Thank you for this fine tribute to a a very special public servant. He was and is an inspiration to so many. His commitment and sacrifice, his enthusiasm and love of country will be long remembered. Vale Graeme.

I met Graeme in person in 2009 at the WILD9 Congress in Mexico, where I started to assist him in re-shaping the Mountain Biome Specialist Group.

Many people have helped me; however, Graeme is someone that I genuinely consider a mentor, one of these very special souls that Life allows you to come across. I visited him in Canberra in 2011, where his lovely family welcomed me like a son. Graeme took me to a small protected area where we saw koalas, emus, kangaroos, wallabies, and echidnas. I was in awe! We spent pleasant evenings at his house. The conversations were great, and the company unforgettable. Graeme then went along to show me the Greater Blue Mountains Area (where he would still know many park rangers). But before that, he sent me to his beloved Kosciuszko National Park to have a closer look at the Great Eastern Ranges Corridor. After a few beautiful days in Jarvis Bay, my tour of Graeme’s world ended in Sydney, where Penelope Figgis kindly hosted me at the Royal Botanic Garden for a meeting and presentation to members of the IUCN Australian National Committee.

The impacts and achievements of Graeme are simply enormous, and his legacy will last forever, particularly through “Protected Area Governance and Management”, the immense work that he led, co-edited and concluded in 2015.

We are fortunate to be amongst Graeme’s friends and to have learned from him, not only because of his immense talent, dedication, emotional intelligence, and restless drive, but also because of his delightful character, humbleness, gentleness, and extraordinary capacity to get along with everyone. Graeme was a quiet and decisive leader that moved ideas and teams of people with confidence and patience. A perfect gentleman, he would always boast a beautiful smile, even when facing adversity. To me, Graeme will always be the greatest example to follow. There is not a single day when I do not think about the WCPA with Graeme as a fatherly and benevolent presence.

Graeme's wisdom and guidance will be sorely missed by all of us in World Heritage here in Australia. As a mentor, his generosity and unswerving dedication to the cause has left a legacy of students, friends and colleagues richer for his life. My deepest condolences to his family

Graeme was "Mr. Connectivity" to me and so many others. It is difficult to imagine where the concept and practice of connectivity conservation would be today without Graeme's work. To say Graeme will be missed is a vast understatement.

Unfortunately, I never had the pleasure of meeting Graeme. But we had numerous phone and email conversations over the past 3 years as we, and many others, campaigned against the devastating intrusion of Snowy 2.0 on Kosciuszko National Park.
Graeme was extremely generous with his time, despite his medical challenges, immensely knowledgeable and insightful, absent any vanity, a delight to converse with, and highly supportive.
My association with Graeme has been far less than that of many others, but I will always remember him and be thankful for all he has accomplished in protecting our fragile, irreplaceable natural environment.

I had the pleasure of meeting Graeme through my first contact with WCPA, and most particularly through engagement with the "mountains" group. Graeme and Larry Hamilton did a great deal to motivate the membership of the mountains group, and to ensure that each and every person was valued for their contributions. Graeme rose to the challenge to move beyond mountains and to consider the whole challenge of connectivity, and was an avid promoter of learning and exchange for connectivity conservation. We remember those great workshops in Ecuador and Nepal, and the determination that Graeme had to document and publish the findings. Many of us were press-ganged (in the nicest way possible) to contribute to the weighty tomes on protected area governance and management. When it came time for creating a strong legacy product for the World Parks Congress in Sydney, Graeme took on the idea that a new compendium of guidance that would be available for free to anyone who needed it could be produced. The result is a book, now translated in its entirety of 1000 pages, into Spanish and French, and that can be downloaded from the Australian National University website for free. Please take up Graeme's challenge, and read at least one of these chapters, and/or send the chapter and the link to someone that you know could make use of it in their day to day work.....who knows, this legacy of Graeme's could give rise to a whole new generation of inspired, committed and engaged practitioners.....indeed the world could do with many more people like our wonderful friend and colleague who spent his time so productively, so well, and so nicely!

