Michael Kimaro
Co-Founder & Managing Director
Michael is the Co-founder and Managing director of the Tanzania Research and Conservation Organization (TRCO). Also, Michael is a PhD candidate at the University of Groningen, Netherlands, and his study focuses on the “management of human-wildlife conflict along hard boundaries of African protected areas through fencing”, and the case study is in the western Serengeti.
He completed MSc in Ecology and Evolution, with a specialization in Ecology and Conservation at the University of Groningen. While doing his master’s, he assessed the interaction of wildlife, natural vegetation, and livestock in the eastern Serengeti ecosystem. He also assessed the ecological impacts of electric fencing on wildlife habitat utilization in the western Serengeti in collaboration with the Grumeti Fund and Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI). Before his MSc, he completed a Postgraduate Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice at the University of Oxford, and a BSc in Wildlife Science and Conservation at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Michael was involved in the assessment of large carnivores’ ecology and developing mitigation strategies for human-carnivore conflict, up to 2018 in the Ruaha-Rungwa ecosystem through Ruaha Carnivore Project.
Michael assessed the impacts of pastoralist resettlement on lion conservation in Tanzania’s Ruaha landscape, in collaboration with Courtney Hughes from the University of Alberta, Canada. In addition, Michael has collaborated with Tanzanian park ecologists to determine the density of lions in the Ruaha National Park. Further, Michael collaborated with Tanzania National Parks on the assessment of wildlife distribution in the new three established national parks in western Tanzania, the Burigi-Chato, Ibanda-Kyerwa, and Rumanyika-Karagwe. Currently, Michael plays an important role to facilitate the research and conservation of pangolins in Tanzania.
Nyemo Chilagane
Co-founder and General Secretary
Nyemo is Co-founder and general secretary of the Tanzania Research and Conservation Organization (TRCO). Nyemo is a graduate who completed his MSc in Management of Natural Resources for Sustainable Agriculture at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). His masters project focused on impacts of land use and land cover changes on ecosystem services of the little Ruaha river catchment. His BSc focused on Eco-tourism and Nature Conservation from the Sebastian Kolowa Memorial University (SEKOMU), and his BSc project assessed the impacts of agricultural practices on wetland ecosystems in the Kilombero Valley Ramsar Site. Nyemo has ample experience in GIS and remote sensing, wildlife conservation, hydrological and agroecological modelling.
Nyemo is currently working with the Development Corridor Partnership Project that focus to assess how investment in development corridors can be design to bring inclusive and resilience economic growth in Tanzania. He has been involved in various research and conservation projects, such as landscape planning for sustainable development in the SAGCOT; biodiversity assessment of Kilombero valley; Ecological study of flora and fauna in the Rufiji delta in Tanzania, Resource Use Conflict Mapping in Mvomero and Kilosa districts, in Tanzania; and the assessment of the impacts of tree plantation to biodiversity, water rosources, soil health in the Ukaguru Eastern Arc Mountain.
Nyemo is a Co-founder of the Tanzania Research and Conservation Organization, and involved in the exploration of local communities perspectives towards pangolins in the Tanzania, Ruaha landscape conducted in 2021. Nyemo published several articles that focused on ecohydrology, land-use, and climate change.
Fenrick Msigwa
Co-founder and General Treasurer
Fenrick is Co-founder of the Tanzania Research and Conservation Organization (TRCO). Fenrick is currently doing MSc in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics from the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) of Tanzania. His MSc project focus on the local communities perspectives in wildlife utilization in the Tanzania’s Ruaha-Rungwa ecosystem. His expertise is generally based on the political ecology, hunting tourism, and natural resource governance.
Fenrick has completed a Bachelor of Tourism Management at SUA. After completion of his bachelor degree, he started as volunteer in 2015 for tourism and conservation related activities in the Serengeti National Park, and in 2016 he joined the Ruaha Carnivore Project as research assistant, and focused on the assessment of large carnivore ecology, evaluate and develop human-carnivore conflict mitigation strategies.
He has been involved in other research projects such as the assessment of the impacts of climate change to wildlife and tourism sector in the Ruaha-Rungwa ecosystem; assessment of the impacts of livestock incursions in the western Ruaha National Park; and exploration of ethnozoological knowledge and attitude towards pangolins in the Tanzania’s Ruaha landscape.
