Born in Kenya in 1953, John Mendelsohn found wings before he found his feet. From a childhood passion for birds, ornithology soon became his career after finishing his PhD on the biology of Blackshouldered Kites at the University of Natal. He started RAISON in 1996. Today matters concerned with environmental processes, the socio-economics of rural livelihoods, land rights and uses, and river systems form the basis of his academic passions. http://www.raison.com.na/