Dipl. (Dar es Salaam), Dipl. (Mweka)

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.

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.

James 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, Fauna and Flora International (FFI), the East African Wildlife Society, CARE International, DESEMP (Government of Finland), Istituto Oikos Tanzania, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), The Mpingo Conservation Project, BCW Holdings and UNHCR.

His work has included village land use assessments and planning; awareness raising amongst communities for sustainable use of natural resources; renewable energy assessments, 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 an Advanced 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.