Winston COWIE

Winston Cowie is a marine conservationist, author and film director. He is the Senior Manager of Marine Conservation and Fisheries at NEOM Nature Reserve in Saudi Arabia. He won the 'Sustainability Manager of the Year' Award for the Middle East Region at the Annual Business Leadership Awards in his previous role as Manager of Marine Policy, Planning and Regulations at the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi. His nature documentary films have won international awards at the New York Film Festival. He was the lead author and expert trainer of the IUCN Guidelines for gathering of fishers' knowledge for policy development and applied use which was contributed to by 50 experts from 16 countries. Winston has been on the Steering Committee of the IUCN Snapper, Seabream and Grunt Specialist Group since 2018 and is a member of both the IUCN Commission on Environment, Economic and Social Policy and the Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group. He is also the Program Director for the International Antarctic Expedition and has visited the southern continent twice, most recently in 2022.