{{Short description|Conservation scientist}}

{{Infobox academic | honorific_prefix = | name = Alexandra Zimmermann | honorific_suffix = | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = <!-- {{birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | death_date = <!-- {{death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) --> | nationality = | citizenship = | occupation = | education = University of Leeds (BSc)<br />Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (MSc) | alma_mater = Oxford University (PhD) | discipline = Wildlife conservation | sub_discipline = Human-wildlife conflict resolution | workplaces = Chester Zoo<br />IUCN<br />Oxford University (WildCRU)<br />World Bank | footnotes = }}

'''Alexandra Zimmermann''' is a conservation scientist specialising in conflict resolution in wildlife conservation based in Oxford, England, United Kingdom.<ref name=":2"/><ref name="ox-zoo">{{cite web|url=https://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-alexandra-zimmermann |title=Dr Alexandra Zimmermann &#124; Department of Zoology |publisher=Zoo.ox.ac.uk |date= |access-date=2021-06-18}}</ref> She is known for founding the IUCN Human-Wildlife Conflict Task Force<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.hwctf.org/members|title=Our Members|website=HWCTF}}</ref><ref name="worldbank">{{cite web |url=https://blogs.worldbank.org/team/alexandra-zimmermann |title=Alexandra Zimmermann &#124; Senior Advisor, Global Wildlife Program |publisher=Blogs.worldbank.org |date=2020-11-17 |access-date=2021-06-18 |archive-date=2021-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200854/https://blogs.worldbank.org/team/alexandra-zimmermann |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-40899987 |title=Elephant and tiger attacks highlight India's wildlife conflict - BBC News |work=BBC News |date= 12 August 2017|access-date=2021-06-18}}</ref> and is also a researcher at the University of Oxford Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU).<ref name="ox-zoo"/> She is also a Senior Advisor for the World Bank's Global Wildlife Program.<ref name="ox-zoo"/><ref name="worldbank"/> She has published over 50 research papers.<ref name=":18">{{cite web|url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=IyQIGWsAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao |title=Alexandra Zimmermann - Google Scholar |date= |access-date=2021-06-18}}</ref>

==Biography== ===Early life and education=== Raised internationally in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America, Zimmermann earned her Bachelor's degree in Zoology from the University of Leeds in 1997. She also earned a MSc in Conservation Biology from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology in 2000. She went on to earn a DPhil (PhD) in conservation social sciences from Oxford University in 2014, supervised by David Macdonald.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zimmermann |first=Alexandra |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:a5287544-710d-461e-8f65-da2c7590188c/files/m9304fe0a6e64f3a907817eca216832a3 |title=Jaguars and people: A range-wide analysis of human-wildlife conflict |date=April 2014 |publisher=(DPhil Thesis) Oxford University}}</ref>

Zimmermann has also studied at Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School, as well as multilateral negotiation at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.<ref name="ox-zoo"/><ref name="worldbank"/>

===Career=== For 18 years, Zimmermann worked at Chester Zoo, where she directed research and field conservation projects at the zoo. Eventually, she became the Head of Conservation Science at Chester Zoo.<ref name="ox-zoo"/><ref name="worldbank"/><ref name="chester"/><ref name="jersey">{{Cite web|url=https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/uk-news/2018/06/06/spectacled-bears-and-snow-leopards-among-creatures-getting-funding-boost/|title=Spectacled bears and snow leopards among creatures getting funding boost|website=jerseyeveningpost.com|date=6 June 2018}}</ref> At Chester Zoo, Zimmermann led their human-wildlife conflict mitigation projects, for which she was awarded grants from the UK Government's Darwin Initiative five times beginning in 2007.<ref name="Zoo">{{cite web|url=https://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-alexandra-zimmermann#/ |title=Dr Alexandra Zimmermann &#124; Department of Zoology |publisher=Zoo.ox.ac.uk |date= |access-date=2021-06-18}}</ref><ref name="wild">{{cite web|url=https://www.wildcru.org/members/dr-alex-zimmermann/ |title=Dr Alexandra Zimmermann |publisher=WildCRU |date= |access-date=2021-06-18}}</ref> These included projects in Bolivia, Nepal, India, and Indonesia.<ref name="chester">{{cite web|url=https://www.chesterzoo.org/news/world-leading-conservationists-unite-to-tackle-human-wildlife-conflict/ |title=World-leading conservationists unite to tackle human-wildlife conflict |publisher=Chester Zoo |date=2016-10-05 |access-date=2021-06-18}}</ref><ref name="darwin">{{cite web|url=https://www.darwininitiative.org.uk/project/project-leader/993/ |title=Defra, UK Darwin Initiative |publisher=The Darwin Initiative |date=2018-07-01 |access-date=2021-06-18}}</ref><ref name="jersey"/>

