As the first recipients of two fellowships established by the estate of Paul and Edwina Heller, graduate students Suzi Malan and Zac Zabawa are continuing vital research on environmental and conservation governance in Africa and India.
Suzi is pursuing a PhD, investigating the political, socio-economic and ecosystem management aspects of decision-making in the establishment and management of protected areas across national boundaries. Using two transfrontier conservation areas in southern Africa as case studies, Suzi is tackling complex issues such as poaching of endangered species and forced removal of communities in these areas.
“It is a critical time in the history of conservation in Africa, when long-lasting solutions should be found to these difficult problems,” she says. “I believe my research can contribute towards identifying current failures in the decision-making processes, and provide recommendations to improve these.”
Zac’s research toward his MSc revolves around measuring the effects of different forest management regimes in India and Nepal on marginalized forest-dependent peoples. His aim is to better inform forest officers in India of the importance of involving local communities in protecting the forests they depend on.
“I believe that proper incentives and perceived ownership in the ecological systems around us can lead towards an enlightened self-interest form of resource management,” he says.
The two fellowships in memory of Paul Heller were established by Paul and Edwina’s daughter Dr. Irene Bettinger, through the Heller estate. Originally from Warsaw, Poland, Paul Heller graduated as an engineer from Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge, England. He moved to Vancouver in the early 1940s, where he and his brother Sam Heller acquired and modernized Pacific Pine Co. lumber mill in New Westminster. The business flourished in the postwar years employing some 350 people at its peak. In addition to his work in forestry, Mr. Heller and his wife, Edwina Heller, were great supporters of music, contemporary Canadian art, and Vancouver’s Jewish community.
Both Zac and Suzi are emphatic about the impact this award has had on their work. “Receiving this award (Paul Heller Memorial Fellowship in Forestry) allowed me to stay in British Columbia, where we are witnessing one of the greatest experiments in indigenous rights and community based land tenure worldwide,” Zac says. “This is of great aid in analysing other nations’ approach to forestry. Also, the Faculty of Forestry is without question one of the finer forestry programs in the world.”
Suzi concurs. “This fellowship (Paul Heller Memorial Fellowship in International Forestry) has not only meant a great deal in terms of monetary assistance, but the prestige that is associated with such an award is boundless in value,” she says. “The financial support also allows me to conclude my field work in a much shorter period of time, which reduces the stress on my family.”
She also comments on the impact of gifts that support students. “Many students, especially international students from developing regions, would simply be unable to enroll in graduate studies, and thus contribute to increasing the breadth and depth of research, if not for the financial support from donors. In my mind, this is probably the most worthwhile and lasting legacy anyone can leave behind.”
The Heller estate has also established an award in Opera and an award in Medicine. Dr. Bettinger says that these gifts continue the family tradition of generosity. She is nevertheless quick to point out that the money is not hers: “This is my parents’ story. Philanthropy was very important to them—it’s considered a responsibility in the Jewish community to take care of others.”
