Dr. Zelealem Tefera Ashenafi

I am working for the Born Free Foundation which is a wildlife conservation charity, working to stop individual wild animal suffering and protect threatened specie as well as supporting the management of protected areas. In this context I run the activity of the foundation in Ethiopia carrying out conservation work to wildlife species, wild animal welfare and management of wildlife areas. In the past I have been working closely with communities where one of the most endangered Canid in the world the Ethiopian wolf is surviving. With active participation of the community we managed to designate the natural area where this endemic wolf is surviving as a community-based conservation area and this model of protected area expansion was the first successful initiative in the country. By major experience is on endangered species management and study of ecology and behavior of wildlife species. I am greatly involved in management of protected area and try to find out the balance between the need of wildlife conservation and rural development. I am a wildlife ecologist by profession and have been working as wildlife conservation expert and park warden in various national parks in Ethiopia. My main interests are: ecological research, endangered species management; wildlife disease, conservation planning, community-based conservation, policy and law, protected area management, environmental impact assessment, community-based tourism and conflict resolution.