His achievements include: youngest member at HRH The Duke of Edinburgh's
Study Conference on Human Relations in Industry, first field economist for
the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), developer
of EARNEST (a computer model of economics of renewable natural resources),
integrator of rangeland development with wildlife parks and ecosystems,
and pioneer of the concept of rural income from wildlife to help ranchers
and farmers (Woodlots for Farmers by P. B. Thresher). Philip
was President of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden from 1986 through 1988.
Dr. Daniel B. Botkin, President of CSE, wrote the following in celebration
of Philip's life:
"When I think of Philip, the first thing that comes to mind
is entering this wonderful home where he and his wife, Carolyn, lived and
seeing the picture that hangs by the entrance: a large color photograph
of the countryside of east Africa and a small airplane. It is a beautiful
photograph and reminds me of three things that Philip and I shared: a love
of African landscapes and wildlife; a passion for flying small airplanes; and
the commitment to try to help make this a better world for people and nature.
"I first got to know Philip in the mid 1980s when he was
introduced to me by a mutual friend, Lee Talbot, who had known Philip in
Africa where both of them worked on wildlife conservation. I was delighted
to meet someone in Santa Barbara who had worked in east Africa and who
was an expert on the conservation of nature and environmental economics.
I had recently completed a project there on elephants, and I had not met
anyone else in Santa Barbara with whom I could share the directness of
these experiences.
"Philip had an amazingly wide range of experiences, I soon
learned. As a young man, he was a Captain in the British Armed Services
in World War II. After, Philip moved to Canada and worked in investment
banking and the forest industry, gathering a background in economics and
business. Then he spent 24 years working on wildlife conservation, land-use
planning and economic development in third world countries, spending much
of this time in the beautiful countryside of Tanzania. Philip helped in
the establishment of national parks in Africa. He also pursued conservation
of coral reefs around the world, one of his favorite environments. In the
last few years, some of his happiest memories were of voyages to coral
reefs. With his dual background in economics and environment, Philip became
known as "the ecologist's economist."
"And so it was natural that, when the opportunity arose for
me to start a new kind of organization, The Center for the Study of the
Environment, I asked Philip to join me on the board. He was an active and
enthusiastic member of the board and contributed greatly to the early development
of this organization. Together, we designed an organization that would
take an objective look at environmental issues, from a sound basis in science
and economics. It seemed an obvious but important thing to do. Making use
of his extensive friendships around the world, from his long work with
the United Nations, Philip made a trip to Rome, Geneva and London to discuss
the idea for our new organization with many experts on wildlife, conservation,
and economics. They agreed this was a good idea and Philip came back with
the surprising conclusion that nobody was doing this.
"Philip and I spent long hours discussing our mutual interests
and concerns, sometimes walking in one of the parks in Santa Barbara, sometimes
in the garden of his house that he enjoyed so much. His advice and perspective
on what we should do with the new Center was invaluable. More important,
Philip was a good friend who, in a gracious manner, always gave me an honest
opinion and helped direct me better in the work of the Center. I enjoyed
his conversation, his companionship, his knowledge and his advice, and
I will miss him greatly, but I will think of Philip often as someone who
made our world a better place and did so with integrity.
Philip
Thresher (1925 - 1998) was one of CSE's original founding board members.
Mr. Thresher served as CSE's Treasurer from 1991 through 1993. Known
as "the ecologist's economist", Philip brought to CSE his
extensive experience in wildlife resource conservation and utilization.
He was born in Sandown on the Isle of Wight in England and obtained
his BA and MA degrees from New College Oxford. In 1951, he was a McGill
University Hudson Bay Scholar.
