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James Ole Lesikar Laizer is a director of Kilimanyika, specialising
in community based natural resource management,
rural land rights and livelihoods. His work
is grounded in deep understanding of both
the ecology and cultures of East Africa,
and an appreciation of the need for symbiosis
between the two. He has specialist knowledge of individual
species of flora and fauna, and utilises
this to ensure sustainable solutions for
his clients.
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| He has worked across different habitats, from pastoral rangelands, to mountains, marine environments, wooded savannah and coastal forests, with experience in both protected and non protected areas.
He has lived and worked in East Africa
all his life. He spent his childhood in
a pastoralist community in northern Tanzania,
and was formerly a Village Executive Officer
to the Tanzanian Government in Arumeru District,
Arusha. He has worked for, amongst others,
DESEMP, Istituto
Oikos Tanzania, World Wide Fund for
Nature (WWF),
the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF),
the Mpingo Conservation Project, BCW
Holdings and UNHCR through Kilimanyika's
associates.
His work has included village land use
assessments and planning; awareness raising
amongst communities for sustainable use
of natural resources; training of village
game scouts for better management and protection
of fauna and flora; planning for community-based
tourism ventures; working as a community
liaison; conducting environmental impact
assessments to be included in project proposals;
socio-economic research using PRA research
tools and mediating on boundaries conflict
resolution. He has also developed geographical
information systems using GPS units and
computer software for community land-use
planning.
James holds a Diploma in Tourism Management
from the Institute of Hotel Business Management,
Dar es Salaam, and a Diploma in Wildlife
Management from Mweka
College of Wildlife Management, Moshi.
He is fluent in English, Swahili and the
Maasai language and works from Kilimanyika's base
in Arusha, Tanzania.
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