Members in Action: Peter Alele, Regional Director for Africa to the SER Board of Directors

Dr. Peter Alele is the newly elected Regional Director for Africa to the SER Board of Directors. He is an Ecologist and sustainable development expert with work experience in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States. Peter is also the Senior Regional Director for the Africa Field Division of Conservation International and a Strategic Advisory Committee Member for the Global Evergreening Alliance (GEA). Peter served on the interim steering committee for the Society for Ecological Restoration that led to the establishment of the Africa Chapter, and currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Board for SER Africa. 

How long have you been a member of SER? What’s your best experience with SER so far?

I attended the 8th World Conference on Ecological Restoration in Cape Town in 2019, primarily to network and discuss partnerships with scientists and innovators in restoration science. At the conference, I volunteered to participate in the interim steering committee of the SER Africa Chapter. Following this engagement, I was elected to my current role as the Vice Board Chairman of the SER Africa Chapter. My best experience is that I have been able to find quite an interesting assembly of restoration scientists, practitioners, and innovators.  

Why did you join SER?

SER offers a platform for me and my organization to access the best science, latest innovations, and learn from practitioners around the globe. 

What do you hope to accomplish during your term of office?

As the Africa Representative, I hope to provide effective representation of the African ecological restoration expert and practitioner to the SER board, amplify their voice to encourage participation, and foster professional networking and information flow in the field of ecological restoration in Africa.

What is your current occupation?

I am generally involved in conservation science program development, scaling out impact, developing partnerships, and strengthening capacity on monitoring and assessments in Africa. 

Peter at Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

What do you find most rewarding about working for your organization?

In Africa, human livelihoods are closely intertwined with nature. Conserving and restoring nature improves livelihoods and my greatest reward is developing big projects that contribute to better livelihoods through nature. 

What projects are you working on right now?

I am developing and implementing projects on food security and resilience, sustainable coffee production, large scale restoration, helping corporate sectors set science-based targets for climate, and capacity building on climate monitoring, among others.

What does ecological restoration mean to you?

Ecological restoration is basically helping the recovery of degraded ecosystems. It also means getting back not only functionality, but services in a sustainable manner. Ecological restoration can therefore mean better human wellbeing for the majority of the African people.

Carrying out site assessments for a restoration project in Kenya's Chyulu Hills.

Why would you encourage others, particularly young people, to get involved in this field?

The wellbeing of the planet depends a lot on thriving ecosystems. Given the scale of the challenge for ecosystem restoration, collective effort is required to achieve meaningful outcomes. Africa has the world’s youngest population, and young people offer important energy and hope for ecosystem restoration everywhere. The majority of young people are also involved in activities that are closely impacting or impacted by consequences of ecosystem degradation.  

What’s one thing - either industry-related or not - you learned in the last month?

Massive floods have happened in Southern Africa at the start of 2022. This has highlighted the need to restore ecosystems that once helped provide protective buffers against the extremes of natural disasters like this.  

What’s something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?

In my youth, I represented my country (Uganda) in Volleyball. Team sports made me aware of the value of collective effort. 

A family member of the silverback, Christmas, at Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.