Partners

Philip Patton is a licensed High Conservation Value (HCV) Assessor (ALS15041PP) and a registered High Carbon Stock (HCS) practitioner. He has conducted HCV and HCS assessments, biodiversity assessments, environmental impact assessments and audits in Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia and throughout Africa. Philip is also an experienced ornithologist, and a registered Professional Natural Scientist (400029/14).

He has over 20 years of consulting experience in ecological assessments and environmental auditing within the mining, agriculture, and renewable energy sectors.

Phil holds a B.Sc. Hons (Environmental Science) from the University of Cape Town, and a B.Sc. (Geology and Botany) from the University of Port Elizabeth and has completed HCV and HCS related assessments in the DRC, Cote D’Ivoire, Angola, Myanmar, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Cameroon.

Llwelyn Coertzen brings eight years of applied scientific experience in forest, grassland, and savanna ecosystems in West, East, and Southern Africa. In particular he specializes in eco-hydrology and biodiversity economics, informed through ecological modeling and use of GIS. He looks to decouple human development from environmental impacts through tailored ecological solutions that focus on intensifying human activities and optimising land use.

He has considerable experience in completing studies pertaining to performance standard six (PS6) as required by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). He is a registered professional scientist in the field of ecology with the South African Council of Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP), the South African Wetland Society (SAWS), the Botanical Society of South Africa (BotSoc) and of the Registrar of Animal Improvement, at the Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries (DAFF), as a reproduction-operator. He is an accredited SASS5 practitioner of the Department of Water Affairs’ (DWA’s) River Health Programme (RHP).

Llwelyn holds a BSc (Hons) Wildlife Management, and a BSc Animal Science, both from the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Nelius Scheepers is an experienced environmental management professional with 18 years of experience in agri-business, oil and gas, mining, major civil infrastructure projects, manufacturing and heavy industry. Nelius is a registered Professional Natural Scientist (Reg No. 400138/03) and an internationally registered Environmental Auditor (IEMA Reg No. 0051570). He is a registered High Carbon Stock Assessor, and is a Chevron Qualified Environmental Facilitator (QEF). Nelius has particular experience in leading and managing major IFC standard ESIAs for a range of oil and gas, mining, power, and agribusiness projects across Africa and the Middle East.

He has worked on projects in South Africa, Botswana, Myanmar, Cameroon, Swaziland, Zambia, DRC, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Namibia, Angola, Uzbekistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. During his career, he has worked on projects for Sappi, South African Breweries, Anglo Platinum, Shell, Chevron, Khumba Resources, BHP Billiton (MMC), Anglo Coal, Sasol, African Barrick Gold, Dundee Precious Metals, Rio Tinto (Richards Bay Minerals), Vopak, Qatar Public Works Authority, Chinese National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC), Samsung and CCC.

Nelius holds an M.Sc in Water Resource Management and Environmental Management, a B.Sc. (Hons) in Wildlife Management, and a B.Sc. in Ecology, all from the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Russell Tate is an aquatic scientist, specialising in aquatic ecotoxicology. He is a registered professional scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP), and has completed aquatic ecology related assessments throughout West, Central, and Southern Africa in thirteen countries. His particular focus is determining impacts to water resources by industrial and agricultural developments through aquatic ecology assessments.

He has conducted a wide range of projects from impoundment and hydropower studies to industrial projects relating to iron, gold, copper and coal projects. In addition, he has worked on infrastructure developments such as roads and bridges and has completed High Conservation Value (HCV) projects for the oil palm industry. He has worked in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Namibia, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Cameroon and north eastern and central Democratic Republic of Congo, and is a registered Professional Natural Scientist in Aquatic Science (400089/15) with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions.

Russell holds a Master of Science, Aquatic Health, a Bachelor of Science Honours, Aquatic Health, and a Bachelor of Science, Zoology and Botany, all from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Carlo Fourie is a qualified Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Specialist and Geologist and has been active in the consulting industry for more than 12 years. He has been predominantly active in the application of satellite remote sensing and GIS to a variety of industries, ranging from deforestation and land cover studies, to Greenfield exploration projects and High Conservation Value (HCV) assessments.

Carlo also has experience working in multi-disciplinary teams on Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), Visual Impact Assessments (VIAs), Closure Cost Assessments, Ecological Assessments and project-specific specialist studies. He has working experience across Africa and the Far East.
Carlo is also registered as a Professional Natural Scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP, Reg.No. 400188/16), and is an active member of both the Geo-Information Society of South Africa (GISSA) and Geological Society of South Africa (GSSA)

Carlo holds a BSc in Agriculture (Entomology & Plant Pathology), MSc in GIS and BSc Hons (Geology) from the University of Stellenbosch.

Luke Verburgt is a herpetologist (specialist of reptiles and amphibians) with a specialist consultation and scientific research background that extends over 16 years. Luke holds an MSc. in Zoology from the University of Pretoria where he also worked for a long period of time as a researcher and lecturer. Luke’s experience covers work on projects throughout Africa and its islands including Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Uganda, Madagascar, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Guinea) where he has successfully worked with/for numerous local and international companies.

His experience and expertise encompass environmental impacts assessments, specialist ecological assessments, biodiversity assessments, linear assessments, scientific research projects as well as monitoring projects, preparation of management plans, health and safety training for dangerous fauna and project management. Other specific skills applied regularly include computer programming in multiple languages, modelling and spatial analytics using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and statistical analyses and interpretation of datasets.

Luke is a registered scientific professional with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP) and is currently project lead in developing EIA guidelines for specialists in South Africa under the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Luke has discovered and described several new herpetofauna species in Africa, sat on the expert panel for the IUCN Red List evaluation of South African reptiles and is an invited specialist for the forthcoming IUCN Red List evaluation of Mozambique herpetofauna, as well as for the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) evaluation for the country. Luke has published over 20 internationally recognized journal articles and is currently authoring a book on African herpetofauna.

Tyron Clark (Pr. Sci. Nat. 121338 – Zoology)

MSc. Zoology (cum laude), University of the Witwatersrand

Tyron Clark is a seasoned zoological scientist with more than a decade’s worth of specialist consulting experience from numerous projects in ten African countries and all provinces in his home country of South Africa. His specialist expertise centers on faunal communities but extends to wetland resources. His research interests center on biogeography (particularly ecological niche modelling) and natural history. After completing his degree in zoology Tyron pursued his postgraduate studies in herpetology.

He attained his MSc (cum laude) from the University of the Witwatersrand for his research on the susceptibility of KwaZulu-Natal dwarf chameleons to global change drivers (climate and land use). In his professional capacity Tyron has completed a multitude of specialist faunal and wetland assessments for an equally wide variety of development types and clients, from small scale local ventures to large global scale developments for multinational corporations. He is well versed in all forms of reporting for the ecological consulting industry from basic, baseline and risk / impact assessments to High Conservation Value and International Finance Corporation compliant projects.