Mr Joseph Goergen

Research Associate - Public Affairs

Bio

Joseph Goergen is an aspiring leader in international biodiversity policy and nature finance. He joined the AWEI network in 2023 as a graduate student at Michigan State University's College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, where he held a Boone & Crockett Fellowship in Wildlife Conservation within the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. His MSc thesis focused on advancing financial sustainability of community-based natural resource management in southern Africa by understanding the environmental factors and governance mechanisms driving income generation by communal conservancies in Namibia, along with relative performance of the hunting and photographic tourism industries. 

Joseph's dedication to wildlife conservation extends beyond academia, as he has worked in the non-profit foundation sector for over a decade most recently serving as Head of International Policy & Advocacy for Jamma International and before then as Conservation Manager at Safari Club International Foundation. He is also Secretary/Treasurer for the The Wildlife Society's International Wildlife Management Working Group and an active member of the IUCN Sustainable Use & Livelihoods Specialist Group. 

@AWEI

Joseph was a presenter at the African Wildlife Economy Colloquium in November 2024 in Stellenbosch. He is continuing to work with colleagues from the African Wildlife Foundation to develop a wildlife economy decision toolkit while pursuing his career in Washington, DC. He is also taking an IUCN Academy course on Finance for Nature with the aim to identify financing opportunities for the wildlife economy.

Outputs

• Drivers of hunting and photographic tourism income to communal conservancies in Namibia (2024)