Peter Thomas has more than 40 years of experience in conservation and natural resource management in the Pacific islands and New Zealand. From 1985 to 1991, he worked with the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), providing technical assistance to 22 island nations on biodiversity conservation and management issues, environmental policy, and the development of regional and national conservation strategies. Prior to joining SPREP Peter worked in several NZ Government agencies involved with biodiversity conservation, invasive species management and protected area and rangeland management and planning.
In 1991 Peter joined The Nature Conservancy, an international conservation NGO and developed its inaugural Pacific islands regional programme. As a senior manager and leader within the Nature Conservancy, Peter brought his extensive conservation and organisation management skills to bear on the challenges of successfully establishing and sustaining the Conservancy’s multi-country Pacific Islands programmes in Micronesia and Melanesia as well as providing for the Conservancy’s contribution to broader regional conservation initiatives and partnerships. These programmes focused on developing and implementing innovative responses to biodiversity conservation issues including high leverage multi-site programmes, strengthening partner capacity, developing community based approaches to conservation, addressing policy issues at national and regional levels, establishing sustainable financing mechanisms, fundraising, mentoring and strengthening conservation leadership at multiple levels. As Director of this programme Peter was responsible for over 60 staff located in 7 countries and a budget of over USD 6 million.
Since joining TierraMar in 2009 and becoming a Senior Associate, Peter has been able to apply his unique range of expertise and experience to assist a diverse range of clients. This work has included strategic planning, capacity assessment and strengthening, organisational development and restructuring, policy assessment and development, regional conservation strategy frameworks, leadership development and mentoring, sustainable financing and fundraising and project and programme monitoring and evaluation.
Peter Thomas has Bachelor of Commerce and Administration and Master of Science (Resource Management) degrees.
See Peter’s Linked In profile here.
