Agrilinks

Walter I. Knausenberger, Ph.D, trained in biophysics, zoology, and ecology, and worked from 1979 to 1989 in the Caribbean as an Extension and Research Pest Management Specialist at the University of the Virgin Islands. While there, he established a natural resources management program and acted as Director of the Virgin Islands Ecological Research Station. He also helped establish the Eastern Caribbean Center. 

Knausenberger joined USAID in 1989 under the Africa Bureau in Washington, DC, serving in the Office of Technical Resources. His first task was to manage the Africa-wide Emergency Locust and Grasshopper Control Project, after which he was appointed Regional Environmental Advisor. In his capacity as Regional Environmental Advisor in USAID’s Africa Bureau, Knausenberger led the creation of the Agency-leading Africa Bureau Environmental Guidelines for Small Scale Activities. 

Following his time in Washington, DC, he served as Senior Regional Environmental Advisor at USAID East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, from 2000 to 2010. While there, Knausenberger promoted environmentally-sound design and management across all sectors of USAID programs in 26 countries in East, Southern, and Central Africa. Starting in 2005, he designed and managed two cross-boundary programs, the Transboundary Waters for Biodiversity and Human Health in the Mara River Basin (TWB-MRB) project, and the Regional Enhanced Livelihoods in Pastoralist Areas (RELPA) program. RELPA was funded under the Famine Prevention Fund provided by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB).  

In 2010, Knausenberger returned to USAID’s Africa Bureau in Washington, DC. He now works in the Office of Sustainable Development within the Africa Bureau. Currently, he is passionate about inter-sectoral programs involving integration of natural resources management, water, and climate change resilience into food security programs; drylands development issues; agriculture, livestock, and biodiversity linkages; and promoting corporate environmental and social responsibility.  In his current capacity, Knausenberger supports all three Africa Bureau regions’ Regional Environmental Advisors, and backstops the Africa Bureau Environmental Officer in addressing USAID’s statutory environmental compliance mandate.