I was born in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. I work as a Conservation Officer, in the Tanzania National Parks and I don’t have much time for hobbies these days. But in the future, I'd like to try piano.
I am an ecologist and conservationist broadly interested in how natural systems, such as forests respond, recover, and persist in a world increasingly dominated by humans and how we can use such knowledge to promote a sustainable future. I believe in the principles of sustainability: envisioning a better future.
As an undergraduate student, I studied the Impact of Community on Wildlife Conservation in Jozan-Chwaka Bay National Park, Zanzibar. Later in my master’s degree, I assessed the potential for incorporating the principle of education for sustainability into the Tanzania National Park’s Outreach Program at Gombe National Park. I coupled this knowledge with another master’s program where I assessed the efficacy and toxicity of medicinal plants used by communities close to Gombe National Park. I then used the knowledge from these different research activities to implement a series of projects (funded by The Rufford Foundation ) to improve conservation awareness and promote a successful and informed tree-planting campaign in the village lands close to Gombe.
I am performing an impact assessment for my dissertation, where I am assessing the impact of conservation-based interventions in the Greater Gombe Ecosystem, Tanzania. My research also is part of a consultancy for the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) funded by USAID. In collaboration with the local Government, the JGI in 2005-2009 facilitated the establishment of the village forest reserves near Gombe to promote the reforestation of degraded areas and the persistence of mature forests. These reserves have been allowed to regenerate naturally. To provide insights into forces that control carbon stock changes, species occurrence, distribution, abundance, and richness in human-modified landscapes, my dissertation uses the Greater Gombe Ecosystem as an example of those landscapes. I am therefore assessing forest regeneration dynamics and persistence and its influence on wildlife and carbon stock recovery and maintenance in the human-modified landscape of the Greater Gombe Ecosystem, Tanzania.
I am using multi-temporal satellite imagery to assess forest cover change in the study area and the vegetation plot survey to assess the implication of forest cover change and persistence on carbon sequestration and feeding habitat quality for large vertebrates, such as chimpanzees. Last, I am assessing the relative influence of multiple factors, such as topographic (e.g., slope) and anthropogenic (e.g., fire) factors on the variation of carbon stock, forest regeneration, and persistence in the study area.
To learn more about my research, check out my research page.
Education
University of Minnesota (2017 – present)
PhD in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Nelson Mandela African institution of Science
and Technology (2012-2014)
MSc Life science and Engineering: Specializing on
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management
London South Bank University (2009-2012)
MSc. Education for Sustainability
Sokoine University of Agriculture (2003-2006)
BSc Wildlife Management
Research interest and Expertise
Landscape ecology, Conservation, Animal population Survey
Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
Bio-prospecting and Environmental Education