Anthony GIORDANO

Only June 17th of 2025, Dr. Anthony J. Giordano, Executive Director of S.P.E.C.I.E.S. and affiliate faculty at the CSU’s Center for Human-Carnivore Coexistence and Center for Collaborative Conservation, was awarded the Career Distinguished Global Service Award in Conservation by the Society for Conservation Biology.  One of the most distinguished honors in conservation, Anthony was told he was being given the award…..

“…For extraordinary contributions to the conservation of mammalian carnivores through bold thought leadership in system design, investments in innovation and multi-methodological science, entrepreneurial approaches to problem-solving, commitment to mentorship and capacity-building, and the strategic global development and implementation of novel and effective evidence-based programs, research, and partnerships promoting human-carnivore coexistence, and reducing threats to local populations.”

In some circles, Anthony is best known for his ecological and social science research and conservation work on jaguars in Latin America, particularly the Gran Chaco biome. A population and community ecologist by training, Anthony’s emphasis of innovation and evidence in conservation practice and research, and the development of tangible benefits for rural communities and stakeholders, led to his pioneering use of payments-for-presence and predator-friendly frameworks long before they were discussed in the academic literature, and for which he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship. Today, the Chaco Jaguar Conservation Project he founded is one of the longest running jaguar conservation projects to date, influencing the management of livestock across 12,000 km2 and responsible for safeguarding as many as 15% of Paraguay’s jaguars. 
 

In other circles, Anthony is better known for his broad international work through S.P.E.C.I.E.S., Project Neofelis, and other organizations and programs across the Global South.  Anthony has developed, led, or co-led almost 40 pioneering research and conservation projects in partnership with more than 50 government, NGO, and university partners, and collaborated on dozens of others.  Over his more than 30 year career, he has worked on more than 70 species of carnivores in 50 countries, including pioneering research on species that had never before been studied.  From clouded leopards to fishing cats, dholes to sun bears, Andean bears to maned wolves, and striped hyenas to almost half the world’s otter species, Anthony was among the first to study their ecology and/or design conservation programs for them in geographical regions of high global importance.  

Over his career, Anthony has raised more than USD$12,000,000 for carnivore conservation, published more than 150 peer-reviewed articles, advised more than 40 graduate students, and mentored hundreds of other conservation students and young professionals on everything from population dynamics and camera-trapping methods, to practical measures for mitigating human-wildlife conflict, to designing and building novel, lasting, and impactful systems in conservation that currently don't exist. His non-traditional career path has led to diverse expertise and experience, affording him a unique understanding and perspective at the nexus of conservation practice, behavioral psychology, ecological economics, social marketing, wildlife ecology and management, conflict mitigation, experiential learning, technology and innovation, and business administration. In addition to evidence-based science that can lead to the scaling of cross-sectoral conservation solutions, he believes the answers to big conservation challenges lie in the rapid creation of new socially-conscious businesses through what he calls "serial conservation entrepreneurship”.