Roland Vorwerk

GCBR Advisor

Roland is a Biodiversity Economy Specialist with experience in developing policy and implementing programmes in the Wildlife Economy and Ecotourism sectors in South Africa and across the southern African region. He is also proficient in developing concepts and proposals to mobilise resources for a broad range of programmes across the Biodiversity Sector, and is a skilled facilitator with stakeholders throughout the Biodiversity Economy value chain, including civil society organisations, public sector, business and community organisations.

Previously, Roland was the marketing manager of Boundless Southern Africa for 12 years, raising awareness about southern Africa’s Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs). During this time he was based in Pretoria at the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. In the course of his work, Roland developed close working relationships with stakeholders across the region while implementing innovative initiatives to promote tourism to these Transfrontier destinations. He has worked in a variety of tourism related fields for more than 20 years – as a tourist guide, developing tourism products in rural communities and working on several destination marketing initiatives.

Roland’s current focus is on building greater resilience in conservation landscapes by supporting initiatives that achieve inclusive rural economic development outcomes whilst securing the natural capital of these landscapes. Recent assignments have included leading efforts to develop a national Wildlife Economy Certification Scheme in South Africa, leading a team to develop a global programme on ‘Strengthening the Wild Biodiversity Economy’ commissioned by UNEP, contributing to the development of the new SADC TFCA Programme (2023-2033) and supporting work on developing a Landscape Finance Assessment and Strategy for Mt Mulanje in Malawi under the 1000 Landscapes for 1 Billion People programme.

Roland Vorwerk