Wildlife Rehab Centers

Bridging the Access Gap in Conservation

Presenter Merlyn Nomusa Nkomo discusses the issue of access to the field of conservation. She examines how wildlife rehabilitation centers can both provide unique opportunities to enter the field as well as how we can do more to bridge the gap and bring more previously disadvantaged groups into conservation and work with wildlife.

Merlyn Nomusa Nkomo is a Zimbabwean raptor biologist and conservation leader who started her career in wildlife rehabilitation working primarily with vultures. She is a Mandela Rhodes Scholar alumni and a conservation Biology Ph.D. candidate at the Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology on Scholarship with the Shannon Elizabeth Foundation. Merlyn is also an engaging writer who addresses issues of transformation and decolonization of conservation in Africa. She highlights the importance of representation and the inclusion of communities and African youth in deciding and leading the future of conservation on the content.