Steve Boyes
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Steve Boyes | |||
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| Born | Rutledge Stephen Boyes 16 February 1979 Cape Town, South Africa | ||
| Education | University of Stellenbosch University of KwaZulu-Natal | ||
| Occupation | Conservationist | ||
| Years active | 2000-present | ||
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Steve Boyes (born in South Africa) is a conservation biologist, National Geographic Explorer, and TED Senior Fellow known for his pioneering work in preserving Africa's wilderness and biodiversity. He is the founder of the Wild Bird Trust and the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project.
Early Life and Education
Boyes obtained a Master’s degree in Environmental Development (Protected Areas Management) from the University of Natal, South Africa, in 2002. He moved to the Okavango Delta, Botswana, where he worked as a safari guide and camp manager. During this time, he initiated the Meyer’s Parrot Project and began research for his Ph.D. in Zoology, which he completed in 2009 with a focus on African parrot conservation.
In 2006, Boyes worked at the University of California, Berkeley, with Prof. Steve Beissinger, strengthening collaborations with the U.S. parrot conservation community. He later pursued postdoctoral research at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology.
Career
In 2015, Boyes launched the Okavango Wilderness Project, now a National Geographic initiative, aimed at protecting the ecosystems of the Okavango Delta and its water sources in Angola, Namibia, and Botswana. The project conducts extensive ecological surveys and long-term environmental monitoring, identifying over 143 new species, including fish, bats, and reptiles. As part of this project, Boyes and his team poled and paddled dug-out canoes over 1,500 miles across the Okavango River Basin from source-to-sand.
Through self-propelled megatransects, Boyes and his team gather critical data on wildlife populations and environmental health, emphasizing the interconnectedness of ecosystems, particularly the Angolan Water Tower. The project is featured in the documentary Into the Okavango.
In 2010, Boyes founded the Wild Bird Trust to support avian conservation initiatives, including the Cape Parrot Project. As the Scientific Director, he leads efforts to mitigate extinction threats, manage sanctuaries, and promote indigenous tree-planting programs.
Boyes has over 27 peer-reviewed scientific publications and 55 popular articles. He has delivered seminars at various institutions, including the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, California (Berkeley), and Colorado (Boulder), and the Bronx Zoo.
In April of 2015, Boyes hosted a TED (conference)|TED talk in which he discussed his experiences in the Okavango, and what work he and the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project are doing to try save it.
In 2019, Boyes was named Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year.
References
External links
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