Zimmermann chairs the IUCN SSC Human-Wildlife Conflict Task Force, which she had founded in 2016.<ref name="worldbank"/><ref name="IUCN">[https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/2016-2017_human-wildlife_conflict_tf.pdf IUCN SSC Human-Wildlife Conflict Task Force: 2016-2017 Report]</ref><ref name="uni">{{Cite web|url=https://www.unimondo.org/Notizie/Uomini-contro-animali-e-nessun-vincitore-184044|title=Uomini contro animali, e nessun vincitore / Notizie / Home - Unimondo|website=www.unimondo.org}}</ref> As part of the task force, she oversees the development of the IUCN SSC Guidelines on Human-Wildlife Conflict and the International Conference on Human-Wildlife Conflict & Coexistence.<ref name="IUCN"/> Zimmermann also became a member of the IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy, along with several Species Survival Commission Specialist Groups.<ref name="ox-zoo"/><ref name="worldbank"/>

Later, Zimmermann became a Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University's WildCRU.<ref name="ox-zoo"/><ref name="china">{{cite web|url=http://epaper.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202103/30/WS60625631a31099a234355017.html |title=Cash-Strapped Zoos Rethink Financial Strategies - Chinadaily.Com.Cn |language=en |publisher=Epaper.chinadaily.com.cn |date= |access-date=2021-06-18}}</ref><ref name="tdg">{{Cite web|url=https://www.tdg.ch/ultime-bastion-pour-la-faune-les-zoos-souffrent-de-la-pandemie-446269820388|title=Protection de la nature – Ultime bastion pour la faune, les zoos souffrent de la pandémie|website=Tribune de Genève|date=23 October 2020 }}</ref> While holding positions at both organizations, Zimmermann helped facilitate the partnership between Oxford University and Chester Zoo in 2018 for a portfolio of conservation projects, including one on Andean bears, which was funded through the Darwin Initiative and is still ongoing.<ref name="darwin"/><ref name="wildcru">{{cite web|url=https://www.wildcru.org/news/oxford-collaboration-wins-green-oscar/ |title=Oxford University collaboration wins 'green Oscar' for conservation |publisher=WildCRU |date=2017-05-18 |access-date=2021-06-18}}</ref>

Zimmermann is a Senior Advisor for the World Bank's Global Wildlife Program.<ref name="ox-zoo"/><ref name="worldbank"/> She is also Specialty Chief Editor of ''Frontiers in Conservation Science'', an academic journal.<ref name="frontier">{{cite web|url=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/conservation-science/sections/human-wildlife-dynamics#about |title=Frontiers in Conservation Science &#124; Human-Wildlife Dynamics |publisher=Frontiersin.org |date= |access-date=2021-06-18}}</ref> She has been interviewed several times by ''BBC News'' as a specialist on conservation and human-wildlife conflicts.<ref name="BBC"/><ref name="bbc2">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-50788571 |title=Extinction: A million species at risk, so what is saved? - BBC News |work=BBC News |date= 28 December 2019|access-date=2021-06-18}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{cite web|last=Gill |first=Victoria |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/buqvasp1rr/orcas-spain-portugal |title=Have rogue orcas really been attacking boats in the Atlantic? |publisher=bbc.co.uk |date=1970-01-01 |access-date=2021-06-18}}</ref><ref name=":13">{{cite news |author=Briggs |first=Helen |date=October 2020 |title=Covid-19: Funding crisis threatens zoos' vital conservation work - BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53938561 |access-date=2021-06-18 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

In 2018, Zimmermann was also interviewed for an Al-Jazeera ''Earthrise'' documentary about human-wildlife conflict in Australia and Bangladesh.<ref name="alj">{{Cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/program/episode/2018/5/16/human-wildlife-conflict-learning-to-live-together/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2021-06-18 |archive-date=2020-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109004239/https://www.aljazeera.com/program/episode/2018/5/16/human-wildlife-conflict-learning-to-live-together/ }}</ref>

== Selected publications == Zimmermann has written over 50 scholarly articles on conservation science.<ref name=":18"/>