I had the pleasure and privilege to know and work with Graeme over many years and in particular through his commitment and passion for connectivity conservation. Graeme understood the significant of this for biodiversity and nature both now and in the decades to come, in the face of increasing pressures from land use impacts, invasives and climate change. Working with him was always a great learning experience as he ever-so gently and kindly pushed one to go that extra mile to help translate scientific understanding into its policy and management implications. Graeme was a great conservation innovator who could elevate his thinking - and those around him, near and far, indeed globally - to see the bigger picture, grasp was was needed, and envisage what was possible. We can honour him best now by being no less brave, bold and committed in our conservation thinking and actions.

Graeme was and is an inspiration to myself over many years as I navigated my way through a career in protected area management. To have had access to such a knowledgable Australian who was so internationally active and pre-eminent was wonderful. Such a lovely, passionate and committed person - Vale Dr Graeme L. Worboys, and my sincere condolences to his family and friends. Kind regards, Dave Whitelaw

I briefly worked with Graeme on the ACC idea. Amazing, generous person. He will be missed. His legacy continues.
Marcelo

Like others, a lovely tribute. This is very sad news. We all know what a wonderful champion Graeme was for protected areas. I remember working with Graeme when he was in the Queanbeyan office of NSW NPWS and then in many other contexts including on Australian Alps issues. Graeme was a huge supporter of what we were doing in the Australian Government in building Australia's National Reserve System - both in a policy and a funding sense. Graeme was constantly unflinching in his intellectual input and his total commitment to robust policy. And as always Graeme had a wicked sense of humour and a good sense of fun when it came to all our interactions. Australia in particular will sadly miss one of our most important champions of conservation and protected areas. Vale Graeme.

Graeme was a legend in the field of conservation. His many contributions have left the world in a better place. He was respected around the world and his legacy will never be forgotten. He will be sadly missed by always remembered.

We have lost a champion for protected areas with the passing of Graeme Worboys. I was fortunate to have a long and productive relationship with Graeme, firstly working with him in the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) from 1983 to 1990, and then through my roles with IUCN and SPREP. In the NPWS Graeme was always pushing for conservation results. In the 1980s NPWS had many “wins” for national parks and conservation across the State. And Graeme's fingerprints were on many of these conservation wins, either working behind the scenes or working up front with the media to passionately push the conservation case. What set Graeme apart was the way in which he achieved results in such a positive, energetic and friendly way, his enthusiasm rubbed off on all he worked with, he inspired others to do better and to "lift their game" for parks and conservation.

At IUCN Graeme also left a major mark. He was passionately involved with WCPA, first as a stalwart support to Larry Hamilton in the Mountains Theme and then taking over the leadership of this theme. He communicated his knowledge and passion about mountains and connectivity conservation to a global audience, all who met him were inspired by his expertise and how he could communicate with people. From political leaders to the most junior ranger, Graeme was always interested in what everyone had to say, and he would listen to them, and encourage them to put nature first and to achieve results for conservation.

He has inspired people all around the world. His legacy will live on through his landmark books on Managing Protected Areas. We were all very proud, and in the deepest admiration, of Graeme for his latest and recently launched publication "Kosciuszko - a Great National Park". Throughout it all Graeme was friendly, kind and always interested in the views of others. He was a dedicated family man and his loss will leave a gaping hole in the lives of Bev and his very close family. RIP Graeme Worboys

Graeme was my friend, mentor, and teacher. He loved learning and teaching. He cared deeply about conservation and for the people who worked in conservation. He was a most unique conservation leader because he led with the greatest humility. The needs of others came first. He had a deep passion for geology and he could spend hours educating you on the special aspects of Australia’s outback geology. He was a conservation champion of Mt Kosciuszko National Park and up to his death advocated for the removal of feral horses from inside the park - which are responsible for degrading the rare alpine ecology of Australia’s highest mountain. He also championed Connectivity Conservation and founded the Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group, one of the largest Specialist Groups in the WCPA. He wrote and edited many articles and books on protected area management and connectivity conservation. He always recruited others to join in the fun! Wherever he went he carried his camera to capture an image that would illustrate some key point for one of his various publication endeavors. I was lucky to be one of his mentoring projects and we had for almost a year - a biweekly series of Pan-Pacific Skype chats talking about the history and future of the Connectivity Conservation Special Group. These teaching moments ended as fighting his cancers required his full attention. And he did fight vigorously and he survived many more gifted years. Thank you Graeme for inspiring so many of us to do our part in conserving our planet’s fragile biodiversity. Sending my condolences to his wife Bev and his close friends and family.