Elisante Kimambo
Co-founder
Elisante is a Co-founder of the Tanzania Research and Conservation Organization (TRCO). He is an MSc candidate in track of Wildlife Management at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Tanzania. He completed BSc in Wildlife Management at SUA, and joined Ruaha Carnivore Project as a research assistant, that focus on researching large carnivores ecology and mitigate human-carnivore conflicts. Currently, he is conducting study that focus on the assessment of ecosystem services of scared forests and their contribution to the sustainable development goals in the Eastern Arc Mountains. He has been involved in the exploration of the ethnozoological knowledge and attitudes of pangolins in the Tanzania’s Ruaha landscape
Hillary Mrosso
Co-founder
Hillary is a Co-founder of the Tanzania Research and Conservation Organization (TRCO). He completed MSc in Wildlife Management and Conservation, at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). While doing his MSc, he focused on the assessment of trade flows of wildlife products in the Tanzania’s Ruaha landscape Tanzania. His project was funded by Trade, Development and the Environment (TRADE) Hub project. He has BSc in Wildlife Management from SUA, and his BSc project assessed the participation of local communities in the land use planning in Kilosa district Tanzania.
Hillary joined Ruaha Carnivore Project as a research assistant in 2016 and involved in various project aspects such as follow ups on large carnivore and livestock mortalities, provide conservation education to local communities, and distributed benefits to local communities as an outreach programme.
In 2019, Hillary in collaboration with the Ecology and Protection Department from the Ruaha National Park, assessed population of lions and spotted hyenas during dry season in the park. He collaborated with other members from TRCO to conduct a study that focused on assessment of local community perceptions towards pangolins, distribution, and trade flows of pangolins in the Tanzania’s Ruaha landscape.
Besides, Hillary is the owner and writer of more than 300 letters related to wildlife conservation and tourism to his blog www.wildlifetanzania.home.blog with the goals of increasing awareness to the public toward the wildlife and natural resource conservation.
Simon Chidodo
Co-founder
Chidodo is a Co-founder of the Tanzania Research and Conservation Organization (TRCO). Simon completed his MSc in Ecosystem Science and Management at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in 2019. His masters project focused on the assessment of rodents abundance in relations to habitat structure and type in the northern Uluguru Mountain, Tanzania. He completed his BSc in Eco-tourism and Nature Conservation at the Sebastian Kolowa Memorial University (SEKOMU), Tanzania. His BSc project assessed effects of land use and land cover on the macroclimate in Magamba village, Lushoto district, Tanzania. Simon has expertise on GIS and remote sensing, ecological surveys, ecohydrology, and socio-economic assessment surveys. As a research assistant, Simon worked with African Centre of Excellence for Innovative Rodent Pest Management and Biosensor Technology Development, Development Corridor Partnership. Simon participated in the assessment of local communities perceptions and attitudes towards pangolins in the Tanzania, Ruaha landscape. Simon is currently working with various researchers from the Tanzania National Parks, SUA, Finnish Embassy, the New Forest Company as expert or analyst in Remote sensing and GIS. Simon has multiple publications that focused on remote sensing, land use and land cover change, small mammals with particular focus on rodents, and climate change.
George Bulenga
Co-founder
Bulenga is a Co-founder of the Tanzania Research and Conservation Organization (TRCO). He graduated at the Sokoine University of Agriculture for both BSc and MSc degrees. He completed his MSc in Ecosystem Science and Management, and his master project focused on the assessment of the relationships between vegetation diversity and edaphic factors in the miombo woodland ecosystems in Tanzania. His BSc degree focused on wildlife management, and his project focused on the assessment of threats to biodiversity and their impacts to local communities livelihoods along the Mara River Basin. Bulenga has been involved in different projects that involve socio-economics, ecological surveys, natural resource assessment and management. He has been involved in the assessment of the ethnozoological knowledge and attitude of local communities towards pangolins in the Tanzania’s Ruaha landscape. Currently, Bulenga work as a research assistant for the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Project in Tanzania. Bulenga has multiple published articles.
