Alison Wilson trained as a biologist and tropical ecologist. Her early career took her from teaching zoology in Uganda’s Makerere University to working as a livestock ecologist in the arid lands of northern Kenya. After a stint in Idaho, USA as a wildlife biologist she returned to Africa to work as a freelance consultant specializing in communicating the many complex issues surrounding the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable development.

Now based in France, her clients include WWF, IUCN, and other international NGOs. Some of her recent assignments include:

• Co-author of a review of issues surrounding protected areas and poverty reduction

• Editor of a report on livelihoods and marine turtle conservation projects in Latin America

• Analysis of threats to natural World Heritage Sites globally

• Developing frameworks for endangered species conservation programmes

• Coordinating policy statements for IUCN’s input to the Convention on Biological Diversity

• Developing a monitoring and evaluation strategy for a coastal wildlife sanctuary in Mozambique

• Assessing the biodiversity potential of organic agricultural enterprises in Kenya and Tanzania