David Western

DAVID WESTERN

David Western, known by his nickname, Jonah, is an award-winning Kenya conservationist whose books include Conservation for the Twenty-first Century, Natural Connections: Perspectives in Community-based Conservation, In the Dust of Kilimanjaro and We Alone. How Humans Have Conquered the Planet and Can Also Save It. He began his studies of the coexistence of Maasai and wildlife in Amboseli in 1967. His decades of work highlight the momentous changes in the African savannas and promote new conservation solutions rooted in the coexistence of people and wildlife.

Western directed the Wildlife Conservation Society programs internationally, chaired the African Elephant and Rhino Specialist Group, co-founded The International Ecotourism Society, directed the Kenya Wildlife Service and founded of the African Conservation Centre. His conservation awards include the World Ecology Award for 2010 and the 2012 Life-time Achievement Award for Ecotourism. He has travelled extensively around the world promoting community-based conservation, including exchanges between the Maasai, American cowboys and Asian pastoralists.

Western lives next to Nairobi National Park with his wife, primatologist Shirley Strum, author of Almost Human. A Journey into the World of Baboons and Primate Encounters: Models of Science, Gender, and Society. Their two children, Carissa and Guy are also engaged in people and wildlife programs.