Sonam Tashi Lama grew up near nature and wildlife, but he wasn’t raised to care about them. So instead of looking after his local environment, he used to play with a ball made up of red panda skin. It was only later, when he joined a WWF eco-club, that he learned about the animals around him, and he decided to dedicate his life to them.
Max Dijkstra didn’t walk straight into conservation either. Coming from an artistic background, it took him until his graduation project to connect the dots between his love for the ocean and his ability to make an impact with his skills. Now that he’s connected the dots, he’s thriving with his organization ReefSystems, where he builds artificial reefs all around the world; from Kenya to Thailand and beyond.
In some cases, moving across the globe provides you with new perspectives and opportunities. After spending years in the field herself, Jennifer Mann made a bold move by moving to Australia. Instead of going straight back into the bush, she started volunteering for the Thin Green Line Foundation, a foundation focused on rangers in the field and their needs. Although her work is now primarily desk-based, she continues to make an incredible impact for rangers in the field and their families at home.
Dr. Laurie Marker didn’t arrive in Namibia intending to save cheetahs, but she couldn’t close her eyes to what was happening locally. It altered the course of her life. After decades of working with local communities, her organization and team have expanded tremendously, and her work has crossed into Somaliland. And Dr. Marker is far from done with her work.
From sharks to flamingos, María Fernanda Puerto Carrillo wasn’t focused on just one species when she started her research, but somehow the elusive jaguar captivated her enough to dedicate her life to it. Now, she leads Proyecto Sebraba in Venezuela, and she has done so for the past two decades. The most remarkable part of her story? She’s only seen a jaguar in real life a handful of times. Now that is what we call dedication.
Some species feel climate change more than others. The polar bear belongs to one of them. Alysa McCall from Polar Bears International, tells us all about the threats polar bears face, and why it’s so important to work on many levels: from local to government.
Marie Petretto has lived her life in the field. From Gabon to Tunisia, as long as she can work in conservation, she is ready for it. And Tunisia’s situation is quite unique as well. Marie isn’t there to show everyone ‘how it’s done’, but rather to build a sustainable situation where locals can take the lead and learn how to build conservation plans that work. In the past years, she’s focused on the scimitar-horned oryx and now a new species has joined the field: the slender-horned gazelles. Will their future look just as bright with Marie’s help?
And per usual, the magazine also includes our recurring themes, such as our Book Review, featuring Nadina Galle’s ‘The Nature of Our Cities’, our Stargazer, Fanny Hackl, the Endangered Species and New to Nature, an infographic chockful of information, and lastly, a recap of the ECCB congress which took place in Leiden, The Netherlands, from the 6th of the 10th of July.
Sonam, Laurie and María and all the others have their own stories about their journey into conservation, yet one thing binds them together: their passion for their work. It doesn’t matter how harsh the field conditions might be or how long it might take to collaborate with the local communities successfully. They thrive because they believe in the work they do. We believe you cannot read these stories and leave untouched, so read all full stories in issue 18 now.
