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Professor Roger Wheater appointed chairman of the Gorilla Organization

Governance | 2 Oct 2008

The former head of Uganda National Parks, Professor Roger Wheater, hasf been appointed chairman of the Gorilla Organisation. Professor Wheater brings tremendous knowledge and experience to the role. After 10 years in Africa, reaching the position of director of Uganda National Parks in 1969, he became director of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland – a post he held for 26 years. Although now ostensibly retired, Roger Wheater continues to be president of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, is on the board of Dynamic Earth and holds fellowships and honorary university positions too numerous to list.  

In addition to his irrefutable experience, Roger Wheater has been a trustee of the Gorilla Organisation since 1993. During this time he has supported the organisation through a number of turbulent times in Africa’s history, including the genocide in Rwanda and DR Congo’s civil war. He has also influenced the organisation’s award-winning community conservation programme, which celebrated 10 years of success in 2006, and played a pivotal role when the organisation re-branded from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Europe to the Gorilla Organisation, as it is known today. 

Mr Moses Mapesa, executive director of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) said, “Prof. Roger Wheater was Director of Uganda National Parks in the 1970. He is a very respected conservationist. He has been committed to conservation all along and is well known in the history of Uganda’s wildlife conservation efforts. He has been visiting Uganda since he left and only last year, 2007, he was in Uganda, and again took part of his precious time to visit us at the UWA offices.”

Roger Wheater takes over the position of chairman of the Gorilla Organisation during an exciting time for gorilla conservation: in the Republic of Congo an estimated 125,000 western lowland gorillas have been found, boosting the critically endangered population two fold; in Goma, DR Congo a conflict resolution forum is taking place to resolve the conflict that saw nine mountain gorillas lose their lives in 2007; and in Cameroon, Kagwene Mountain, one of the last remaining habitats for the Cross River gorilla has received official sanctuary status to help protect this dwindling sub-species.

Professor Wheater takes over from Martin Hancock, who held the position of chairman for 12 months. Hancock was obliged to resign as Chairman for reasons of ill-health in his family. 

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