2006 Global Fellows

Luiz Alves (Brazil)    lcpsalves@yahoo.com.br                       

Luis is a Masters Degree Student of Animal Behavior and Biology Specializing in Statistic Computational Methods.  His thesis focus is behavioral responses of humpback whales to satellite tagging procedures and ethics in animal and research welfare.   He is an active collaborator with American and Danish Researchers.  During the past two years he has participated in seismic operations as an environmental analyst.  His participation in the NGO, Instituto Aqualie as allowed him to present environmental information to local communities as well as to participate on board ships.  He has experience with necropsy procedure, photo-id and species distribution and occurrence aboard research vessels.

Rita has an honors degree in Marine Biology & Fisheries from the University of Algarve.  She is a volunteer with the University of Las Palmas, working with Caretta Caretta.  Rita has been resourceful in establishing contacts to catapult her educational, research and conservation efforts.  She has a very diverse background and has participated in several research projects.

Andres completed his Masters Study at the University of San Diego via a Fulbright Scholarship.  His thesis work occurred mainly at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center at La Jolla and the Scripps Institute focusing on shark ecology and behavior.  His research focused primarily on thresher sharks using satellite and acoustic telemetry.  He has since returned to Ecuador where he is now beginning to develop public awareness of marine conservation and shark vulnerability to exploitation.  He intends to dedicate his life to marine research, conservation and education in Ecuador.

Wafae Benhardouze (Morocco) Benhardouze@hotmail.com
Wafae recently completed her Master of Science in which she evaluated the impact of sea turtle by catch by specific fisheries in NW Moroccan waters.  She is currently pursuing her PhD on issues related to sea turtle by catch and continues to work on expanding and improving the sea turtle stranding network in Morocco.  She has played a pivotal role in the establishment of a stranding network in the northern Morocco.  Wafae is currently working on her PhD in Sea Turtle Biology, genetics and conservation in Morocco. She is establishing collaborative ties among fishermen, researchers and fisheries managers to encourage sea turtle management in Morocco.

Aca has secured his Bachelors Degree in Computer Science.  His specialty is Geographic Information Systems.  He has finished his Masters in Applied Science in GIS (MAppScGIS) at the University of New South Wales.  He was a volunteer in 2002 with the Humpback Whale Research and Conservation Project and has since focused his volunteer efforts toward marine-based research with WWF-Philippines.  His strength in databases and GIS has contributed a great deal to the efficient collection, management and storage of data from field surveys.  As the newly appointed project manager of the Humpback Whale Research and Conservation Project of World Wide Fund for Nature, his participation in the Oak Foundation Global Fellows program will greatly enhance his capability to develop and manage the project not only in the field of biological research but in the conservation aspect of the project.

Martha has received her MSc International Studies in Aquatic Tropical Ecology.  She worked in Columbia at the National Institute of Marine and Coastal Research on coastal management issues such as establishment of biosphere reserves and sea levels impacts assessment.  As part of her work on the International Studies in Tropical Ecology (ISATEC) Masters Course she developed her Master of Science thesis on the mangrove coast of North Brazil in the topic of participatory indicators for coastal management as part of the Mangrove Dynamics and Management project.  Her current interests expand into integrated coastal management.

Martin has been the Industrial Fisheries Coordinator of the Karumbe project since 2002.  He has integrated with trawl and long line fishermen and has been working with them to promote sea turtle conservation in Uruguayan waters.  He obtained his Bachelors Degree in Biological Sciences, Specializing in Marine Ecology.  Throughout his career Martin has been awarded many travel and equipment grants that has enabled him to further his conservation efforts.  His experiences have made him a valuable collaborator.  Martin is currently working on a project in Uruguay "Implementation of an educational Programme directed to Industrial Fisherman…"  He collects data, organizes and conducts workshops for industrial fishermen, analyzing the data and assessing the incidental capture of sea turtles to increase the fishermen’s conservation awareness.

Damien Martinez Fernandez (Costa Rica) washan@costarricense.cr
Damien graduated from the National University of Costa Rica with his Bachelor Degree in 2003.  He completed his Masters in Wildlife Conservation in May of 2005 after receiving a full scholarship from the Oceanic Society of Cetaceans in Spain.  He was also awarded a full scholarship from the Organization of Tropical Studies for a field study course “Tropical Coastal Ecology Ecosystems” in Mexico.  With his previous and Global Fellows experience he intends to develop conservation and management plans for the communities in the Rosa Conservation Area (ACOSA). 

