Nafeesa Esmail

Nafeesa is an interdisciplinary conservation scientist with diverse global experience, inspired to focus on the African continent where her roots are. With a background in both terrestrial and marine ecosystems including biodiversity-friendly agriculture, co-managed marine areas, illegal wildlife trade and human-wildlife conflicts, Nafeesa is passionate about finding innovative win-win solutions for both nature and people, ensuring local communities, stakeholders, and partners are at the heart of any collaboration. She is especially interested in unlocking entrepreneurial opportunities for sustainable and effective conservation strategies; has expertise in horizon scanning for proactive policy and knowledge exchange, as well as participatory and applied social science research approaches. Nafeesa holds a BSc in Applied Zoology from McGill University and a MSc in Conservation Science from Imperial College London.