Challenges in International Conservation with Daan Vreugdenhill

Daan Vreugdenhil has been involved in service clubs for nearly 45 years, starting with the Round Table in the Netherlands around 1980 before joining Shepherdstown Rotary 25 years ago. An avid outdoorsman, he enjoys skiing, hiking, speedskating, kayaking, scuba diving, cycling, photography, and classic cars.

A leading conservation ecologist, Daan holds a doctorate from Wageningen University, one of the world’s top green universities. Since 1969, he has worked globally in conservation, speaking seven languages and traveling to 90 countries. He has led National Geographic-style expeditions in uncharted jungles of South America and Africa, including the first to Ecuador’s Yasuni area.

His half-century career includes work with the UN’s FAO, Rijkswaterstaat, IDB, GIZ, USAID, and other international institutions. In 1989, he founded the World Institute for Conservation and Environment (WICE). He played a key role in selecting Ecuador’s first protected areas, including Yasuni National Park and Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, and pioneered ecotourism in Ecuador with the Cuyabeno Lodge.

Daan believes national parks must generate economic interest to ensure political support and prevent destruction. Now, he is developing “national parks tours” to promote conservation through responsible tourism. Meanwhile, international climate and conservation conferences continue to struggle with financing solutions, as ambitious environmentalists clash with slow-moving political systems.