Tropical Biology Association

The Tropical Biology Association is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation which runs capacity-building courses for conservation scientists in Africa. It is hosted by the University of Cambridge It was awarded the Society for Conservation Biology ‘Distinguished Achievement’ Award in 2005.

Aims

Through building the capacity of conservationists around the world and forming a network of conservation experts, the TBA aims to safeguard nature in Africa.

Background

The TBA ran its first course with 27 participants in 1993, and since then has trained over 1800 biologists from over 50 countries. It was founded by a group of biologists including its current director, Rosie Trevelyan. It carries out field courses three times annually in Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania and Uganda, as well as tailored short courses aiming to address specific skills gaps, usually identified by the African participants themselves.

The TBA was established through funding from the Darwin Initiative, and is now supported by grants and collaborations from and with various groups, including governmental and non governmental agencies and the private sector.

The organisation has a European and an African office, based in Cambridge and Nairobi respectively.

The TBA is a founding member of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative.