AWEI Research Associate - Wildlife & Blue Economy
Bio
Dr Tuqa Jirmo is Program Lead - Blue Economy Africa Region for The Nature Conservancy. He is a respected Senior Conservation Manager with a 30-year plus career at Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) and previously served as COO for Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya.
Tuqa is a distinguished conservation biologist with over 25 years of experience protecting Africa’s wildlife and ecosystems from the savannas to the Indian Ocean. Holding a PhD in Conservation Biology from Leiden University, a MSc in Biology of Conservation, and a BSc in Wildlife Management, he has been a protected areas (including marine) manager and a conservancies manager. Renowned for pioneering community-led conservation models, Tuqa’s expertise spans ecosystem valuation, payment for ecosystem services, area-based planning, and advancing the blue economy. His work bridges science, policy, and grassroots action, ensuring biodiversity conservation drives sustainable livelihoods and climate resilience.
@AWEI
Tuqa's interests include large carnivores, community based conservation, human wildlife conflict, peace building, climate change and protected area management. His research interest with AWEI centres on the wildlife economy in lion landscapes with the aim of working collaboratively on this topic with WildCRU at the University of Oxford.