Iris has a master degree in Biology, with a specialization in biodiversity and conservation and has 17 years of professional experience in West and Central Africa. She managed for 10 years conservation carnivore projects for a Dutch NGO in countries Senegal, Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Kenya. These projects consisted of conservation and research on large carnivores and other wildlife, community development, capacity building, HWC mitigation and environmental education. The last 6 years, she worked for a bilateral cooperation agency (German) as the Biodiversity expert in their Forest and Environment Program. In this capacity, she was responsible for the development of green value chain, NTPS, development of management plans, biodiversity monitoring, eco-tourism, gender analysis and capacity building of state actors and civil society.  During her career she has worked with multi-stakeholder /donor projects from private to institutional donors both on the financial as on the reporting side. According to Iris patience, flexibility and stress-resistance are key characteristics for working in Africa. Finding efficient, effective and innovative sustainable solutions to reduce the burden on nature and natural resources while improving the living conditions of local people is the key to the management of protected areas. She joined the Greater Zakouma Ecosystem team in August 2023.