I had the great honour of working with Graeme many years ago while contributing to the Connectivity Conservation Management Book and the implementation of the Mountain Connectivity Conservation Management International Workshop (in Papallacta, Ecuador), and meetings and informal discussions during IUCN Congresses. I will always remember him, his professionalism, omnipresent optimism, conservation knowledge and his huge capacity of embracing, including and sharing his work across different generations. He truly valued all contributions towards finding solutions to conservation challenges. Thank you, Graeme for valuing my small contributions and showing me very best examples of conservation practice. I am saddened by his passing. I will miss him. All my thoughts to his family.

Passing of a great conservation is an occasion to renew his resolve his commitments and keep the torch alight.

May God bless his soul.

Graeme gave of his time and expertise generously....he contributed across the world and inspired many. IN particular his contribution to the idea and understanding of connectivity conservation will ensure his legacy in many parts of the world, with protected areas and partnerships which would not perhaps have happened except for his inspiration. We are honoured that he worked with many of us in New Zealand ....but whatever part of the world, he shared his passion. He loved mountains he loved nature and it shone through and illuminated so much.

Graeme was a great conservation legend, who showed by example how one gives selflessly both to conservation and each of us who have committed our lives to this cause. He will be greatly missed, but his legacy lives on as we try to reach out and bring more people into our community, by emulating his example..... My condolences to his family.

This is sad but not unexpected news. Keeping Graeme in memory this morning. It occurred to me that he lived by what I am learning is the best instruction for life — work hard and be kind to people.

We share in this time of grief, but also share in the love and memories of Dr. Graeme. May our Lord bless your soul and may our Lord comfort your family, my sincere condolences.

The news was expected of course, but very, very sad. Such a nice man. And as so many have noted already, leaving a huge legacy. It’s notable reading the tributes that have been coming in over the last few days how wide a circle of friends he had, from so many places, people of different ages and backgrounds. Graeme showed a lot of personal kindness to Sue and me, introducing us to remote bits of Australia and welcoming us into his and Bev’s lovely home. He was always a pleasure to work with. Farewell Graeme; travel well.

I will remember Graeme as a man who loved his country with a deep passion and who also embraced the world.

He was a pioneer of connectivity conservation and helped coordinate the fledgling global connectivity movement with the late Larry Hamilton. He was a driving force behind the Alps to Atherton Initiative that became the Great Eastern Ranges. He initiated what became the book Connectivity Conservation: A Global Guide while here in the Yellowstone to Yukon Corridor and was the book's lead editor. That project took us from meetings in Canada to Ecuador and Nepal.

Graeme also led the first draft and co- authored the IUCN WCPA ecological connectivity guidelines that just came out in July.

Graeme and Bev kindly hosted us in Australia and I remember his passionate affection for a photo of gum trees in the subalpine zone of Kosciuszko, clearly his favorite place in the world. He lent me the City of Parks guide he created to explore the national parks around Sydney (which guide I understand was a bit controversial as he just grabbed the bull by the horns and did it, one of his most endearing characteristics).

He took Marie-Eve and me to the coast of NSW and through the South East Forests National Park that he helped create. His love of country oozed from his pores.

This is a sad day for our community but we have his legacy to celebrate. Nature is better for Graeme Worboys' passage through life.

This is great loss to all of us, it is really hard to find such a dedicated person devoted conservation of nature. Our duty is to continue his legacy.

This is such sad news. While I had met Graeme several times at IUCN Congress Mountain dinners and other social events, until 2015, I mostly knew him through his longstanding reputation as a leader in the parks and protected areas field. However, in 2015, in the lead up to the 2016 World Conservation Congress I had the pleasure of working with him a bit more closely. He was working on a motion on connectivity, and realized that he needed a member organization to sponsor. I was National Conservation Director at the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society at the time, which works on large land and seascape conservation, including connectivity. He reached out to me, we schemed a bit, and then I deputized Graeme to lead the Australian branch of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), and he led the motion through successfully under that banner. We had some good laughs about the CPAWS "expansion" into Australia! Graeme had such an enormous impact on conservation, and was such a lovely, down-to-earth, fun fellow. He leaves a huge legacy, and will be sorely missed. I'm honoured to have known him and send my deepest condolences to his family.

