Rafid is a conservation leader from the city of South Tangerang, Indonesia. He is a PhD student at Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment in Marine Science and Conservation Program. His passion for sharks and rays was nurtured through volunteer work in Lamakera, East Nusa Tenggara — the world’s biggest manta ray hunting community. He received a Master’s degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and led the Thresher Shark Project Indonesia, an initiative to transition communities from traditional shark-hunting to sustainable alternative livelihoods using research, stakeholder engagement, and education.
Rafid believes that endangered species protection and community livelihoods are mutually important and that conservation approaches need to be informed by local understanding in their design, intervention, and measures.
Learn more about Thresher Shark Indonesia.