Charles Peter Mgeni (PhD)
Co-founder
Charles is a Co-founder of the Tanzania Research and Conservation Organization (TRCO). He is a senior lecturer from the College of Economics and Business Studies at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Tanzania. He acquired a postdoctoral position for the management of the Trade Development and Environment (TRADE Hub) Project in Tanzania, which focuses on the assessment of the trade flow of wildlife products and wildlife trade policies. Charles completed his PhD in agricultural economics at the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany, and his main professional expertise in international trade policy analysis, program impact assessment, agricultural commodity value chain development, business plan development, and project management. He completed MSc and BSc in Agricultural economics (MSc) in 2009 and 2007 respectively at the Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania. Charles has been involved in the assessment of ethnozoological knowledge and attitude towards pangolins, in the Ruaha landscape, and the Pangolin Product Trade flow in Tanzania. Charles performed several consultant projects since 2010 and published multiple scientific articles.
Rose Peter Kicheleri (Phd)
Co-founder
Rose is a Co-founder of the Tanzania Research and Conservation Organization (TRCO). Rose is a lecturer, researcher and consultant works for the Sokoine University of Agriculture, College of Forestry, Wildlife and Tourism; Department of Wildlife Management. She has PhD in natural resources governance, major in community based wildlife management. She has a bachelor and master degrees in Wildlife Management. Academically, she teaches and supervises research works for both undergraduate and postgraduate students in the field of governance, policy analysis, community based natural resources management and, conservation and development. She has more than ten years of experience of working in the wildlife sector. She has and still is participating in a number of national and international projects including the advancing conservation in a social context working in a world of trade-offs (ACSC) [http://www.poverty and conservation.info], African Bioservice [https://africanbioservices.eu/] and the Livestock in the Forests (LIVEFOR) [https://www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz//livefor-project]. Rose was a team leader in the project that assessed local community perspectives towards pangolins in the Tanzania’s Ruaha landscape. Rose has published a number of articles in community-based wildlife management, governance and human-wildlife conflicts.
Joseph Rajabu Kangile
Co-founder
Kangile is a Co-founder of the Tanzania Research and Conservation Organization (TRCO). Kangile is a PhD candidate at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). He is Research Associate at AGREC Consult Limited; and Research Officer at the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI). He completed his MSc in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Pretoria, South Africa and SUA, Tanzania. He has more than 10 years of experience in research and training in Agriculture food systems. He has professional expertise in environmental and livelihood impacts assessments, production economics, value chain development, policy analysis, trade, marketing and economics of crops and livestock commodities. His prior formal employment includes working with Unilever, FINCA, and TARI in Dakawa as the head of Socio-Economics and Marketing Research. Kangile has been involved in the exploration of knowledge and attitudes of local communities towards pangolins in the Tanzania’s Ruaha landscape.
Loveness Uroki
Finance Officer
Loveness Uroki employed as Finance Officer at TRCO since September 2023. She completed Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance from the Institute of Accountancy in Arusha (IAA). Upon the completion of her studies at IAA, Loveness began her professional career at the Higher Education Student Loans Board, where she served as a contract loan officer. In this role, she played a vital role in the management of financial records, meticulously prepared reports, and contributed to the development of budgets and financial statements. Concurrently, she also gained invaluable experience in financial management and taxation while working with NTN Consultant Limited.
At TRCO, Loveness oversees the management of the organization’s financial reports, monthly budget reports, and various other financial and administrative responsibilities. She conducts periodic assessments of procurement activities to ensure strict adherence to procurement plans, donor stipulations, TRCO’s internal policies and manuals, thereby contributing to the organization’s financial health and compliance.
Leon Hermenegild
Research Assistant
Leon Hermenegild is a dedicated and talented researcher, currently employed as a Research Assistant at TRCO since September 2023. Before he received this position, he was an Intern at TRCO. Leon completed bachelor’s degree in wildlife management, which he earned “distinction” from the College of African Wildlife Management in 2022. Additionally, Leon possesses a diploma in animal health and production, obtained from the Livestock Training Institute Morogoro Campus in 2018.
He conducted a research on the use of training dogs in combating wildlife crimes with case studies in Kilimanjaro International Airport, Manyara Wildlife Ranch, Mkomazi National Park, and Serengeti National Park. As best candidate, he moved further with his career by continue practicing what he learned as volunteer in Honeyguide Foundation and the Tanzania Elephant Foundation. Leon skills enabled him to be the first research assistant hired by the TRCO.