I had the pleasure of meeting Graeme on a number of occasions over the years, particularly at IUCN WCPA events. His PA management textbooks have reached more conservation students and PA managers than any others. He played a key role in the Mountains and Connectivity groups of IUCN WCPA globally and in his native Australia. He was a wonderful example of a committed conservationist who rose through the ranks but never lost his humility, good humor, or practicality. Condolences from our team at the Center for Protected Area Management at Colorado State University to his family and close friends.

Graeme was an outstanding man. I met him thanks to a giant: Larry Hamilton. Graeme, you were a champion for conservation´s strategic wisdon. We will miss you and will try follow your lead. From Venezuela....Edgard Yerena

I, along with my Parks Canada colleague Merv Syroteuk met Graeme Worboys at the trans-boundary conference in which Graeme was a key player. We, from Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park were enthused with the interaction between so many similar, cross-national-frontier parks around the globe. Graeme was the host, the organizer, and sometimes the "translator!" Even English is not always a common language. Graeme was a knowledgeable colleague but with his warm smile, gentle demeanor, and great laugh proved to be a fine person, committed and fully engaged. It was no surprise to see him go on and become an international leader and force in conservation. My deepest condolences and prayers to his family for strength today and thanks for sharing Graeme with us, when he could not be with you. God Bless Graeme Warboys for the good he did and for who he was.

It is very sad to have received this news to start the day. I am not sure what to say in the face of such a loss. The sharing of thoughts of this remarkable person and his incredible life amongst the WCPA family shows the impact Graeme had on all of us. No doubt, his legacy will continue to have a huge impact on the current and new generation of conservationists.

We salute a fine man who had an exceptional and (thankfully) ‘wild’ wicket. I was privileged and am a better conservationist and person to have been in Graham’s orbit.

It is truly a sad day and it underlines how 2020 is the worst year ever.

Graeme was a stalwart. His dedication to conservation was unparalleled. I met Graeme the first time while he was on a study tour of parks in North America and I was still with Parks Canada. Over beers, we dissected the rights and wrongs of management, politicians, and citizens alike.
Then, upon my election as Chair of WCPA, I had the good fortune to have Graeme join the Steering Committee. His insights were always aimed at improving and contributing to our work. When he took on the leadership on the mountain theme, he brought his style of conviviality, enthusiasm, and inclusivity. I marveled then (and still do) how he managed to produce two volumes of insightful tomes on protected areas. His inimitable style encouraged the most relevant to contribute.

We corresponded most recently on a recent win re feral grazing. Fighting to the end! Rest in peace, good friend!

Nik

I worked with Graeme on the feral horse issue, particularly the Kosciuszko Science Conference. You have summed up my thoughts precisely: "gentle unassuming, and always polite, but [with a] driving commitment and motivation, undeterred and unflinching to achieve the outcomes in which he so passionately believed."

It is wonderful to read the tributes to Graeme from the many good friends and colleagues that he has touched during his lifetime. They know Graeme genuinely cared about them. Acts of kindness were second nature to him. When working for IUCN in preparation for the World Parks Congress, I collaborated with Graeme to provide US NPS support for the production of his landmark 2015 publication, IUCN Protected Area Governance and Management. Despite his huge workload, he was always upbeat and fun to work with. I feel fortunate to have known and worked with Graeme. The parks and protected area community has lost a champion. We can take comfort in recognizing the good he spread throughout the world and the tremendous professional legacy he has given to future generations.

Such sad news. Graeme will be greatly missed. Graeme was a real stalwart of WCPA – quiet and unassuming but with a vision and a commitment that is second to none. I can think of no one else with the determination and the capacity to bring together the three major books on protected area management that he conceived, cajoled authors to contribute to and brought to fruition. Having used all three books as a basis for teaching the next generation of protected area professionals, I am forever grateful for these labours of love that he undertook.

