Accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award for Dr. Laurie Marker

On March 28, I stood at the podium at the Mercure Hotel in Windhoek and accepted the Lifetime Achievement in Research Award on behalf of Dr. Laurie Marker. The award was presented by the National Commission on Research, Science and Technology (NCRST), the government body responsible for coordinating all research and science activity in Namibia, at the National Research Excellence Awards ceremony.

I accepted this award on Dr. Marker’s behalf, and I am proud to be a part of her research team since it allowed me to interact with other researchers who have worked at CCF, trained at CCF, or partnered with CCF.

It is the highest individual honor in the ceremony’s structure. And it was given not for conservation work specifically, but for outstanding high impact research that contributes to national development. The other recipients that evening included researchers from different Namibian institutions. The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), was recognized as the best institution for innovation and technology development. The Cheetah Conservation Fund has long-standing partnerships with Namibian institutions, and many of their students have trained at our Centre in Otjiwarongo in nature conservation, rangeland management, ecology, genetics, veterinary science, and agriculture management. To see CCF’s founder recognized alongside Namibia’s leading academic institutions and researchers was something I will not forget.

I know what CCF can do for a young Namibian because I was one. In 1995, I visited CCF for the first time as a student on a school trip. I met cheetahs up close and learned about their conservation through the education programs Dr. Marker had built. That visit changed the direction of my life. I came back as an intern in 1997, joined the staff in 1998, and I have been here ever since. In 2024, I earned my Ph.D. in Forestry from the University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu. My thesis investigated wildlife activity patterns and encroaching woody vegetation response to bush thinning on farmlands in north-central Namibia. My entire scientific career has grown out of what Dr. Marker started here.

For 35 years, Dr. Marker has built something in Namibia that did not exist before: a working research center with a genetics laboratory, ecological monitoring programs, veterinary research, biomass energy science, and rangeland restoration, all conducted here, with Namibian staff and students, and published in peer-reviewed journals. NCRST’s recognition says that this body of work matters to Namibia’s scientific future, not only to conservation.

The ceremony was attended by stakeholders from across government, academia, and industry. The awards returned this year after a lengthy hiatus, which made the evening feel significant for everyone in the room. The welcome remarks, introduction and significance of the awards was delivered by Prof. Dr Anicia Peters, the Chief Executive Officer of NCRST. The keynote address was delivered by Prof Dr. Bavesh Kana, Head of school, Pathology, Research fellow, infectious diseases and Oncology Research Institute (IDORI) FRSSAT, member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand and the National Health laboratory Services, Johannesburg, South Africa. The ministerial address on behalf of Hon Dr. Sanet Steenkamp was delivered by the deputy minister of education, innovation, youth, sport, arts, and culture Mr. Dino Ballotti.