Spike Millington © EAAFP

Spike Millington took up the post of Chief Executive Officer of EAAFP Secretariat as of 16th May 2012. Spike has a lifelong interest in birds and their conservation, dating back to his childhood in England. He spent the last year in Washington helping USAID develop its global biodiversity strategy. For the previous ten years he lived in Asia, first in the Philippines and then in China. From 2001-2003, he worked at the Asian Development Bank to develop the China-GEF Partnership to Combat Land Degradation in Dryland Areas, GEF’s first long-term programme in land degradation. From 2006-2010 he was UNDP Chief Technical Advisor for the EU-China Biodiversity Programme, based in the Ministry of Environmental Protection in Beijing, where he was responsible for policy and institutional strengthening, as well as technical support to field projects and awareness raising activities. From 1985-1998 he lived in Africa working on natural resources and biodiversity conservation programmes, including protecting endangered Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda, coordinating the environmental policy and institutional component of Madagascar’s pioneer Environmental Action Plan and advising the Ethiopian government on its National Conservation Strategy. He is currently a member of the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management and has worked with many national and international conservation NGOs, as well as national governments. As he is experienced in leading and working with multidisciplinary teams in complex environmental programs involving donor and partner coordination, the Partnership is looking forward to working with Spike in his new role at the Secretariat.