Michael Masozera

Michael was born and educated in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He obtained a Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences in 1994. Since 1996, Michael has worked in conservation with the Nyungwe Forest Conservation Project, in Rwanda. The project's aim is to assist the Rwanda Government in the long-term conservation and management of the Nyungwe Forest Reserve. The project is supported by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Michael has been involved in several aspects of the project. As director of education, he developed a program on public awareness. The program focused on instructing local authorities, such as village leaders, district authorities, and authorities at the parish level, about the importance of Nyungwe Forest and the need for its conservation. He supervised the development of tourism in Nyungwe Forest as source of income for the country. Finally, he served as director of the project until August 2000 when he enrolled at the University of Florida.

In addition he has conducted several long-term studies in Nyungwe forest, these include: the climbing vine "Sericostachys scandens", seedling/forest regeneration, regeneration after forest fire, the diet of chimpanzees, and monitoring of large mammals and birds.

While he was working in Nyungwe, Michael realized that the relationship between human populations and natural resources in his country poses complex problems. In particular because a high population growth rate underlies a continued degradation of protected areas. For that reason, his Master's research relates to the socioeconomic impact analysis of the conservation of the Nyungwe Forest Reserve in Rwanda.