Personal Information
- Full name
- John Waithaka
- Title
- Scientist
- Organization
- Parks Canada
- GWS organizational role
- GWS Board Treasurer
- Biography
Treasurer
John Waithaka, a conservation biologist with many years field experience in research and wildlife management, was born in Kenya next to Aberdares national park. Elephants, lions, buffaloes, rhinos and hyenas were part of the landscape that he grew up in. He decided to become a conservationist when he became aware of his community's hostility to wildlife. His PhD research was on the impact of land use changes on elephants in Kenya. During his career, he has developed and implemented conservation and management programs in and around protected areas, and worked with partners to promote and strengthen local, regional and international conservation initiatives.
John has worked with a broad spectrum of conservation and research partners from Africa, North America, Europe and Asia. He has represented organizations and governments in international conservation forums and worked with local communities, policy makers and donors (such as the World Bank, European Union, United States Agency for International Development, and IUCN Species Survival Commission to develop programs and guidelines for funding, implementing and evaluating conservation initiatives. He has experience in promoting private-sector involvement in conservation, and has received many research/conservation grants.
After receiving his PhD, John taught ecology at Kenyatta University in Nairobi for seven years. He later worked for Wildlife Conservation Society (conservation branch of New York Zoological Society) as a conservation biologist and the Kenya Wildlife Service as head of elephant program, and as deputy director in charge of the biodiversity department. He initiated the Biodiversity Conservation Program under the European Union to support conserve biodiversity in Kenya by expanding the capacity and willingness of local people to protect biological resources and addressing threats to conservation. Through this initiative many community owned wildlife sanctuaries were established.
Before immigrating to Canada in 2003, John was the director of the African Conservation Centre, an indigenous African conservation NGO that brings together the people and skills needed to build local capacity to conserve wildlife. He currently works as a conservation biologist in Parks Canada where his current focus is on the management of hyperabundant wildlife.
During his conservation career, John served as a member of many conservation organizations, including the East African Wildlife Society, East African National History Society, IUCN's Species Survival Commission-African Elephant Specialist Group, European Union Biodiversity Conservation Program, Kenya Forestry Working Group, Ecotourism Society of Kenya, Wildlife Clubs of Kenya and Elephant Research Trust Fund. He currently represents Parks Canada in the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada.
John is interested in conservation biology, the human-wildlife-habitat connection, conflict management, social-political-economic context of conservation, and the conservation science and policy interface. He has authored and co-authored scientific papers and articles, participated in a wide range of conservation programs in both formal and informal sectors, and received two international conservation awards.
History
- Member for
- 2 years 27 weeks