If Derek Pomeroy said to meet him at 7am, you were expected to be there by exactly 7am—not a minute later. Punctuality was not just a preference; it was a principle. Whether in a zoology lab, a birdwatching field station, or over tea at Makerere University, order and discipline mattered. Behind that exacting standard, however, was a deeper devotion: to science, to Uganda’s biodiversity, and above all, to the generations of African conservationists he helped train and shape.
Pomeroy arrived in Uganda in 1969 to study marabou storks. He stayed for most of his life. What began as ornithological curiosity became a lifelong project of institution-building, mentoring, and record-keeping. His field notes on birds, gathered across decades, became the backbone of the Bird Atlas of Uganda and the National Biodiversity Data Bank. He played a pivotal role in founding the Makerere University Institute of Environment and Natural Resources (MUIENR), a center that now shapes the country’s environmental policy and research.
Through civil unrest, political transitions, and global shifts in conservation priorities, Pomeroy remained a constant. He trained hundreds of students—many of whom now lead major conservation efforts in Uganda and beyond. His greatest legacy may not lie in peer-reviewed journals or global assessments, but in the lives he shaped. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, one of Uganda’s leading wildlife veterinarians, remembered him as a mentor who encouraged her earliest efforts and celebrated her success. Edward Okot Omoya, now a professor, put it simply: “He was more than a supervisor. He was a father figure.” Others recall how he secured funding for dozens of students who might never have studied conservation otherwise. From senior professors to field biologists just starting out, the story was the same: a demanding, generous, and utterly committed teacher.
He published widely, including on bird population dynamics, wetland ecology, and biodiversity indicators, often ahead of global trends. His research illuminated the effects of agriculture on wildlife long before “sustainable landscapes” became a buzzword. A member of the IUCN’s Stork, Ibis, and Spoonbill Specialist Group, he saw local data as vital to global conservation.
Even in his final years, his curiosity never waned. At 88, he was still in the field, counting vultures in Murchison Falls National Park. He was working on several papers when he died.
“He never stopped being interested in life,” wrote Andrew Plumptre, Head of the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) Secretariat.
Pomeroy returned to the UK only in 2023. He died, fittingly, with his work unfinished but well-laid for others to continue.
In a region where expertise was once exported, he helped root it firmly in place. For many, Derek Pomeroy didn’t just teach the study of birds. He taught them to stay, to build, and to give back.
Header image: By Andrew Plumptre
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This story first appeared on Mongabay
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