Programme Director, Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme, Cambridge Conservation Initiative

Dr David Thomas is a conservationist, socio-economist and programme manager with a particular interest in local engagement and empowerment and the linkages between biodiversity conservation, human rights, equity, livelihoods and well-being.

David is currently director of CCI’s Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme. With a focus on Europe, the ELSP funds landscape- and seascape-scale restoration projects and aims to develop and share lessons that will help to attain large-scale restoration of habitats that are rich in biodiversity and resilient to environmental change.

David has a long-term interest in the environment and development – an interest that has taken him to Tunisia and Nigeria (examining ecosystem and landscape-scale impacts of dams), and Belize (impacts of coastal tourism development). He has an MSc in Conservation from University College London, and a PhD in Geography from the University of Cambridge.