Meet the Team

Dr Simeon Bezeng Bezeng

Project Manager: Regional Conservation Programme
simmy.bezeng@birdlife.org.za

Bezeng began his career in Cameroon where he received a BSc in Botany and Environmental Sciences in 2008 from the University of Buea – Cameroon. He then moved to South Africa where he completed his MSc and PhD in plant invasion biology in 2012 and 2016, respectively, from the University of Johannesburg – South Africa.

Bezeng is currently based at BirdLife South Africa where he heads up the organization’s Regional Conservation Programme, actively involved in the development of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s (SSC) species and ecosystem red listing and the identification of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in Africa. Bezeng is a certified Red List and KBA trainer and is also the KBA Regional Focal Point for western and southern Africa responsible for promoting the KBA programme within this region.

In addition to supporting African countries with developing national Red Lists and identify KBAs, Bezeng serves on many SSC Committees, including the SSC Steering and Red List Committees and the National Red List Working Group and Alliance.

Bronwyn Maree

Project Manager: East Atlantic Flyway Initiative (EAFI)
bronwyn.maree@birdlife.org.za

Bronwyn holds an MSc in Ichthyology and Fisheries Science and has over 10 years of conservation experience, spanning the marine environment (with the Albatross Task Force) and terrestrial environment (focusing on human-wildlife conflict on the urban edge).

She manages a project which is dedicated to support regional and global conservation initiatives aligned with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ (RSPB’s) EAFI project and assist the RSPB with the revision and implementation of the BirdLife EAFI strategy. A comprehensive suite of projects are being implemented along the East Atlantic Flyway through the EAFI project, with a focus on species research and monitoring, identifying Key Biodiversity Areas and using Other Effective Area Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) to safeguard key migratory stopover sites. The EAFI is a multi-stakeholder project consisting of BirdLife country partners from across the flyway, including Europe, north, west and southern Africa.

Natasha Shilubane

Intern: Regional Conservation and Empowering People Programme
natasha.shilubane@birdlife.org.za

Natasha handles administrative tasks related to the Regional Conservation such as website editing, social media posts, drafting articles and compiling reports. She will also be handling similar administrative tasks on the Empowering People Programme, specifically the Avitourism Project. Natasha holds an MSc in Marine Biology from the University of the Witwatersrand, her MSc dissertation focused on the acoustic signals of the endangered humpback dolphin. Natasha also has seabird research background, her honours thesis at NMU looked at the foraging strategies of Northern and Southern giant petrels at Marion Island. She is quite passionate about conserving biodiversity.