive studies involving cheetah, pumas, tigers and giant panda. Read more 

Dr Claudio Campagna

Claudio is a Wildlife Conservation Society conservation zoologist, with an MD from the University of Buenos Aires and a PhD in animal behaviour from the University of California at Santa Cruz. For his work on the conservation of the Patagonian Sea, he has been elected a Pew Fellow in marine conservation. Read more

Topiltzin Contreras MacBeath is Professor at the Biological Research Center of the Autonomous University of the State Morelos, in central Mexico, where he is also head of the Conservation Biology work group. His main research interests are related to freshwater ecosystems and endangered fish species conservation. He has described and published aspects of the biology and ecology and conservation of Mexican Freshwater fishes. Read more

 

Rosie Cooney is Chair of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group (SULi). Rosie is a specialist in biodiversity policy and management, with a background in zoology and law, and over twelve years experience in international and national policy research, analysis and development. Read more

John Donaldson is Chief Director of Applied Biodiversity Research at the South African National Biodiversity Institute and is the Harold Pearson Professor of Botany at the University of Cape Town. He manages a diverse applied biodiversity research programme dealing with contemporary conservation issues, which includes projects on threatened species and ecosystems, invasive species, sustainable use, impacts of genetically modified organisms, and links between biodiversity and ecosystem services. Read more

Brahim Haddane is an IUCN Regional Councillor for Africa. In 1980, he became involved in the mobilisation of Civil Society and Public Opinion to promote nature conservation, the fight against the overexploitation of natural resources, the degradation of biodiversity and pollution of the environment, whilst defending the idea of the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from natural resources. Read more

Hans de Iongh has been a member of the Board of the Netherlands Committee for IUCN since 1987, Chair of the Committee (1990 - 2000), and Vice Chair (2000 - 2003). In October 2008 he became Regional Councillor for West Europe. Since 2003, he has been a member of the Supervisory Board of IUCN NL and Biodiversity Advisor to the daily board. Hans is an active member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, especially the Sustainable Use Specialist Group, the Sirenia Specialist Group and the Cat Specialist Group. Read more 
 

Mirza Kusrini is lecturer in the Department of Forest Resources Conservation & Ecotourism at Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia. She is an enthusiastic advocate of amphibian and reptile conservation and serves as Chair of the Indonesian Herpetologist Society. Her research is mostly on the biodiversity and ecology of amphibians. Read more 
 

Dr Frédéric Launay

Frédéric Launay is Assistant Secretary General for Science & Research (ASGSR) at the Environmental Research & Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA) in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Besides being Chair of the SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group, his other duties include Director, WWF-UAE and Chairman, IUCN/SSC Houbara Bustard Working Group which is based at the National Avian Research Center in Abu Dhabi , UAE. Read more

Danna Leaman is affiliated with the Canadian Museum of Nature as a research associate, focusing on conservation and sustainable use of economically important plants. Danna is a founding member of the SSC Medicinal Plant Specialist Group, which she has chaired since 2000, and has been a member of the SSC Plant Conservation Sub-Committee since 2004. She is a Trustee of FairWild Foundation representing IUCN, and is a consultant and advisor to other organizations working on plant conservation and sustainable use. Read more

 Jeffrey A. McNeely is Senior Science Advisor at IUCN, where he has worked since 1980. Before joining IUCN, he spent twelve years in Thailand, Indonesia, and Nepal, conducting research and practical application of resource management activities. He has worked in over 85 countries, from Australia to Zimbabwe, often advising governments, universities, and the private sector on conservation issues. He makes over 35 public presentations each year, on various conservation topics. Read more

Dr. Patrícia Medici is a Brazilian conservation biologist whose main professional interests are species conservation, particularly tapirs, landscape ecology, and community-based conservation. Patrícia has a Bachelor's Degree in Forestry Sciences from the São Paulo University (USP - Universidade de São Paulo), a Masters Degree in Wildlife Ecology, Conservation and Management from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais), Brazil, and a Ph.D. Degree in Biodiversity Management from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom. Read more

Dr Russell Mittermeier

President of Conservation International, Dr Russell A. Mittermeier, has a long-standing affiliation with SSC and the wider IUCN, beginning in the 1970s. He is Chair of the SSC Primate Specialist Group, member of the Commission on Ecosystem Management, and was elected IUCN councillor at the 3rd and 4th IUCN World Conservation Congress. Read more

Dr Anders G.J. Rhodin is Founder and Director of Chelonian Research Foundation (CRF), a private nonprofit organization focused on production, publication, and support of research and conservation efforts for turtles and tortoises. He is Chair of the SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG) and a member of the Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG). Read more

Dr Yvonne Sadovy

Yvonne Sadovy has worked in the area of reef fish biology, conservation and management for over 20 years, initially from a purely research perspective and increasingly applying that work to the areas of reef fish conservation and management. She received her PhD from the University of Manchester, which was followed by a long association with Puerto Rico, first with the University of Puerto Rico and then as the first female Director of the government’s Fishery Research Laboratory. Read more

