Donors
 
We are extremely grateful to the organisations that have provided financial support to projects involving the Group, which include:
 
Cambridge Conservation Initiative Collaborative Fund for Conservation (through BirdLife International)

E4S - Enterprise for Society (through the University of Lausanne) .

IUCN Species Survival Commission internal grant
 
National Geographic Society (through PJ Stephenson)

Nespresso, Boskalis & the Alcoa Foundation (through the IUCN Business & Biodiversity Programme)

Re:wild (through PJ Stephenson)

Swiss Network for International Studies (through the University of Lausanne) .


Chair Hosts
 
We are extremely grateful to the following for informally hosting the Chair:
 
Dr Luca Fumagalli, Laboratory for Conservation Biology, Department of Ecology & Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, for hosting the chair since August 2020.
 
Prof. Jaboury Ghazoul, Ecosystem Management Group, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland, for hosting/co-hosting the Chair from September 2017 to January 2019.
 
Dr Thomas Brooks, Science & Economic Knowledge Unit, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, for hosting/co-hosting the Chair from January 2017 to January 2018
 
 
Volunteers
 
The following people generously donated their time to support the Group's work.

Noa de Berg
 
Since August 2024, Noa has been helping the Chair conduct literature reviews for group research projects and guidelines, such as a horizon scan of monitoring tools and an update of the database of data sources. She is also producing communications materials, such as X/Twitter feeds. Having acquired a bachelors degree in biology, Noa is currently pursuing an interdisciplinary Master's degree in Biodiversity Conservation at the University of Neuchâtel. Determined to put conservation into practice, she has gained knowledge in species monitoring, ecosystem conservation, anthropology, psychology, economics and law in order to holistically tackle conservation issues. Particularly interested in the interface between society and science, her thesis explores the link between grassland diversity and management strategies in the Jura mountains, aiming to balance human interests with the preservation of these rich ecosystems. Fuelled by her passion for wildlife, Noa has also worked on species ranging from wolves in Switzerland to turtles in Mexico and aims to pursue a career in wildlife conservation.

Angela Ruiz de Paz

Angela was a volunteer with the Group from February to July 2021 and from November 2021 to March 2022. She collected data and conducting literature reviews for group research projects and producing communications materials, such as Twitter feeds, as well as supporting the Chair with membership management. She also helped update the database of data sources. Angela has a degree in Biology from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and a Masters degree in Behaviour, Evolution and Conservation from the University of Lausanne. She has recently been helping NGOs with exciting work with wolves and bears in Switzerland and Spain. Following her passion for animals, nature and conservation, Angela’s professional goal is to better understand how different actors (national and international organizations, companies and other stakeholders) take decisions that influence ecological dynamics and how they can use available data to improve these decisions.

Laura van Galen

Laura undertook a volunteer internship with the Group during May and June 2017. She conducted a survey of the IUCN Species Survival Commission specialist groups to identify gaps in data and monitoring capacity. She also reviewed reports from project portfolios managed by IUCN Save Our Species to help identify geographic and taxonomic trends in data availability and quality. This review was published: Badalotti, A., van Galen, L., Vié, J.-C., & Stephenson, P.J. 2022. Improving the monitoring of conservation programmes: lessons from a grant-making initiative for threatened species. Oryx. 56(2): 288-294. DOI: 10.1017/S0030605320000538

Laura went on to undertake a PhD in forest ecology at the University of Otago, New Zealand. Her research focused on understanding the factors affecting the distribution of ectomycorrhizal fungal species in New Zealand, and how this influences the distribution of their mycorrhizal host trees, Nothofagus (southern beech) species. The results will help further understand the ecology of the relationship between Nothofagus and ectomycorrhizal fungi, as well as providing practical information to improve the success of Nothofagus forest restoration.