Tanzania: Frankfurt Zoological Society gets new country director
What you need to know:
The Frankfurt Zoological Society started its involvement in conservation in the Serengeti from the 1950s, increasingly in protecting the endangered animal species.
Arusha. Tanzania has a new country director for the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS).
He is Ezekiel Amani Dembe, the recently retired Director of Planning and Development Projects of the Tanzania National Parks (Tanapa).
He takes over from Gerald Bigurube who has stepped down as the FZS country director after serving the world renowned conservation body with roots in Germany since 2009.
Dr Dembe would now steer FZS programmes in Tanzania, notably those being implemented in the Serengeti and Mahale Mountains national parks and Selous Game Reserve, among others.
He took over officially during a welcoming party organised at the weekend in Arusha for him as well as farewell get- together for his predecessor.
Dr Dembe joins FZS not entirely as a new hand. He has been working in the wildlife sector for decades before his retirement from the public service last September.
He is an expert in strategic planning and management and credited for developing management plans in all the 16 national parks under Tanapa.
He is an alumni of the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Forest/Wildlife Management and the College of African Wildlife Management (CAWM) at Mweka in Moshi.
He earned his PhD in Environmental Science (Community Development Service) from the University of Wales in the UK in 2009 and later worked on developing numerous wildlife management projects.
Mr Bigurube (67) also has his roots in Tanapa as his successor. He was the agency's director general from 2004 to 2009. Previously he worked in the Wildlife Division.
Last year, he was bestowed with the 2018 German Africa Award for his dedication to conservation.