I remember many great times with Graeme around the world when WCPA members gathered together. Always his passion for nature, and especially his commitment to his beloved mountains and his vision of a connected natural world shone through. I had the privilige of helping to supervise his PhD research which he undertook with characteristic rigour and attention to detail. He will be sadly missed. My condolences to Bev and his family.

The tribute above is wonderfully appropriate.
Graeme was a tireless contributor to IUCN Commissions, & numerous IUCN publications & events. His extraordinarily comprehensive publications on protected area management are world-class.
His support for the international ranger movement was admirable.
Graeme gave generously of his time & expertise, and several times when I discussed the feral horse issue in the Australian Alps with him, his frustration & despair were palpable. He would have wanted to see more progress on ethical & humane responses before he died.
RIP Graeme. No, scrap that, rage from the beyond, & huff & puff those feral horses into pens for transport to less sensitive ecosystems.

It has been a privilege to know and work with this very fine man.
One word describes Graeme to me “dedicated”.
Graeme was dedicated to conservation at all scales from the largest connected corridors to the smallest sites. He led with distinction the production of the valuable tome Connectivity Conservation Management: a global guide. He had a lifelong dedication to the protection and management of Kosciusko National Park and he was delighted to read the reaction to the brilliant book he co-authored with Deirdre Slattery.
Graeme was dedicated to campaigning against injustice to nature wherever he felt that change was needed. For example, he campaigned vigorously against feral horse damage in the Kosciuszko National Park, and on many other issues, as his Australian friends will testify.
Graeme was dedicated to working partnerships. He gave his insights and wise advice to us in the setting up of the Geoheritage Specialist Group and was always willing to help move matters forward.
Graeme was dedicated to the highest standards throughout his work. This is obvious to all working with him on the Protected Areas Governance and Management book. Meticulously organised, a great communicator, and providing a helping hand when needed. That’s how Graeme worked to get the best from colleagues and to produce outcomes that are of inestimable benefit to everyone involved in protected areas activity.
Graeme was practical, serious and good humoured, mildly self-deprecating and action orientated. It was a delight to spend time with him in the field with his penetrating questions and insightful discussions. His camera was a treasured possession with results of the highest order. He carried his knowledge of geology, protected area management and conservation lightly, but his assessments were incisive and penetrating.
We owe so much to Graeme Worboys, we mourn his loss, but will forever remember and honour the contribution he made to the serious work of conserving nature.

I have firstly met him at the East Asian Protected Area Conference held in YangMing Shan National Park, Taiwan in 2002. We shared the experiences of protected area management, after hearing his presentation on protected area management in New South Wales. Since his book on Protected Areas Management and Governance, we have used his book as an excellent textbook at the University of Tsukuba. Our students were very happy to hear his lecture at the University of Tasmania, when we visited U-Tas as an exchange program in March 2016.
I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to his family.

So what words come to mind when thinking of Graeme: A gentleman (of the old fashioned variety); generous (he once spent a week driving Nigel and I for 100's miles around his home patch to show us the many highlights); dedicated (his achievements and outputs speak for themselves); dogged (many of us know how impossible it was to say no to him when he set his mind to something); devoted (whenever you saw him with Bev) and of course much loved (just look at the endless and well deserved tributes). We'll miss him ..... the world will miss the likes of him.

Graeme was a legend in parks management not only in Australia but globally. What a sad loss to us all. His tireless work over many decades has not been matched by any terrestrial park manager in Australia. he will be greatly missed. Thanks you Graeme on behalf of all Australian generations to come.

Mes plus sincères condoléances à la famille.

Conservation has lost not only a legend but a true gentleman. I got to know Graeme when we were both working towards our Phds. While he was not on campus full time it was always wonderful when he was in town and spending time at the University. Such a lovely and generous human who was always up for a thoughtful and well thought out discussion on conservation issues and everything else. Generous with his time and knowledge he remained a good friend well past those times. He will be missed.

I met Graeme almost 20 years ago when I started working with IUCN on World Heritage Monitoring and kept cooperating with him through the Transboundary Conservation Specialist Group. Graeme’s professional achievements are truly tremendous and admirable. I will always remember his kindness, gentleness, and willingness to help when needed. He was a truly extraordinary person! I would like to express my deepest condolences to his family.

