Our Mission
To protect primary forests, restore degraded forests and safeguard biocultural diversity around the world.Our Focus
Primary forest protection, protected areas and ecological restoration.“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead
Our Staff
Cyril is Founder and Executive Director of Wild Heritage, a project of Earth Island Institute. He also serves as IUCN-WCPA Vice-Chair for World Heritage, is a member of IUCN’s World Heritage Panel and chairs the IUCN-WCPA World Heritage Network.
Cyril is also a co-founder and coordinator of the Primary Forest Alliance. He also serves as a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Primary Forest Task Team and of the Griffith University Primary Forests and Climate Change Research Projects and is a trustee of Wild Europe. He was a Lui-Walton Innovator’s Fellow at Conservation International from 2016-2018 and became a National Geographic Explorer in 2018.
Cyril has edited several books, including A Handbook on International Wilderness Law and Policy (Fulcrum Publishing) and three books in the CEMEX Nature Series: Earth’s Legacy: Natural World Heritage, A Geography of Hope: Saving Primary Forests and Nature’s Solutions to Climate Change. He has also published extensively in scientific and policy journals.
Prior to Wild Heritage, Cyril was Vice President for Policy at the WILD Foundation, and before WILD, was Senior Director for Program Management in the President’s Office at Conservation International.
Cyril holds a B.A. in English from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.Sc. in Politics of the World Economy from the London School of Economics and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School. Cyril was a Visiting Scholar at the University of California at Berkeley in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management in 2015-2016.
DR. DOMINICK A. DELLASALA, Chief Scientist
Dr. Dominick A. DellaSala is Chief Scientist at Wild Heritage, and former President of the Society for Conservation Biology, North America Section.
He is an internationally renowned author of over 300 peer-reviewed papers and nine award-winning books on forests, climate change, endangered species, and speaking truth to power. Dominick has given plenary and keynote talks at academic conferences, the United Nations (UN) Earth Summit, and numerous international climate change and biodiversity summits. He has appeared in National Geographic, Science Digest, Science Magazine, Scientific American, Time Magazine, Audubon Magazine, National Wildlife Magazine, High Country News, Terrain Magazine, NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Jim Lehrer News Hour, CNN, MSNBC, “Living on Earth (NPR),” several PBS documentaries and even Fox News!
Dominick has served on several committees, including White House Council task forces on forests and the Oregon’s Global Warming Commission carbon task force reporting to the governor. He is editor of numerous scientific journals. Dominick is motivated by his work to leave a living planet for his 2 daughters, 4 grandkids and all those that follow.
Contact Dominick – email: dominick@wild-heritage.org or call: (541) 621-7223
DR. KAIA AFRICANIS, Conservation Science Coordinator
Dr. Kaia Africanis serves as the Conservation Science Coordinator at Wild Heritage, where she plays a key role in coordinating various NGO partners to develop conservation strategies, plan campaigns, and oversee their implementation. Her primary focus is conducting Ecoregional Conservation Assessments (ECAs) for regional partners dedicated to safeguarding the Western U.S. from the logging of large trees and mature forests.
Kaia has achieved success in leading international research studies on endangered species in Africa, as well as spearheading large-scale interdisciplinary ecological and wildfire projects in the Western U.S. She has also conducted extensive research on the impacts of climate change on Alaska’s arctic tundra ecosystems. In addition, her research has delved into social science concepts as they relate to natural resources, including norms, value orientations, attitudes, risk, and trust. Kaia earned her Ph.D. from Oregon State University’s College of Forestry.
Contact Kaia – email: kaia@wild-heritage.org or
call: (307) 359-8663
“Conservationists leave no mark save the scars upon the Earth that could have been prevented had they stood their ground.” David Brower
Our Partners
