“As an aquatic ecologist who has been lucky enough to work on and in high profile wetlands such as the Broads National Park in the UK, the Okavango Delta in Botswana and the Caprivi wetlands in Namibia, as well as many others, I have long been aware of the presence and role of Wetlands International as a global conservation and sustainable development organisation focussed on wetlands. I hope to be able to bring the knowledge I have gained in working in these wetland areas, as well as from broader water resources and environmental management projects obtained from work in the private, public and academic sectors to support and strengthen the organisation.”
Eliot Taylor is a highly experienced, motivated freshwater ecologist and water resources professional, qualified to Ph.D. level with over 25 years’ experience in water resources assessment and management, IWRM, water-energy-food Nexus, ecological impact assessment, environmental flow assessment, aquatic ecosystem health and protected site planning and management. Eliot also highly skilled, and with extensive experience, in project and programme management, provision of technical advice and support to clients and colleagues, development and implementation of plans and reports, organisation of workshops, meetings and consultative processes (especially those involving stakeholders), advice on the development and implementation of policy, liaison with donors, governments and fund-raisers as well as personnel and financial management.
Eliot has considerable experience of water resources management in an African context having worked for the Department of Water Affairs in Namibia for three years; for IUCN in Botswana on the Okavango Delta Management Plan for two years; for WS Atkins International on a national water resources assessment and strategy of and for Malawi for 18 months; as project manager for an EU funded project on the Orange-Senqu river basin in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa for three years with Atkins; on two USAID funded projects – one on climate change adaptation in East Africa (Mt Elgon) and the other on inculcation of the Ecosystem Approach into water resources management on the Orange-Senqu again for IUCN for 18 months; as well as numerous short-term assignments on water, wetlands and environment issues and assessments.
Eliot currently lives in Malawi where he is Team Leader for Mott MacDonald’s project as Implementation Service Provider for Catchment Management work as part of the Shire River Basin Management Programme funded by the World Bank. He is married with two sons (Andrew and Oliver, 8&4). He is a native of England and, although he’s not been resident there for some years, is still a keen follower of his football team, Norwich City, and of the national rugby and football teams.