Carl Erik Kilander

Carl was born in Norway and received a master’s degree in forestry and nature conservation from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in 1973. His professional experience is mainly connected to environmental issues and natural resource management on the Norway mainland and in Svalbard. A major part of his professional experience comprises planning and management of protected areas, particularly in the southern parts of Norway and Svalbard. During the period 1999-2001 Carl was Head of the Environmental Department at the Governor of Svalbard´s office. He has also been District Manager (southwestern Norway) followed by the position of Senior Environmental Adviser at the Norwegian State Forest Service.

During the late part of his career, Carl worked as a Senior Adviser at Norwegian Nature Inspectorate (SNO), mainly dealing with law enforcement, monitoring, and public relation tasks connected to more than 100 protected areas in Vest-Agder County (southernmost Norway). During this period he has also been leading various projects. During one such project, 2011-2014, Carl was involved in the planning and successful eradication of 6,700 “Norwegian” reindeer on South Georgia. This British-Norwegian project was managed by the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI), and Carl had a key role in the preparation phase. During the field operations 2013-2014 he assisted GSGSSI’s Project Manager as liaison and leader of the Norwegian team of reindeer herders and marksmen.

Carl characterizes himself as a naturalist with broad interests. He particularly favors bird watching and nature photography. Carl has had annual assignments for Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic since 2003, joining expeditions to Norway’s fjords, Svalbard, Iceland, Greenland, South Georgia, the Falklands, and Antarctica.