Charlie Henson is the Elephant Protection Initiative (EPI) Foundation friend of the month. Charlie is from the United Kingdom and recently joined the team as Programme Manager for Stockpile Management
Please tell us a little bit about your childhood and were you interested in conservation and environmental issues from a young age?
I grew up in the countryside in Lincolnshire, in the midlands of the UK. I come from a farming community, and my family has always been involved in agriculture in some way or another. Horses were a big part of my life growing up, and I was fortunate to spend most of my free time in the saddle. Living in a very rural area, conservation was something that was always central to everything we did. I often worked planting trees, cutting and laying hedges, and establishing grassland to help balance our ecosystem with large areas of cultivation nearby. This involvement with the environment and its impact on our wildlife at a young age established my passion for working in nature and helping to preserve and improve our habitat for the future.
What was the career path which bought you to the EPI?
I have been fortunate to work with some amazing organisations over the last 10 years and gain some useful experience in austere and challenging environments, predominantly in Africa. Just before joining the EPI, I was working with a humanitarian charity, helping to provide the emergency response to displaced people in the war in Sudan. Before that, I was working in Somalia with the United Nations and the African Union, supporting the logistics for their peacekeeping efforts across the country. I have also worked in Cyprus, Canada, and all across Europe. This is my first job in the conservation sector, and I am really excited about the opportunity to make a positive impact with the EPI.
How would you like to make a difference, for the EPI and for conservation more generally?
My job is all about taking illegal animal products, such as ivory and pangolin scales, out of economic use. We do this by working closely with the EPI member governments to improve the security and logistics management of these products after they have been seized or recovered. This is vital work that will help to remove the incentives for poaching and prevent criminal and terrorist organisations from profiting from these activities. Alongside the other EPI work streams, this will help to keep our wildlife safe for future generations, and this is the main difference I hope to contribute towards with my work.
More generally, I would love to be involved in the Human Elephant Conflict and working to reduce its impact on communities and ecosystems. As with my time in the humanitarian sector, I am driven by having a positive global impact in everything I do.
Africa is, of course, world renowned for its wildlife, including elephants. What have been some of your most outstanding experiences within the continent?
One of the most incredible experiences I have had was to visit the beautiful coastline in Kenya. The mangroves in Mida Creek in Watamu are alive with incredible wildlife and are one of the most amazing places I have ever visited. It is an example of a highly successful conservation project, and seeing how people have learnt to live in harmony with nature there is truly inspirational. Also in Kenya, I was really lucky to visit Laikipia last year, where I saw elephants, zebras, and giraffes in their natural habitat. It was stunning in so many ways and drove my motivation to work in conservation.
Finally, please describe your perfect weekend away from work.
My perfect weekend away from work is spending some quality time with my family. A long walk and an open-water swim, followed by cooking on an open fire somewhere beautiful. Rounded off by reading the Sunday papers and a good film.
