Darwin Initative Project Officer on a project entitled ‘Integrating religion within conservation: Islamic beliefs and Sumatran forest management’.

Research interests include:

• Natural resource use patterns of indigenous communities in developing countries.
• Sustainable resource use, including certification protocols for sustainable agriculture.
• Global amphibian declines.
• Ecosystem services as a basis for forest protection.

 

About Jeanne:

Jeanne McKay originally trained in International Studies, specialising in community development and sustainable resource use in Latin America. She focused on rural communities in Guatemala where she sought to improve natural resources management and in Central America where she developed and managed certification protocols for the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Programme. For her MSc dissertation, Jeanne investigated the captive breeding and sustainable use of the Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), a critically endangered and endemic salamander from Mexico.

After graduating, Jeanne worked for the IUCN/SSC Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force (DAPTF) as the International Coordinator. During this time, she was also a consultant to Conservation International, responsible for developing global amphibian conservation strategies. At DICE, Jeanne worked as a Research Associate continuing her work with Conservation International to develop and launch the IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group.

Jeanne later moved to Indonesia as the Technical Manager for four FFI/DICE conservation and monitoring projects in Sumatra: Monitoring population trends of tigers and their prey species in Kerinci Seblat National Park (KSNP), west-central Sumatra; Conserving Sumatran tigers in and around the Batang Hari Protection Forest (BHPF), west Sumatra; Conserving Sumatran tigers in the Bungo landscape; and Managing elephants and human-elephant conflict in and around KSNP. Jeanne is currently a Darwin Initiative Project Officer for a 3 year Darwin Initiative grant entitled: Integrating religion within conservation: Islamic beliefs and Sumatran Forest Management’ based in west Sumatra, Indonesia.

 

Funding:

US Fish and Wildlife Service

Rufford Small Grant for Nature Award

The People’s Trust for Endangered Species

Save the Tiger Fund

21st Century Tiger

Seaworld and Bush Gardens

Darwin Initiative

back to top

Publications

Gascon, C., Collins, J.P., Moore, R.D., Church, D.R., McKay, J.E. and Mendelson, J.R. III (eds) (2007). Amphibian Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. 64pp.

Griffiths, R.A., Graue, V., Bride, I.G. & McKay, J.E. (2004) Conservation of the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) at Lake Xochimilco, Mexico. Br. Herpetol. Soc. Bull. 89, 4-11.

Griffiths, R.A., Bride, I.D. & McKay, J.E. (2008). Conservation Action for the Mexican axolotlAmbystoma mexicanum at Lake Xochimilco, Mexico. In: Threatened Amphibians of the World. Lynx Ediciones.

Halliday, T. R. & McKay, J.E. (in press).  Alytes muletensis. In: Hanbuch der Reptilien und Amphibien Europas. Anura. Grossenbacher, K. (Ed.), AULA-Verlag GmBH, Wiebelsheim, Germany.

McKay, J.E., Griffiths, R.A and Bride, I.G. (2008). The importance of the Mexican axolotlAmbystoma mexicanum throughout Mexican history. In: Threatened Amphibians of the World. Lynx Ediciones.

McKay, J.E. (1996) A Guide to Appropriate Technology. United States Peace Corps.

back to top