Former Council Member with special responsibility for the Horn of Africa (2016-2022)
Based in Ethiopia. Zelealem is a zoologist and environmentalist with a keen sense of the social issues in conservation. He earned a PhD from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology of the University of Kent (UK), with a thesis concerning the ecology of Ethiopian wolves and communal natural resource management practices. For many years, he was Country Representative of the Frankfurt Zoological Society in Ethiopia. An early Honorary Member of the ICCA Consortium, Zelealem is deeply committed to the ICCAs of the Ethiopian highlands and, in particular, the ICCA of Guassa. With his encouragement and advice, the Guassa Community Conservation Area Council (GCCA) – the modern form of an ancient institution that governed and conserved an extensive plateau in the heart of Ethiopia, over the course of centuries– has become a Member of the ICCA Consortium. Zelealem is keen to promote policy development in support of ICCAs in Ethiopia and has been carefully following relevant legislative initiatives.
