Transfrontier collaboration for integrating conservation and livelihoods. 

Thursday, June 18th from 13:00—14:00 (GMT+2)
This webinar will take place online
Register in advance for this webinar:

https://maties.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KhGAJjv5SoChYEpjcqjIVg

Join us for a Webinar in our new CST series of Webinars 

Exploring place-based approaches as response to local contexts for recalibrating resilient food systems

This series brings together scientists, practitioners and societal actors who use the frameworks of complexity and resilience thinking in their daily work to make sense of the complex dynamics of change and transformative processes. There will be a special focus on how these ideas and practices are used in current times and how local and regional processes and perspectives are being shaped by applying the theoretical concepts and tools for fostering more resilient organisations, communities and decision-making strategies.

This week’s discussion will focus on trans-boundary governance responses to the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis. The discussants are experts in a diversity of capacities that relate to governing conservation, livelihood and human rights issues in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area that spans the borders of South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area is one of the most  ambitious conservation projects in the world today. It aims to establish one of the largest conservation and wildlife areas not only through the integration of vast landscapes and reconnecting ecological systems, but also through development of cross-border tourism linkages, ensuring sustainable benefits to local communities and socio-economic livelihoods, and the promotion of peace and stability in the region.

Discussants:

Piet Theron (International Coordinator for the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park and Conservation Area)

Lola López (Project Implementation Coordinator for the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, USAID),

Dr Kristi Maciejewski (Biodiversity Advisor for the USAID-funded Resilient Waters Program)

Moderator: Rika Preiser

Piet Theron is the current International Coordinator for the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park and Conservation Area (GLTFCA), a position that he has been occupying on a part-time basis since January 2013. The GLTFCA is a landscape level conservation and development initiative between the 3 Partner Countries namely Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Piet is responsible for the coordination of various programmes and activities associated with the further implementation of the GLTFCA, including bilateral and trilateral collaboration on conservation management, wildlife crime, cross-border tourism, community beneficiation and livelihoods diversification, and governance and administration.
Lola López is a Mozambican aspiring conservationist with just over 20 years of experience working on human rights issues. She’s been on the front line of peace building efforts in Sierra Leone, worked with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and supported several development programmes on governance, gender equality and most recently, combating illegal wildlife trade in Mozambique. During the peak of the elephant poaching crisis, Lola turned her focus on conservation and joined Wildlife Conservation Society to support ANAC disrupt illegal wildlife trafficking networks operating in Mozambique by coordinating national law enforcement efforts. Lola is currently based in Maputo and acts as the Project Implementation Coordinator for the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area hired by USAID’s Resilient Waters Program. She has a Bachelor’s degree with Honours in Law and a Master in International Law and International Relations.

Kristine Maciejewski is the Biodiversity Advisor for the USAID-funded Resilient Waters Program which strives to build resilience and water security in southern Africa. Kristi heads up the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Component of the Program, with the objective aim to enhance the conservation of biodiversity while promoting private sector engagement. With a MSc in Conservation Ecology, PhD in Zoology, and two postdoctoral research fellowships at University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University, Kristi has extensive experience working in conservation landscapes. Kristi’s main research focus is on building resilience in social-ecological systems, which includes sustainable livelihood activities that support the coexistence of wildlife, biodiversity-rich habitats and people. ability Studies.