Born and raised in Tanzania, Amani Ngusaru is a marine scientist, holding a PhD with professional experience in management of coastal and marine resources. He worked initially at the University of Dar es Salaam between 1989-2001 teaching and conducting research in near-shore oceanography. Amani later joined WWF in 2002 to lead the WWF Regional Marine Programme for Eastern Africa. Amani also worked as a Senior Climate Change Policy Advisor for UNDP from 2012-2013. In July 2015 Amani assumed the role of WWF Country Director for Tanzania. Amani is an advocate of integrating conservation with human needs and strongly believe that local communities should benefit from conservation areas. However, on the other hand, he believes that protection of the world’s biodiversity surpasses local and national interests and needs to be addressed at a large scale.