Dr. Goetz Schuerholz
Born and raised in Germany Goetz Schuerholz finished his under-graduate studies and a Diploma degree in Forestry at the University of Freiburg. Specializing in wildlife ecology he continued his graduate studies at UBC where he received a Master degree in 1971. He then returned to the University of Freiburg where he received his doctorate degree in wildlife ecology.
From 1973 until 1976 he worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as a wildlife ecologist, stationed at headquarters in Rome with responsibility for wildlife conservation projects in Anglophone Africa, and Asia. After his transfer to Santiago, Chile, he assumed responsibilities for FAO’s wildlife- and conservation related activities in Latin-and Central America.
In 1976 he returned to Canada where he founded the environmental consulting firm Transamerica Environmental Science Consultants Ltd. read more. Part of his professional work in the late 70s and early 80s concentrated on comprehensive ungulate research projects (bighorn sheep and elk) and cougar inter alia in the Elk Valley of the East Kootenays, Canada.
Maintaining his international contacts, Goetz Schuerholz continued to work internationally after resigning from the United Nations in 1976 until today. His clients have included bilateral aid agencies of Canada, Germany, UK, USA, France, and Switzerland; international aid organizations such as the Organization of American States, UNESCO, UNEP, UNDP, and The World Bank; international NGOs such as WWF, IUCN, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy; and the Private Sector. Shifting his emphasis from species-specific research and species conservation to a more holistic approach, Goetz Schuerholz increasingly focused his work since 1978 on biodiversity conservation, the establishment and sustainable management of protected areas, and community-based natural resource management in support zones of protected areas world-wide read more..
His international work has taken him around the globe where he has been instrumental in effectively placing a total of more than 50 million ha of land under protection in form of national parks and other conservation categories. He has worked in more than 55 countries ranging from North- and South America, to Africa, Asia, Europe, Russia and numerous former Russian satellite states.
In 1985 Goetz Schuerholz purchased a Wilderness Concession from the Government of BC which he incorporated under the BC Company Act under the name of “Yohetta Wilderness Adventures Ltd.” read more… Goetz owned and operated this Concession until 1995 when he successfully participated in converting the Concession into a Provincial Park Class A which constitutes the highest conservation status of protected areas within the BC Protected Area System.
Since 2002 Goetz Schuerholz has been an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Department of Geography of the University of Victoria.
On his retirement in 2012 Dr. Schuerholz founded the “Cowichan Estuary Restoration and Conservation Society” registered as a Non-for-profit Society under the BC Society Act (www.cowichanestuary.com)
Creative work has always been important in the life of Goetz. Since his retirement he finally has been able to dedicate more time to his passion of painting and sculpting (www.goetzschuerholzartist.com) in his new studio at his home in Duncan which he shares with his wife Beate read more.