Leader: Jeffrey Parrish

Contributed by Jeffrey Parrish

Name: 
Jeffrey Parrish

Position:
Director, Global Mediterranean Habitat Conservation, The Nature Conservancy

Where do you work?
I live at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, in Denver, Colorado, USA.

Degree(s): 
I have B.Sc. in Biology from Tulane University, a Ph.D. in Ecology from Brown University, in Providence, USA and was a Science and Diplomacy fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Areas of Expertise
My expertise lies in conservation planning and in protected area design and monitoring, and in bringing people together to find solutions to conservation problems.  I have worked for The Nature Conservancy for more than 10 years championing science-based conservation solutions primarily in Latin America and the Rocky Mountain region.  I’ve also worked to help grow TNC’s global impact through new conservation partnerships around the world, particularly in biogeographic realms and countries critical to TNC’s mission success but where TNC may have limited or no physical presence.  Today I’m pleased to focus these skills on results in one of the world’s most threatened and least protected biomes – the Mediterranean.

What inspires you in your work? 
My inspiration comes from conservation champions like the people in the Mediterranean Action network, and from visionary conservation leaders. Yet my endurance for the long journey to conservation success comes from my children who inspire me to always fight for conserving biodiversity and creating a sustainable world.

What are the highlights of your career accomplishments? 
I am most proud about the work I have been able to do in practically injecting science into conservation action.  Through new, practical approaches to conservation planning, monitoring, and the social process of conservation, we’ve been able to make conservation decisions across TNC and many other partners more effective and more scientifically credible.  

Why is the Global Mediterranean Action Network exciting to you?
For me, conservation is 1% science and 99% people. Science is essential, but it’s the ability to make conservation matter for People and for People to inspire each other and work collaboratively to achieve greater success than they could individually that makes science become success. The Global Mediterranean Action Network aims to do just that – to bring people together to make our experiences, science, and successes and failures add up to much more than the sum of their parts around the globe.  Together through the Network, we can save and sustain one of the world’s most threatened biomes, but apart I fear we’ll be left grasping non-viable vestiges of Mediterranean habitats a century from now. The Network empowers us to be successful to degrees and at scales that would otherwise be difficult to imagine.

What are your favorite species and/or landscapes? 
I find greatest personal solace in the high mountains of Colorado, and in diverse, xeric, sun-drenched landscapes of the world. Trained as an ornithologist who studied migration ecology, I continue to be deeply moved by migratory birds and the phenomenon of migration worldwide.

Why are you passionate about conservation?
Obsessed with plants and animals since my childhood growing up amidst the forests and rivers of the southern U.S. state of Alabama, I’ve always been in awe of the diversity of life on Earth, and how it both puts us humans in perspective as well as calls upon us to steward for sustainability of people and nature.   As years have gone by, my passion today also comes equally from my 2 daughters who I hope can enjoy and sustain the biodiverse world I’ve had the great fortune to experience, as well as from conservation champions I’ve had the fortune to know and to learn from worldwide.

What gives you hope?
Two things: 1)That the world has finally begun to grapple at societal scales that natural resources are limited and that “green” is not just fad but fact.  A sea change is happening in society across businesses, governments, and the general populace – people now see that the “environment” matters and that it makes spiritual, selfish, and economic sense to change practices toward environmental sustainability. 2)That there are passionate, talented, visionary people in conservation across the world  - such as those of the Global Mediterranean Action Network - who care and are dedicated to creating a sustainable world while saving endangered species and ecosystems. 

What activities do you enjoy in your spare time?  
Spending time with my wife and two beautiful daughters Annika and Adelaide; running, cycling, hiking and telemark skiing.