Claudia talks to Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka about community led conservation. They discuss her work with gorillas in Bwindi National Park and how helping them involves working together with the community through health initiatives, efforts to create better livelihoods, and paying attention to food security.

Date Recorded: 23 November 2022

Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is Founder and CEO of Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH), an award-winning NGO that protects endangered gorillas and other wildlife through One Health approaches. After graduating from the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, in 1996, she established Uganda Wildlife Authority’s first veterinary department. In 2000, she did a Zoological Medicine Residency and Master in Specialized Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina Zoological Park and North Carolina State University, where masters research on disease at the human/wildlife/livestock interface led her to found CTPH in 2003. In 2015,stogether with her husband Lawrence Zikusoka, she founded Gorilla Conservation Coffee to support farmers living around habitats where gorillas are found. She has won many awards for her work. In 2021 she was recognised by Avance Media among 100 most influential women in Africa and won the UNEP Champions of the Earth Award in the category of Science and Innovation. She is the winner of the 2022 Edinburgh Medal for her work in Planetary health and 2022 Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize. Gladys is also on the leadership council of Women for the Environment in Africa, Chairperson of the Africa Chapter of the Explorers Club, Vice President of the African Primatological Society, and a member of the World Health Organisation Special Advisory Group for the Origin of Novel Pathogens (WHO SAGO).

Claudia (Towne) Hirtenfelder is the founder and host of The Animal Turn. She is a PhD Candidate in Geography and Planning at Queen’s University and is currently undertaking her own research project looking at the geographical and historical relationships between animals (specifically cows) and cities. She was awarded the AASA Award for Popular Communication for her work on the podcast. Contact Claudia via email (info@theanimalturnpodcast.com) or follow her on Twitter (@ClaudiaFTowne).

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Walking with Gorillas: The Journey of an African Wildlife Vet by Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka

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