Hans is president of the Vulture Conservation Foundation. This Dutch based foundation is the world’s leading wildlife organisation solely dedicated to protecting, conserving and restoring Europe’s vultures species. Over the last century the populations of Bearded, Cinereous, Egyptian and Griffon Vulture have declined dramatically and seen their distribution ranges across the continent severely restricted. The VCF is working towards reversing this and our conservation initiative to return the Bearded Vulture to the Alps mountain range is one of the most remarkable wildlife comeback stories of the last 50 years. It really shows that vulture conservation does work.

Hans’ first acquaintance with the VCF was when he returned a weakened Bearded Vulture back to the Alps in the back of his car. Since then, he has worked on several projects while representing the VCF. He holds the voluntary position of President of the foundation since January 2021.

His education includes studying Spatial Planning and he has also worked at three different consultancy firms during the past 18 years. Currently, he is Director of Conservation at Dutch NGO, Stichting Landschap Overijssel. In this role, he is responsible for the management of 64 different nature-reserves.

He is an avid birder in his free time.

Learn about the conservation efforts for Europe’s vultures