Entry #5: Innovating in a Pandemic with Dr. Tim Coles

Dr. Tim Coles is the founder and CEO of Operation Wallacea. Tim comes from a long career in connecting conservation and business to create sustainable long-term solutions for the industry. Prior to founding Opwall, Tim was a fisheries scientist with over 13 years’ experience in the UK water industry and river management. In 1990, he went on to found the IEMA (the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment) and EARA (the Environmental Auditors Registration Association), both of which are still in existence and have thousands of members in nearly 90 countries around the world. The IEMA is now a leading international membership-based organisation dedicated to the promotion of sustainable development.

Of course, what Tim is best known for in our circles is as the founder of Opwall, which he started in 1995 with the first expedition to Indonesia. Tim also went on to found the Wallacea Trust (https://wallaceatrust.org/) in 1998 to support conservation projects stemming from Opwall’s yearly research expeditions. Opwall now operates in 13 countries, bringing over 3000 students into the field every year alongside field researchers and academics, which has resulted in more than 550 scientific publications. Yet in 2020, for the first time in 25 years, Opwall did not open a single field site. The culprit? The Covid-19 pandemic. In this special episode, we discuss how Opwall has been impacted by the ban on international travel, what this means for our industry and international conservation in general, and how Opwall has adapted to these unexpected and challenging circumstances.