Heike Vesper is a German biologist and is the director of the marine program at World Wide Fund for Nature in Germany. She is committed to conservation of endangered marine species and reducing the use of plastic packaging.
Life
Vesper studied biology with a focus on marine biology and ecology in Bremen, Germany, with stations in Amsterdam and Jordan. She has said that she has been fascinated with the ocean from childhood and has dreamt of being able to breathe under water. She has worked with WWF Germany since 1999 and became the director of the International WWF Centre of Marine Conservation in Hamburg Germany in 2011. She has also served as the chairwoman of the board of directors of The Baltic SeaConservation Foundation between 2014 and 2018. Vesper was succeeded by Alfred Schumm after she stepped down as board member and chair. In her capacity as a marine conservation expert, Vesper has advocated the conservation of overexploited marine species, and the reduction of plastic use. In 2015, Vesper, along with Dr. Monica Verbeek and Francisco J. Marí, wrote a joint document,"Healthy Oceans are our Future", which outlined ocean proposals to the G7. Vesper has spoken at several events including: Digital Life Design Conference, the Fashionsustain conference, BMBF Forum for Sustainability. In December 2018, she was featured in the Valeur Magazine issue 29, aimed at highlighting the stories of heroines of everyday life. On several occasions, Vesper has called for more action by the European Union in tackling the issue of plastic pollution in the ocean and has called for a "Paris Agreement for the Ocean" to combat ocean pollution. She says, "It is important to tackle disposable plastic directly, but the EU is targeting only the tip of the iceberg with disposable items from the catering trade. The large construction site of the packaging must be tackled with the same consequence. Europe-wide, clearer signals must be set towards prevention and the circular economy. We need clear guidelines to improve the recyclability of food packaging and to produce more from recycled material." Vesper is a contributing writer on the blog of WWF Germany.
