ArcCona Team Members
Hilger Lemke (M. Sc.) studied applied bio-geography in Trier, Germany and biology in Lund, Sweden. Since early university stage his broad interest for ornithology has led to various expeditions and research activities across the globe including Alaska, Canada, Portugal and Azerbaidschan. He repeatedly participated in different research projects dealing with various bird groups covering seabirds, waders, raptors and songbirds using advanced field techniques like colour-ringing, geolocators or blood sampling. Also, during university times he started to work as freelance biologist for both his own company and different consultancy bureaus. Through this ongoing work on environmental impact studies (e.g. wind turbines, power lines), surveys of breeding, resting and migrating birds both at land and off-shore and an ongoing project on meadow bird conservation he receives first-hand experience in both practical field work and data analysis. During his degree projects at Lund University he deepened his expertise for bird migration where he analysed tracking data of a songbird and raptor species. A special interest in waders has brought him into contact with the International Wader Study Group (IWSG). Since 2012 he supports the Sanderling Project within the IWSG as co-supervisor of the juvenile percentage data collection and analysis. Also, through the IWSG a link to the the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force was established since 2014, when a first expedion was joined to the overwintering-grounds in Bangladesh and further ones to the Chinese stop-over sites at the Yellow Sea followed in 2015 and 2016. Several reports and (international) publications underscore his effort in pushing the conservation of migratory birds forward
Milan Fanck (M.Sc.) is a Geographer and GIS expert, with a strong focus on biodiversity and sustainable planning. He studied Physical Geography in Marburg, Germany and did a Master in Global Change Management at the University of Applied Science in Eberswalde.
He worked in the headquarters of B.U.N.D. (Friends of the earth Germany) in the department of biodiversity policies, analyzing ecological spatial data and compiling studies and reports to support informed decisions on a state policy level.
His main scientific interest are ecological networks and the reconnection of isolated habitats in fragmented landscapes, which was also the topic of his thesis: Ecological Networks as a Strategy to Improve Ecosystem Resilience: The Case of the European Green Belt
Since 2017 he has worked in multiple international projects, ranging from mapping and evaluating valuable habitats along main traffic routes in Bavaria, to the implications of climate change on scrub habitats in Siberia (Remote sensing) and the distribution of endangered species and habitats in Myanmar. His latest engagement with ArcCona is the provision of maps and analyses of wetlands in the Indo-Burma region for the 2021 Ramsar report.
Responding to the growing need for conservation and passion for wildlife, Sayam U. Chowdhury has been working in behavioral ecology, research and conservation of globally threatened species in Bangladesh and abroad for the past 13 years, especially on Critically Endangered birds including Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Baer’s Pochard, Endangered Masked Finfoot, Pallas’s Fish Eagle and vanishing riverine birds. An undergraduate degree in Environmental Science and MPhil degree from the University of Cambridge have complimented his career, helping him to further understand the complex conservation problems that migratory birds face and to find science-based solutions through rigorous research.
He is interested in the ecology and conservation of threatened species in Asia, and in applied issues of understanding and mitigating the impact of ecological changes on biodiversity, especially in a densely populated country like Bangladesh. The intertidal mudflats of Asia are key habitats, supporting more than 50 million migratory birds, including 33 globally threatened species. His work is primarily focused on migratory shorebirds of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, and developing tools for managing coastal habitats and identifying mitigation measures in response to climate change. He is currently pursuing PhD in Zoology at the University of Cambridge.
Author of several scientific and technical publications, member of the “Odonata Specialist Group”, an expert-team of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), of the “American Arachnological Society” (AAS) and of several national nature conservation associations (working group evaluation of environment impact studies at the “Agence béninoise pour l’environnement”, the “Association Béninoise d’Evaluation Environnementale”, etc.).
In addition he participated in studies about whales and dolphins as well as sea turtles at the Atlantic coast of Benin. He speaks French and English.