I will remember Graeme's positivity and great enthusiasm in contributing to conservation of mountains and their connectivity as well as to conservation education. He was one of the great reasons why I stayed on for more than one term in the World Commission on Protected Areas SC. Just knowing him has enriched me personally as much as professionally. This is rare in a commission whose membership are "experts" in protected area management. I enjoyed the meetings more when he was around as it reflected for me more fun and great humanity during those long sessions.

Over the years, getting to know Graeme has been a sincere pleasure. He was so dedicated to conservation and always had time to ask what I was working on myself. Usually this led to inspiring in depth discussions on the topic at hand. I much appreciated this when I joined WCPA as a young professional, some years ago now ;-) I have since learned that this is how people built a legacy, not only by being attentive, smart,end hard working but also by making other people feel richer every time paths cross, thank you Graeme.

As we now know, land use changer is the main driver of loss of biodiversity. This is one of the challenges the post 2020 global biodiversity framework has grappled with and needs to tackle - both for the sake of biodiversity as well as securing the role and effectiveness of protected areas. Connectivity is. the key word. Connectivity, which Graeme as the visionary he was, championed throughout. And it I is the question countries and the world need to address if we want to bend the curve and stop the loss and build back biodiversity and healthy, functional ecosystems that support life on earth. - I had the privilege to get to know Graeme while servicing as the WCPA Vice-Chair representing, then Pan-Europe. Graeme was a modest person, basing his views on science and facts. He was great fun and it was great to know know him. - I think all want to leave some sort of legacy, Gaemes legacy is global and critical for biodiversity and protected areas. - He will be missed.

On behalf of the George Wright Society, we send our sincere condolences to Bev and the whole Worboys family. Graeme Worboys was an outstanding leader in the international community centered on parks and protected areas. His work internationally and in Australia helped forward conservation on so many levels and across so many boundaries. As deserved accolades arrive from friends and colleagues everywhere, the GWS salutes Graeme Worboys as a great Australian and a global example of the good that can be done in the world.

On a personal basis, Graeme was a dear friend to our family, and we will miss him deeply. He and Bev helped arrange an itinerary for us when we visited Australia some years ago during my tenure on the WCPA Steering Committee, and hosted us at their home. Their kindness made it into a trip of lifetime, with images and memories we still reflect upon often — warm recollections of a truly humane and delightful person. We've sent a note of condolence to Bev and family, but here I wish to share the thought that every time we were with Graeme our spirits were lifted, and I don't think there can be much higher praise than that.

Always smiling, always helping.
A sad loss
Thoughts to all in conservation, we have a hole to fill with his absence
Bill

Over the course of my progression into working in protected areas, I had the pleasure of intermittently interacting with Graeme. He was always so generous with his time and patient in his challenging of ideas to ensure that they were robust and logical. And he was fundamentally decent in all that he did. An excellent role model of passion applied to projects, he will surely be missed, but not forgotten. Thank you Graeme.

You are going to be missed.

What a conservationist!
What a friend!
What a mentor!
May he live forever in our memories for all that he partnered with and helped attain.
I am indebted to him for his guidance throughout my career.

Thanks to all of you who have posted a tribute to Graeme. Please note that to avoid abuse of the website, all comments are reviewed before they appear, so there may be a delay before you see your comment appear (depending on your time zone). There is no need to repeat the post. Best wishes

I am deeply saddened to hear of Graeme's passing. Graeme was quietly a very important mentor for me. When I joined the WCPA, Graeme took interest in my work on human rights, social policy and the role of indigenous peoples. He shared his experiences, both professional and personal. He tutored me on mountain systems and the bold moves in large landscape connectivity. Graeme always had time for people, encouraging, sharing, coaching and inspiring. I buried my nose in his epic work on connectivity. Then Graeme came back to draw me into the tome on Protected Areas Management and Governance. He got me to write Chapter 5, one of the tougher assignments of my career and something that really developed my understanding of trends in conservation. So much to say about this exceptional man. I thank him for the mentorship and kindness, it has shaped my life and career. Condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.