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Dr. Mike Maunder is the Al Ain Wildlife Park & Resort’s Chief Collection, Conservation and Education Officer. He is primarily responsible for developing AWPR’s programs and collections, this includes the plant and animal collections, horticulture and landscape programs, conservation and education, including the Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre. Dr. Maunder plays a key role in the design team responsible for establishing AWPR as a world centre for the exhibition, interpretation and conservation of arid and land biodiversity.
Dr. Maunder has broad experience with botanic gardens, zoos, museums and protected areas. He has field and research experience in over 20 countries including Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, India, Mauritius, South Korea, Lebanon, Oman, UAE, Jamaica and St. Helena.
His impressive job portfolio includes, but is not limited to, working for the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami, USA as Executive Director; Director of Conservation at the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii, USA; and Head of Conservation Projects Development Unit at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, UK.
Dr. Maunder is also a long-standing member of several committees including the American Public Gardens Association (APGA); and the Species Survival Commission (SSC), with duties on the Plant Conservation Sub-Committee and Executive Committee, he is a strategic associate of the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG). He has participated in the drafting of a number of SSC policy documents and guidelines. He was a member of the Miami Dade Climate Change Task Force and serves on the Board of the American University of Beirut’s Arid Land Conservation Initiative. He has also been a senior editor for Oryx since 2005. Dr Maunder maintains an active research agenda regularly publishing on conservation genetics, biogeography and conservation policy. He is a board member of the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation fund and a trustee of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic garden.
Dr. Maunder has won several awards over the years, including the following:
• The Species Survival Commission Citation for Excellence, 2004
• The Center for Plant Conservation Star Award, 2002
Dr. Maunder holds a PhD and MSc from the School of Plant Sciences, University of Reading, UK. He also obtained a Kew Diploma in Horticulture from the School of Horticulture, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK.
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