Owen is a coastal scientist with over 18 years’ experience in developing and implementing projects in the Caribbean with a focus on ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change, fisheries, marine protected areas, sustainable livelihoods and vulnerability assessments. He has an extensive track record of successful project development and implementation with a wide range of donors, including multilateral, bilateral organisations, foundations and the private sector. He specialises in coordinating complex activities with multiple stakeholders and has a special interest in the science-policy interface and implementation at the community level.

Owen was born in Scotland in 1965, and has lived in Australia, USA, France, England and Trinidad and Tobago.  He obtained his Baccalaureate in France in 1983, and then studied Biochemistry at Oxford (1984-1988).  His passion for the sea and marine conservation led him to do a Masters (obtained with Distinction for highest class average) and then a PhD (1992-1996) in Marine Aquaculture at the School of Ocean Sciences at the University of Wales Bangor.  In 2001 he moved to Trinidad and Tobago where he lived with his family for eight years and was a founding Director of the Buccoo Reef Trust.  In 2005, the Buccoo Reef Trust was awarded the Environment Award from the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations.  After a period of working as a coastal specialist throughout the Caribbean, he teamed up with Newton to setup CLEAR in 2016.  He now divides his time between the Caribbean and a farmhouse in Dorset where he lives with his wife and children, planting trees, digging ponds and restoring wildlife on 11 acres of previously intensively farmed land.