Francis Akatsa OKALO

Francis is marine conservation scientist with over 9 years of experience in management and conservation of coastal and marine resources. His experience cuts across phycology and fisheries research, ecosystem restoration, community development and environmental policy. He has spent years working with coastal communities on seaweed farming across the value-chain; led the establishment of national and county mangrove management committees in Kenya, supported the review and finalization of climate change and forest policies for Lamu County (Kenya), and contributed to the development of Status of Mangroves in the Western Indian Ocean report and policy briefs on socio-economic profile of mangroves in Kenya. Francis has also supported dialogues at community level on gender and small-scale fisheries and at national level on governance of marine protected and conserved areas in Kenya and Tanzania. He is also conversant with different management effectiveness tools, IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas and dialogues on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures. Through this, he has been able to build partnership with State and non-state actors that have facilitated joint implementation of marine conservation efforts. Francis is mainly interested in bridging science-policy-practice- development gap for improved ecosystem health and enhancing people’s livelihoods.