Candidate info
Particular qualifications:
A 30 year career in the field of ecology has led me to work in the public, private and voluntary sectors, at local, national, regional and international levels. Love and appreciation of nature and care for the planet we share also plays a significant part in my personal life. This rich and multilateral experience, including at Board level, has culminated in working with IUCN Member Committees for the last 17 years. This has brought me a good understanding of this complex organisation and the IUCN 'family' which comprises it. As a respected advocating contributor to, and practitioner of, the IUCN One Programme Charter since 2012, this has stimulated my creative and leadership roles in the Working Group for National Committee Development in Europe, North and Central Asia, the IUCN Interregional Committee for that 'super-region' and the Global Group for National and Regional Committee Development. I have actively participated in the last three Regional Conservation Fora and their following three IUCN World Conservation Congresses, the last World Parks Congress and one of the IUCN Leaders Forums, plus other international meetings such as the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Convention on Biological Diversity. I only have English as my first language, but communication is very important to me in all of this work, finding connections, advocacy, problem-solving and helping things work better. I believe this knowledge and experience is of value to IUCN at this level.
Experience in fields of concern to IUCN:
Other interactions within the IUCN framework include work with the Contributions for Nature platform and 'Unite for Nature' magazine, and my long-standing memberships of the World Commission on Protected Areas and the Commission on Education and Communication. Part of my day job at the National Committee, is applying, in a national context, IUCN's global guidance, standards, strategies and tools, through working groups of experts from the Commissions. I am co-author on how to apply IUCN guidance on Protected Area Management Categories and Governance Types in the UK. I have also published on World Heritage and River Restoration and Biodiversity. However, IUCN has many fields of concerns in an ever changing and turbulent world, requiring ever more challenging decision-making, which is why I have been such a strong supporter of the 20 year Strategic Vision. I have a broad, embracing world view as well as an informed institutional one, which I believe will assist the Council in it's work.