Captain Ibrahim A. Ogle
Kenya Wildlife Service, Airwing

Captain Ogle is a twelve year veteran of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). Over the years he has been personally engaged in numerous confrontations with well-armed poaching gangs. One such gang involved thirty commercial poachers armed with fully automatic military rifles and explosive projectiles that was poaching elephants and rhinos in Tsavo East National Park. In addition, Captain Ogle is the central figure responsible for the success of KWS's Airwing program, an outfit of airplanes and trained aviators that assist in wildlife enforcement activities.

Major Carmen Castro
Coast Guard of Costa Rica

Major Castro has worked for the Costa Rican Coast Guard for seven years and currently serves in the Guard?s Environmental Department. In her position, she has been very active in addressing illegal fishing and hunting of sea turtles, sharks, fish and molluscs and also in trying to stop illegal trafficking in birds (mainly parrots) by sea. She has also been a major force behind efforts to economically evaluate environmental costs of illegal fishing and huntingin order to set legal precedents for higher fines for violations.

Mr. Karl Karugaba
Field Officer, Lusaka Agreement Task Force

Mr. Karugaba is a Ugandan Wildlife Officer appointed to the Lusaka Task Force Headquarters in Nairobi. During June 2002, mr. Karugaba worked undercover in southern Africa where he became a key figure in collecting intelligience data that led to the seizure of 6.5 tons of elephant ivory plus 40,810 rough cut ivory signature seals in Singapore by INTERPOL authorities on June 26, 2002.

Special Agent Edward Grace
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Special Agent Grace recently concluded the dismantling of a smuggling operation that had brought over 20,000 pounds of endangered sturgeon roe (caviar), with an estimated value in excess of US$12 million into the United States. Special Agent Grace's recent investigations have also resulted in large seizures of sea turtle eggs, the meat of endangered primates and elephant ivory.