Steve BoyesSpeaker and Booking Agent Information

Dr. Steve Boyes is a South African conservation biologist, ornithologist, National Geographic Explorer, and TED Senior Fellow dedicated to protecting Africa’s wilderness areas. He is best known for his work on the Okavango Delta in Botswana, one of the world’s largest freshwater wetlands. In 2015, Boyes launched the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, leading multi-year expeditions across the Angolan highlands. His teams have conducted extensive surveys, discovered over 140 species new to science, and gathered critical hydrological and biodiversity data to support evidence-based conservation and climate resilience. He founded the Cape Parrot Project and the Wild Bird Trust, and serves as a Research Associate at the University of Cape Town’s FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology. Boyes collaborates with local communities, NGOs, and governments in Angola, Namibia, and Botswana to secure permanent protection for these ecosystems, which support vast wildlife populations including thousands of elephants. An author, filmmaker of “Into the Okavango” (2018)  as well as "Ghost Elephants" (2025), and storyteller, he holds a PhD in Zoology. He emphasizes community-based, science-driven approaches to safeguarding Africa’s last wild places.