Hamera AISHA

Hamera Aisha is a wildlife conservationist with nearly two decades of experience in applied ecology, protected areas management, human–wildlife co-existence, and inclusive conservation. She serves as Senior Manager of Wildlife Conservation at WWF-Pakistan, where she designs and leads projects to safeguard threatened species and habitats while addressing the socio-economic drivers of biodiversity loss. Hamera combines research, policy advocacy, and grassroots engagement to conserve species such as freshwater turtles, pangolins, snow leopards, and Indus River dolphins. Her work exemplifies a holistic approach to conservation, integrating biodiversity protection with livelihoods, gender equity, technology, and ranger empowerment across Asia.

She has led national initiatives against illegal wildlife trade, including Pakistan’s first wildlife crime market assessment and a national action plan to combat poaching and trade. Her studies on gender-specific roles in poaching revealed how women are both vulnerable within wildlife crime economies and powerful agents of change in addressing them. She has trained customs and law enforcement officials on CITES and wildlife crime, strengthening national and regional enforcement capacity. She has been deeply involved in Indus River dolphin conservation, leading research on population dynamics, threats, and mitigation strategies that integrate technology, citizen science, community engagement, and livelihood considerations.

Hamera serves as the Asia Representative of the International Ranger Federation and was elected Secretary of the Ranger Federation of Asia Board in 2023. She has worked closely with ranger communities throughout her career from field-level partnerships to regional initiatives to strengthen capacities, address critical challenges, and advance professional development. As part of this work, she is also a strong advocate for gender diversity and inclusion and led Pakistan’s first assessment on women’s representation in the nature conservation workforce. She is also a member of the IUCN Pangolin Specialist Group and the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group.