Specialists in international environmental and development issues
BioChimera provides access to leading international environmental, development and information technology specialists who deliver outstanding research and highly valued policy advice.
Our staff are excellent communicators with the necessary skills to work with varying stakeholders: our clients range from large international organizations and United Nations agencies to smaller national institutions; from international diplomats to rural and indigenous communities.
We are experienced in the operation of multilateral environmental conventions, undertaking biodiversity assessment and conservation planning, conducting environmental impact assessments, establishing and implementing communications policies and information technology solutions that work in both the developed and developing worlds, and in advising on human resource and institutional arrangements. Members are also available worldwide to educate, coach and mentor people in their areas of particular expertise.
Please contact us with any queries regarding your specific needs.
Meet the team
Kirsty Galloway McLean is a specialist in biodiversity, biosafety, sustainable development and knowledge management. She founded BioChimera after many years with the United Nations providing high-level international policy advice, where she was the chief architect behind the UN’s Biosafety Clearing-House – the first mandatory Internet-based information-exchange mechanism used under international law, sharing information about GMOs under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Biosafety Protocol.
In addition to running this firm and working for the UN, Kirsty has also been active in academia. She was a Senior Visiting Fellow with the United Nations University – Institute of Advanced Studies, working on biodiplomacy, climate change and traditional knowledge. She was previously the Executive Manager of the Centre for the Mind (Institute of Advanced Studies, Australian National University) in the late 90s – CFM was established as a catalyst for interdisciplinary research into the mind, and worked to promote excitement about the power of ideas in the community. She has also worked with the Australian government as a senior science and innovation policy advisor, and as a technical advisor and risk assessor with the Genetic Manipulation Advisory Committee.
Kirsty has degrees in Science (specializing in virology and genetics on a medical science scholarship), and Arts (majoring in cross-cultural communication and linguistics) from the Australian National University. She is an experienced communicator, with a diploma in journalism and many years membership on editorial boards, and gives regular presentations and seminars to international audiences, as well as various national and regional events. She has authored hundreds of policy papers and articles, as well as several books on climate change and indigenous peoples.
Charity work
As a boutique consulting firm with strong commitment to environmental sustainability, we can offer substantial discounts to non-profit organisations focussing on environmental protection where they can demonstrate that saved funds will be used to directly assist people in need. In addition, BioChimera contributes a percentage of annual company profits and staff time towards production and distribution of freely accessible capacity-building materials around the globe. Please contact us with details if you would like us to consider your proposal under our annual charity programme.