Dale Lewis

Dr. Dale Lewis has worked as a conservation scientist for the Wildlife Conservation Society in Zambia for over 20 years. He has contributed to applied research in elephant and hippo management, contributed to such efforts as the establishment of a college for promoting community leaders in wildlife conservation, improved legislation on wildlife management policies, and the development of community-based management systems and institutions. Dr. Lewis works in close collaboration with the Zambia Wildlife Authority as Technical Advisor for Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM). Results emanating from his work include the national village scout program, an integrated data base for studying wildlife management approaches in rural areas outside national parks, a national program for CBNRM referred to as ADMADE, and large-scale pilot schemes for testing development models that promote wildlife conservation.

In recent years, Dr. Lewis has undertaken an initiative that links households vulnerable to problems of poverty and hunger to a regional trading center through a program that promotes alternatives to poaching by improving market access and producer prices. The program integrates a variety of disciplines that enable household livelihood needs to be better addressed in ways that lead to lowered human conflicts with wildlife, and to increased wildlife production. In his spare time, he fly-fishes and roams around the African bush with his wife, Julia.