Carmen has obtained her Masters of Science Degree in Biology focusing on marine ecotoxicology, marine ecology, marine policy and marine phycology.  She is currently working as an Environment Protection Officer.  Her main responsibilities related to marine issues range from policy making to the compilations of action plans on the conservation of marine species and habitats and implementing the EU Acquis and other national obligations to several international conventions and consultations with respect to marine development projects.  She is also in the development stages with the Fisheries Department on a turtle rehabilitation centre.

Daylin earned her Bachelor’s degree from the Department of Biology at The University of Havana, Cuba.  She continued her studies over the next three years in the Masters of Science Program with a major in Marine Ecology.  In 2004 she was awarded a scholarship to Bermuda Biological Station for Research.  She joined the Newfound Harbor Marine Institute in Big Pine Key, Florida, first as an intern then as a science instructor.  She is a volunteer at The Sea Turtle Hospital in Marathon and is currently employed as an Endangered Species Observer certified by the National Marine Fisheries Services.  Daylin left Cuba to pursue her goals of helping to solve complex environmental problems, but she hopes to someday return to address these issues in her homeland.

Nicanor is currently a Regional Fisheries Advisor for the Meso-American Reef program of The Nature Conservancy.  He is a member of the Belize Reef Fish Spawning Aggregation Working Group providing guidance and recommendation on the conservation and protection of spawning aggregations in Belize.  This regional work includes local partners in Belize, Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala.  Nicanor played an active role in the development of the Reef fish Spawning Aggregations monitoring protocol in the Meso-American Region and the Wider Caribbean, which has been adopted as the accepted standard.  He is currently leading a fish tagging program for the Nature Conservancy.

Arlene Galacio Sampang (Philippines) a.sampang@cgiar.org
Arlene graduated in December 2005 with her Master of Science in Environmental Science major in Community-based Resource Management.  She is also a member of the Marine Ecosystem Council where she conducts a marine conservation awareness program.  She is president of the Philippine Society for the Study of Nature - Los Banos Chapter, whose purpose is to strengthen the advocacy on nature conservation and environmental protection.  She is currently employed as a research assistant with the FishBase Project in the Worldfish Center.   This organization is the world's premier database on fish. Her work with the Worldfish Center facilitates collaboration with other institutions, scientists and researchers for exchange of data.

Paolo has a Bachelors degree in Biological Sciences.  In 1996 he earned the Robin Best Award granted by the Society for Marine Mammalogy.  He is the co-founder of Chile’s influential Centre for Marine Mammals Research – Leviathan and serves as its Science Department Director.  He has worked as the Technical Advisor for the Chilean Under-Secretariat of Fisheries as well as for the Peruvian Centre for Cetacean Research.  Paolo was elected board member at the Founding Board of the Latin American Society of Aquatic Mammal Specialists.  As Technical Advisor to Chile’s Management Authority for marine species and Associated Scientist of the Chilean Scientific Authority, Paolo works closely with the Chilean authorities to develop policies and regulations for marine mammals.  He intends to increase his contributions to the development of laws and policies that insure the conservation of cetaceans in Chilean waters.

Sheku is a Fisheries Officer in Sierra Leone, West Africa.  He holds a BSc honors degree in Marine Science and a postgraduate in Fish Culture Development.  In his capacity with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources he has experience with industrial, artisanal, inland fisheries and aquaculture data collection and analysis.  He has a strong background in mathematics, statistics and ecological modeling.

Basudev Tripathy (India) tripathyb@yahoo.co.uk
Basudev has recently been awarded his Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Sciences.  He is currently working as a Research Associate in the national Institute of Coastal and Marine Biodiversity, a satellite centre of the Wildlife Institute.  He has been working on sea turtle biology and conservation since 1996.  His past experience with the Ashoka Trust has lead to the strengthening of Indian policy and governance.  He has worked extensively with sea turtles and marine fisheries interface on the  Orissa Coast.  Basudev has successfully completed three conservation projects on olive ridley turtles at Rushikulya rookery in Orissa with funding provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society, World Turtle Trust and the Wildlife Trust of India.  He has been widely published in popular science, national and regional journals.