Dereck Joubert
This decorated filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer at Large works tirelessly to inspire conservation of Africa’s keystone species.
Big Cat Hero
•
Emergency Responder
•
Alpha
•
Big Cat Hero • Emergency Responder • Alpha •
More about Dereck
Dereck Joubert is an award-winning wildlife filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer-at-Large who has been filming, researching, and exploring wild Africa for more than 3 decades with his wife, Beverly. The Jouberts have co-produced over 40 films for National Geographic. Dereck received numerous accolades including seven Emmy Awards, Lifetime Achievement awards, Peabody, Panda, and World Ecology awards and an induction into the American Academy of Achievement. Together with Beverly, they received the Presidential Order of Meritorious Service from the president of Botswana.
Dereck is CEO of Great Plains Conservation, a ‘conservation tourism’ company protecting more than 1 million acres of land. In 2009, the Jouberts founded the Big Cats Initiative with National Geographic, a long-term effort to halt the decline of big cats in the wild and protect the ecosystems they inhabit. They continue the program as part of their Great Plains Big Cats Initiative. The duo also created Rhinos Without Borders, a revolutionary initiative that moved 87 rhinos from high poaching areas to safety.
-
Dereck and Beverly met in high school and married in 1983. They have often lived in a canvas tent, in the middle of wilderness, working from sun-up to sundown. In March 2017, the Jouberts survived a near-fatal Cape buffalo attack at their camp in Botswana's Okavango Delta. This brought into sharp perspective the impermanence of time and the race we are all in to make a difference.
Their current wildlife conservation projects include everything from building teams of Female Rangers to relocating elephants, giraffes, and other species to restore and rewild depleted habitats.
Speaking Topics
Conservation
Science
Exploration
Innovation
Overcoming Obstacles
Nature
Watch Dereck in action
Presentations
Saving Wildlife on the Brink
Hailing from South Africa, photographer Beverly Joubert and filmmaker Dereck Joubert have spent over three decades capturing wild Africa. On stage, they reveal wildlife’s delicate interdependence with wild places and share bold, innovative ways they spotlight conservation challenges while partnering with local communities—creating sustainable solutions and inspiring coexistence between humans and the continent’s most iconic species. (Presented with Beverly Joubert)
“Our dream is of a time when humans become just one more species in balance with nature, not constantly at war with it.”
– Dereck Joubert