Marine Protected Areas Management, Kenya

Jennifer O’Leary will work as a consultant for one year through the American Museum of Natural History’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, working for the Kenya Wildlife Service in Mombasa, Kenya. Jennifer will assist the Kenya Wildlife Service in developing a draft management plan for the Mombasa Marine Protected Area.  This project will provide Jennifer with an opportunity to apply her past research and work experience in Kenya, and her expertise in marine protected areas management, in an immediate and tangible way. She will be the lead scientist and the bridge between the Museum's Center for Biological Diversity and the Kenya Wildlife Service. Jennifer will research best practices, analyze existing ecological information, and write a draft adaptive management plan for the Mombasa Marine Protected Area, which will then be used as a template from which the Kenya Wildlife Service can write plans for its six other marine protected areas throughout the country.