Prof Michael Samways

Michael Samways is Professor in the Department of Entomology, and Director of the Centre for Agricultural Biodiversity at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. He is an enthusiastic advocate of invertebrate conservation and serves as Chair of SSC’s Southern Africa Invertebrate Specialist Group. Michael is Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa and a Fellow of the University of Natal. Read more

Initially trained as a high school teacher in Biology and Mathematics at Kenyatta University in Kenya, Mrs. Simiyu went on to study plant taxonomy for her MSc at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopa, and now works extensively in plant taxonomy and conservation, policy, capacity building and networking. As a research scientist with the National Museums of Kenya, she has been involved in various integrated species conservation projects in Kenya and regional training programmes in plant conservation for Eastern Africa and Africa respectively. Read more

Mark was founder Chair of the SSC Re-introduction Specialist Group from 1988 to 2000, based on his pioneering work to re-introduce the Arabian Oryx to Oman between 1979 and 1987. He has remained very active in the SSC since then, and carried out the major study on voluntarism in the SSC in 2000. After directing the African Wildlife Foundation in Nairobi 1987-1999, he was Chief Executive of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust from 2001 to 2008. Read more

Geographic areas of expertise: China

Yan is now the China Country Program Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and an Associate Research Professor at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. She leads the WCS China Programme working in Qiangtang and Pamir in western China, Amur tiger habitat in north-east China, and a long-term programme on controlling wildlife trade. Read more

Ali Stattersfield is the Head of Science at BirdLife’s Secretariat in Cambridge, UK, with a particular interest in using scientific analyses and outputs to guide advocacy and policy decisions, as demonstrated by BirdLife’s recent ‘State of the world’s birds’ publications and website. As a child she lived in Brazil, South Africa and the Lebanon and this generated a life-long interest in wildlife and conservation. Read more

Thomas Brooks, from Brighton, U.K., holds a B.A. (Hons) in Geography from the University of Cambridge (1993) and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Tennessee (1998). He is the Vice President for Science and Chief Scientist at NatureServe (www.natureserve.org). He also holds visiting positions at ICRAF-the World Agroforestry Center in the University of the Philippines Los Baños and in the Department of Geography of the University of Tasmania. He is an ornithologist by training, with extensive field experience in tropical forests of Asia, South America and Africa. Read more
 

Jon Hutton is an authority on many aspects of international wildlife conservation policy, including CITES and wildlife trade, protected area management, community-based conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. He is Chair of the SSC Sustainable Use Specialist Group. Jon is director of UNEP-WCMC and continues on the board of directors at ResourceAfrica (UK), a position he has had since 1998. Read more

Dr. Andrew Rosenberg is Senior Vice President for Science and Knowledge for Conservation International and Professor in the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space at the University of New Hampshire where, prior to April 2004, he was Dean of the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture. Read more

 

Carlos Drews is the director of WWF´s Global Species Programme. A native of Colombia, Carlos has a Ph.D. in Zoology from Cambridge University and has carried out research into wildlife behavioural ecology in Africa and Latin America. Before joining WWF in 2003, he was on the academic staff at the International Institute for Wildlife Conservation and Management, based at the National University of Costa Rica. Read more
 

Dr. Jonathan Baillie is Director of Conservation Programmes at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) where he is responsible for overseeing conservation and research projects in over 50 countries worldwide. He is also responsible for the conservation policy work of the Society. Dr Baillie’s involvement with IUCN started in 1995 when he co-edited the 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals with Brian Groombridge. Read more

Dr Taej Mundkur
Taej Mundkur, from Pune, India, undertook both a BSc (1982) and an MSc (1984) in Microbiology from Pune University. He then switched to his real passion - waterbird ecology - and completed a PhD from Saurashtra University, Rajkot (1990). He serves as Flyway Programme Manager at Wetlands International and is responsible for developing and coordinating migratory waterbird and wetland programmes across the world’s major flyways. He serves as Chair of the CMS Flyways Working Group. Read more

Jane Smart is Global Director of IUCN’s Biodiversity Conservation Group and Director of IUCN’s Global Species Programme. The Biodiversity Conservation Group comprises the Global Species Programme, Global Protected Areas Programme, World Heritage Programme, as well as the Invasive Species Initiative and TRAFFIC. Read more

Jean-Christophe joined the Species Programme in 2001 as its Deputy Head. He oversees many diverse aspects of the Programme, including biodiversity assessments and input into several international agreements. His involvement with IUCN started 14 years ago when he was invited to join the SSC. In early 2000, he joined the IUCN West Africa Regional Office where he was in charge of coordinating all aspects of the IUCN programme in Guinea Bissau. Read more

Steven Broad is Executive Director of TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network. He is responsible for TRAFFIC’s global operation as a partnership between WWF and IUCN, and leadership of a team of 120 staff based in 30 countries world-wide. TRAFFIC delivers research findings, policy advice, capacity building and public outreach to address conservation and development concerns related to trade in wild animals and plants, ranging from trade in ivory and tiger products to fisheries, timber and medicinal plants. Read more