As co-owner/operator of Stone Horse Expeditions, my focus is on shaping an adventure tour business with an outstanding record in environmental and social responsibility and excellence in providing wilderness travel experiences on horseback. To this end, I draw on my long term experience in field based conservation work and wilderness expeditions.
As senior advisor/consultant in conservation projects I often play a role as facilitator in participatory planning and stakeholder processes throughout the project cycle. Experience with implementing long term projects helps me to identify challenges and design practical concepts and implementation arrangements.
The focus of much of my work has been on biodiversity conservation and protected areas. Pasture and livestock issues are also prominent in most assignments in Mongolia. In field research, design and implementation of projects, poverty/livelihood linkages to natural resource management and conservation issues have played a key role. In recent years, my work focus has extended to climate change/ecosystem based adaptation, and extractive industry impacts.
With the “Initiative for People Centered Conservation” (IPECON) of the “New Zealand Nature Institute” (NZNI) I helped to promote community based approaches to conservation and community participation in environmental planning and management. For more than 15 years, I have worked with local stakeholders in Mongolia in participatory planning to design and implement projects. Recent projects focus on ecological restoration.
My geographic focus has been Mongolia, with some assignments extending to the region. My early career as a conservation professional began in Antarctica, where I contributed to efforts to achieve an agreed conservation regime for the Southern continent. This set me on my path to a career in conservation and a passion for wilderness.
