John MASON

Chief Executive Officer, Nature Conservation Research Centre

Chief Executive Officer of the Nature Conservation Research Centre (NCRC) - a leading African conservation NGO based in Accra, Ghana.  He has been based in Ghana for 35+ years and is a leading voice for local community participation in conservation initiatives.  He was one of the first to draw attention to the long-term threat of climate change to the economically crucial cocoa sector.

He has worked with communities, indigenous leaders, governments, civil society and private sector across Africa to develop conservation initiatives that engage forest dependent communities.  He was key in developing the Community Resource Management Areas (CREMA) mechanism which is being used to address the challenges of delivering community benefits across 5 million hectares in Ghana. A visionary of the Oromia Forest Landscape REDD+ Programme and Ghana’s Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme, he has been instrumental in securing over USD 500 million in climate finance in Africa.