Dr Maxim Koshkin is a dedicated conservation ecologist, who devoted his career to biodiversity conservation in Central Asia.

His career has revolved around the ecology and conservation of globally threatened species, notably the Asian Houbara, Sociable Lapwing, Saker Falcon, and Snow Leopard, spanning diverse landscapes, from the steppes and deserts to the mountains of Central Asia and beyond. During Maxim’s 20-year career in biodiversity conservation and research, spanning Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, he has collaborated with a wide array of stakeholders, including conservation NGOs, state agencies and universities. This experience has given him a deep understanding of the region's conservation challenges and the skills to overcome them. His research resulted in 22 publications in peer-reviewed journals, focusing on research and conservation of threatened species and habitats of Central Asia. His education includes over 4 years of intensive PhD research on the Sustainable Management of Asian Houbara in Uzbekistan, as part of the collaboration between the University of East Anglia (UK), BirdLife International and the Emirates Bird Breeding Centre for Conservation (EBBCC), culminating in 3 peer-reviewed publications focusing on species ecology. Maxim’s fieldwork included population surveys, nest productivity monitoring, satellite tagging and tracking, and assessments of grazing and habitat impact on species density and nest productivity. As part of his Master’s degree research, he was surveying Little Bustard in the steppes of Central Kazakhstan and is currently involved in the assessment of the status of this species in this country.

He is currently based in Kyrgyzstan, where during the last 5 years he has been working as a regional coordinator for a large counter illegal wildlife trade project at the local Ilbirs Foundation.

Maxim is a native Russian speaker and speaks fluent English and basic German. His free time he spends exploring outdoors and enjoys wildlife photography and various outdoor sports.