Maputo Conservation Company Limitada
Maputo Conservation Company Limitada
Wesley’s ambition is to be involved in community conservation projects in neglected greenfield sites in Africa in order to regenerate them to their former glory for sustainable use.
Wesley served 10 years in the British Army, Royal Regiment of Scotland. This included operational tours to Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as two years as an instructor at the prestigious Infantry Training Center in Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire. Following his army career, Wesley went on to work in the Private sector on Anti-Piracy Operations on the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, as well as provide close protection and compound security to a European Union Diplomatic Mission in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Born in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, and partly brought up in Malawi, Wesley spent a large portion of his upbringing in the bush where he developed a passion for protecting Africa’s natural resources. His grandfather, a renowned Lepidopterist, and father, a policeman who worked to combat rhino horn and ivory smuggling, both influenced his interest in wildlife conservation from a young age.
The culmination of his career to date has been a role where he has drawn on his vast experience to successfully modernise an anti-poaching unit into a sophisticated, multi-faceted para-military operation, to cope with an organised, internationally connected poaching threat. Under his watch, this 130 people strong operation has developed a collaborative intelligence capability as well as infused technology in order to create efficiency. Wesley has been a key part of a negotiating team to secure the biggest translocation of Black Rhinoceros in Tanzania’s history. Wesley’s ambition is to be involved in community conservation projects in neglected greenfield sites in Africa in order to regenerate them to their former glory for sustainable use.
In July 2022, Wesley and a few of his Tanzanian colleagues formed the NGO, Okoa Maliasili, which aims to support Tanzanian Government initiatives in the fields of Conservation and Humanitarianism. The flagship project aims to support the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism in countering illegal wildlife trade at the landscape level.
Wesley has an FAA Private Pilot’s License and has built his hours, mainly flying anti-poaching and rhino monitoring activities. Wesley has recently completed an MBA at University of Aberdeen, Scotland where his two children are based. In his spare time Wesley is a Trustee of the Tanzanian Research & Conservation Organisation (TRCO), which has focused on understanding pangolin conservation in Tanzania, as well as a member of the advisory council for the conservation spatial awareness platform, Earth Ranger.
Conserve Global is a registered charity in England and Wales no 1195017 | registered company no 12705139 | 101 New Cavendish Street, 1st Floor South, London, W1W 6XH, United Kingdom