Andre Mader

Montreal

Local Action for Biodiversity
Convention on Biodiversity
Montreal, Canada
Andre Mader is a South African conservation biologist, working at the interface of biodiversity policy and practice. He has an MSc in Conservation Biology from the University of Cape Town. In the years between and since, he has worked in various parts of South Africa, the Middle East and Canada as researcher, “wildlife breeding technician”, land manager, trainer and project officer – always with conservation as the centre of activities. Since 2006 Andre has been working with local governments on technical and advocacy aspects of ICLEI’s Local Action for Biodiversity programme, which led to his current secondment to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, where he works with Oliver Hillel – another contributor to this forum. His career focus is on identifying gaps in current understanding of how to reach the ambitious twin goals of conservation and development. He is a firm believer that local authorities, especially those who govern cities, have a critical and, as yet, unexploited part to play.