* {{cite journal|last1=Chartier|first1=Laura|last2=Zimmermann|first2=Alexandra|last3=Ladle|first3=Richard J.|title=Habitat loss and human–elephant conflict in Assam, India: does a critical threshold exist?|journal=Oryx|volume=45|issue=4|year=2011|pages=528–533|issn=0030-6053|doi=10.1017/S0030605311000044|s2cid=86804369|doi-access=free}} * {{cite book|last1=Marchini|first1=Silvio|last2=Ferraz|first2=Katia M. P. M. B.|last3=Zimmermann|first3=Alexandra|last4=Guimarães-Luiz|first4=Thaís|last5=Morato|first5=Ronaldo|last6=Correa|first6=Pedro L. P.|last7=Macdonald|first7=David W.|title=Human–Wildlife Interactions|chapter=Planning for Coexistence in a Complex Human-Dominated World|year=2019|pages=414–438|doi=10.1017/9781108235730.022|isbn=978-1-108-23573-0|s2cid=189652483}} * {{cite journal|last1=Davies|first1=Tammy E.|last2=Wilson|first2=Scott|last3=Hazarika|first3=Nandita|last4=Chakrabarty|first4=Joydeep|last5=Das|first5=Dhruba|last6=Hodgson|first6=Dave J.|last7=Zimmermann|first7=Alexandra|title=Effectiveness of intervention methods against crop-raiding elephants|journal=Conservation Letters|volume=4|issue=5|year=2011|pages=346–354|issn=1755-263X|doi=10.1111/j.1755-263X.2011.00182.x|doi-access=free|bibcode=2011ConL....4..346D }} * {{cite journal|last1=Inskip|first1=Chloe|last2=Zimmermann|first2=Alexandra|title=Human-felid conflict: a review of patterns and priorities worldwide|journal=Oryx|volume=43|issue=1|year=2009|page=18|issn=0030-6053|doi=10.1017/S003060530899030X|s2cid=73686302|doi-access=free}} * Marchini, S., Ferraz, KPMB., Zimmermann, A., Guimarães-Luiz, T., Morato, R., Correa, PLP. & Macdonald. D.W. (2019). Planning for coexistence in a complex human-dominated world. In: Frank, B., Glikman, JA & Marchini, S. ''Human-Wildlife Interactions: Turning Conflicts Into Coexistence?'' Cambridge University Press. pp.&nbsp;414–438. * {{cite journal|last1=Pooley|first1=S.|last2=Barua|first2=M.|last3=Beinart|first3=W.|last4=Dickman|first4=A.|last5=Holmes|first5=G.|last6=Lorimer|first6=J.|last7=Loveridge|first7=A.J.|last8=Macdonald|first8=D.W.|last9=Marvin|first9=G.|last10=Redpath|first10=S.|last11=Sillero-Zubiri|first11=C.|last12=Zimmermann|first12=A.|last13=Milner-Gulland|first13=E.J.|title=An interdisciplinary review of current and future approaches to improving human-predator relations|journal=Conservation Biology|volume=31|issue=3|year=2017|pages=513–523|issn=0888-8892|doi=10.1111/cobi.12859|pmid=27783450|s2cid=3809395|doi-access=free|bibcode=2017ConBi..31..513P |hdl=2164/8763|hdl-access=free}} * {{cite journal|last1=Clegg|first1=Simon Russell|last2=Tollington|first2=Simon|last3=Kareemun|first3=Zainal|last4=Augustin|first4=Arlaine|last5=Lallchand|first5=Kunal|last6=Tatayah|first6=Vikash|last7=Zimmermann|first7=Alexandra|title=Quantifying the damage caused by fruit bats to backyard lychee trees in Mauritius and evaluating the benefits of protective netting|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=14|issue=8|year=2019|article-number=e0220955|issn=1932-6203|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0220955|pmid=31415626|pmc=6695134|bibcode=2019PLoSO..1420955T|doi-access=free}} * {{cite journal|last1=Zimmermann|first1=Alexandra|last2=McQuinn|first2=Brian|last3=Macdonald|first3=David W.|title=Levels of conflict over wildlife: Understanding and addressing the right problem|journal=Conservation Science and Practice|volume=2|issue=10|year=2020|issn=2578-4854|doi=10.1111/csp2.259|s2cid=221375856|doi-access=free|bibcode=2020ConSP...2E.259Z }} * {{cite journal|last1=Zimmermann|first1=A.|last2=Walpole|first2=M.J.|last3=Leader-Williams|first3=N.|title=Cattle ranchers' attitudes to conflicts with jaguar Panthera onca in the Pantanal of Brazil |journal=Oryx|volume=39|issue=4|year=2005|page=406|issn=0030-6053|doi=10.1017/S0030605305000992|s2cid=85822613|doi-access=free}} * Zimmermann, A., Hatchwell, M., Dickie, L. & West, C. (2007) ''Zoos in the 21st Century: Catalysts for Conservation?'' Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK. * Zimmermann, A. (2020) "[https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/why-we-need-invest-conflict-resolution-better-biodiversity-outcomes Why we need to invest in conflict resolution for better biodiversity outcomes]". World Bank Blogs. 17 November 2020. * Zimmermann, A, Macdonald, E, & Kingston, T (2020) [https://theconversation.com/why-mauritius-is-culling-an-endangered-fruit-bat-that-exists-nowhere-else-150567 Why Mauritius is culling an endangered fruit bat that exists nowhere else]. ''The Conversation''. 26 November 2020.

==References== {{Reflist}}

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Category:Living people Category:British conservationists Category:Alumni of the University of Leeds Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford Category:British scientists Category:Alumni of the University of Kent Category:Year of birth missing (living people)